Re: [Harp-L] Creativity Question

[JohnnieHarp <johnnieharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

>  If you improvise in the moment, what is your mental/creative approach?

My approach is very different from Chesper Nevins/Jason ... I take a
tune that I like playing, put it on repeat and play along with it
WHILE I surf the net / read HarpL or other news/posts ... hold harp in
left hand and mouse with right ...

Subconscious takes over ... I will start at a different places on the
harp and try various approaches with successive repeats ... play in
the middle ... play at the top and or bottom of the harp ...

Often will create a track in Audacity with the tune repeated 10 or so
times and will record what I'm playing, while I'm playing and surfing,
to hear afterwards what came out as am quite oblivious to it at the
time ...

For me it's a great way to get down the tempo and to experiment with
various approaches without getting bored ... I like playing along with
smooth jazz, up tempo blues with sax, funky jazz .... generally happy
music ...

When ready will do some fully focused versions with two hands for
desired tone/effect ... during this, I'm often startled with what
seems to come out of nowhere ... my preferred approach then will tend
to consolidate but spontaneous alterations can emerge during
performance ... reviewing practice attempts is useful too as what I
think sound great at the time may sound crappy when I replay it so
something to avoid going forward ...

This practice approach is especially useful for me as I play much more
than I would otherwise ... can have one track repeating for an hour or
more without getting bored ... but more importantly I find it FUN ...
perhaps an expressions of some sort of latent obsessive compulsive
condition? ...

But then why would anyone practice anything for hours day after day if
they weren't somewhat obsessive compulsive?

BTW ... errors in post missed due to playing along with “Joe Taylor -
I Just Wanna Stop (f. Al B. Sure) - Accidental Sugar” during proof
reading ... lol