Re: [Harp-L] When to Lay Out



  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Abner Galdos 
  To: 46long Blake ; IcemanLE@xxxxxxx 
  Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 11:13 AM
  Subject: Re: [Harp-L] When to Lay Out


  To all, I'm very glade that this topic is still going on. From losing my mojo to learning when not to play.
  As a harpist, as a Newbie, as a beginner.  Its hard to know when to stop and when to go.
  When to play softly, low. being a back ground sound.  and when to jump out and take the front row.

  When I'm asked to play with a group on stage, and they are very well aware that I'm new.  Some will give me signal to play low or to stop or roar.
  But sometime's the same players leave me in the dark and play something totally new and I'm lost.  When that happens and I'm just standing with a great big smile on my face enjoying the music, I still feel how was it that 46long Blake put "You
  feel that the audience is all out there, looking at you, but you're not doing anything.  It's a horribly insecure feeling." 
  And then they go into another song you don't know, or what key they are playing in... I carry many keys with me but not on stage with me.... maybe I should start......
  I have my wife write down the songs that they are playing and then down load them into my iPod to learn and study. Get the tempo, understand the beat.... I just have a feeling that on that night they ( the guys I was playing with ) were show boating for a large crowd.

  I contemplating not going back for a while.... yes, no, maybe. One of my buddies who was on stage with me, the one that brought me and wanted me to play. Constantly asking me to learn this and that.. Then he would come over and we would jam and I would learn.
  but then on stage he changes. He know my limitations. He knows my strong point. 

  So this is the other side of playing, I never asked. I was asked and I'm always asked to come up.
  I still have to very funny stories to tell you guys about.... that will come later. 

  abner (Blueyes, going out to lunch with my 83 year old mom, she also has blue eyes )
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: 46long Blake 
    To: IcemanLE@xxxxxxx 
    Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 10:14 AM
    Subject: Re: [Harp-L] When to Lay Out


    I've thought for a while now that one of the signs that I was maturing as a
    player was knowing when to shut the heck up, listen, and let tohers shine.
    Obviously this improves the music as well as the audience's experience.

    One of the things that I think prevents players from doing this is stage
    confidence. If you're not singing or playing, what the heck do you do?  You
    feel that the audience is all out there, looking at you, but you're not
    doing anything.  It's a horribly insecure feeling.  
    On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 9:43 AM, <IcemanLE@xxxxxxx> wrote:

    > Laying out or empty space may be considered a passive involvement with the
    > music - killing time until you get to play harmonica some more.>
    > A valuable shift in awareness is to learn to actively play the silence,
    > considering that the silence is just as important (some consider even more
    > important) as the notes. After all, if it weren't for the silence between
    > the> notes, you wouldn't perceive it as music.>
    > Another aspect to develop is to relax and embrace 'not-playing' while on
    > stage, being secure in yourself and your abilities.>
    >


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