Re: [Harp-L] music perception and professionalism

["Splash" <celtiac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

When I am playing with other people I always try to find a "groove" that
feels good.  I have as much responsibility to work with them to find a
groove as they have to me. Like it has been said, there is no them, there is
only us.  Ego clashes destroy the US.  I have a responsibilty to ME to avoid
those situations that don't feel good.

Also, if IAM going to participate in a "parking lot picking session" with a
group of flatpickers and other Bluegrass musicians, I think I have a
responsibility to know certain songs ahead of time.  Whisky Before
Breakfast, Cotton Eyed Joe, Fox on the Run and the like.  If IAM sitting in
with some jazz musicians I need to know the jazz standards, Body and Soul,
Summertime, 'Round Midnight, Stardust, A-Train &c.  It's a matter of respect
to the other musicians to practice those pieces that will always come up in
those situations.  That's why it's a good idea to attend the local jam
sessions a few times before attempting to sit in, that way you know what
kind of pieces the regulars will tend to play and you can be ready.  But
nobody can know every tune, at least I can't.  I do know a few people who
seem to know everything and I can never figure out how they do it.  That's a
gift I don't have, so I have to make a list and practice.

If IAM playing in a regular band, that's what rehearsals are for.  We agree
on a set-list and then I go home and practice, and then when we get together
we all work to find the common groove.  And that only happens when everybody
is listening to each other.  And when we get in the groove, the listers will
invariable get it.  Because it feels good.

As a solo performer / writer, I have found that when I try to write or
perform to please others, it becomes contrived and doesn't allow the flow of
divine energy that makes 'making music' feel good to me.

And when I write / or perform, to communicate something that I have a need
to say, and I do it with a sense that them who 'get it' will get it, and
them who don't won't and that's OK, I find that my writing / or performing
when IAM in that place, does communicate.  And that's the whole enchilada.
If you don't communicate with your music, you have failed.  So, I quit
worrying about whether my listeners will get it.  And then they do get it.
It's a strange equation, no?

Some of my favorite musicians aren't what could be called great
instrumentalists, or have 'beautiful' voices, but they certainly do
communicate.  And that makes me feel good when I listen to them.  John Prine
comes to mind.  Bob Dylan, Dr. John, &c.  Great instrumentalists? No.  Great
vocalists?  No.  Great communicators?  Well, I "get it."  Some of my
favorites are simply amazing on their instruments, and that's their mode of
communication.  Either way, they communicate.

And a performer has to be willing to 'give it up' whatever "it" is.  And if,
instead of giving it up, they "mail it in" the audience knows.  I've been to
performances where musicians I like have mailed it in, and was badly
disappointed by the performance, and then the next night, they got in the
groove and gave it up and were great.

And that's what matters in my book.

PEACE
Scott
Believe in Magic!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Walter Joyce" <wtjoyce45@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 8:18 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] music perception and professionalism


> I agree with a lot of what is written below, but I'm trying to square this
> with two other considerations.
>
> What about the people you are playing music with? Don't you have a
> responsibility to them to work with them to produce the music? Doesn't
this
> require a certain common knowledge base and understanding of where you are
> trying to go musically?
>
> What if your goal is to play professionally? As with any commercial
endeavor
> there is a prerequisite of  technical proficiency within the field, how
does
> one square this with the encouraging, but somewhat loose approach
described
> below?
>
> I love to play, but I also love playing within a group setting. Outside of
> informal jams the other obvious alternative is to play out as a source of
> entertainment. How much do you owe your audience and what if your idea of
> good music doesn't square with them?
>
> I'm sure these topics have been discussed here before, but after reading
> this post below, which i honestly like the sentiment of in many ways, the
> questions above came to mind.
>
>
> Splash wrote:
>
> At the risk of - well, I don't know... I will re-post a message I got from
a
> folk music list I belong to.  And that message was re-posted from another
> forum.  That makes it three-times removed from it's source, and I have no
> idea who originated it.<snip>