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Imagine you’re a symphony orchestra. Imagine you’re playing this scene from a movie. Imagine you’re an ancient folk instrument. Imagine you are a whale song. Imagine yourself other than what your instrument is, and here is sound in your head as you play.

Read something new everyday. Try to explore something new everyday. It’s easy for me to get carried away with this, and spend 90 minutes on some violin etude book. But just trying something new helps open the mind, and maybe you get even more out of the rest of your practice or playing.

Listen to music. Listen for when the lead line seems to come “home.” That’s it. Don’t analyse, just observe. When you hear things you recognize, take note. Again, don’t analyse, just take note. Just observe, like a little child sitting on the floor listening to rest of the family talk. Take it in, and observe. You can’t analyze, you don’t have the frame of reference. Learn to hear natively. At any age.

Analysis will come later.

It is precise. It is powerful. It is relaxed. It can do the job. It is the life force. It is the Dionysian. The left hand the Apollonian.

Believe in the power of your right hand. It is strong.

(if you are left-handed guitarist, believe in the power of your left hand.)

To start the day or practice session, when you first pick up your instrument, play something pretty. Play a note, just let is soak in for a bit. Listen to your inner ear and try to find what it is telling you. Imagine you a full orchestra. Imagine you are tiny solo instrument in a big hall. Imagine you are an ancient folk song. Imagine you are the orchestra playing a movie score. Imagine and follow it. Don’t try to impress. Just play something pretty.

you’ll learn it faster if you play it slower. and learn it slower if you play it faster.

-jon garner (that’s me, yo)

Play what actually understand. What you are hearing and feeling. Don’t play things you can’t hear. You can practice them, to learn to hear them. And you can go for things that you hear, and miss them. But, stay present, stay honest. Play what is true to you, at this moment. Simple and true will sound better than complex and dishonest or fake, or approximating, as Bill Evans calls it.

You have to believe in your own genius. You have to believe that given the time and focus on your own path, you will find it. This means you must be you to the fullest extent. Which is an exhausting place to go to, because it must be unearthed. There is so much sitting on top of it. So many rules, preconcieved notions, baggage and perhaps fears, lying in large boulder, mounds of earth. Ugh. this metaphor.

So, yes, you must study the other geniuses, but don’t try to be them. You can’t. You won’t. And, they didn’t get their by trying to be someone else. They can point the way, they can help you level up faster than you would otherwise. Admire, respect, but do not worship them.

Back to belief. You have to have it, or the door doesn’t open. I’m not sure why, but it is an essential key. You don’t have to be arrogant and think you are a genius and better than everyone. But, perhaps, there is a genius in us if we do the work. A lot of work. Built acquiring knowledge from others and finding our own path.

It is not a competition, even if in the marketplace it can be. But, you must forget that when you go about digging and building. You don’t have to be better, you have to be you. Forget better. Let others decide. What does it even mean? Not in art. It’s not a footrace. Unless you questioning who is fastest. Then, there will be a winner. But, do we care? not for long. It is art.

Extensive self study is required. Admit your weaknesses. You will be surprised how many remain. Don’t chastise yourself, just aim to fix them. Knowing that there will always be gaps, but genius can show through, even with gaps. Perfection will not be attained, so don’t worry.

Believe.

It is in you. Do the work.

We’ve all heard, practice like crazy, then forget it all and just play. Or don’t think when you play. and we’ve heard, don’t be afraid to play wrong notes. or tell a story when you play.

wtf does that all mean?

It’s driven me crazy for years, but I think I get it.

First of all, you do think when you play, but it’s a different kind of thinking. You think in sounds or musical gestures, or waves of sound. You think the lines, but not how to play them, that you’ve got under your fingers. So, that’s the don’t think part. You have to think, but think in music, not technique or mechanics. You will be aware of the changes, or at least the form, and using this as the canvas which you paint on. It matters.

Next up, Don’t be afraid to play wrong notes. It’s way more than that. Play wrong notes. You will. If you do the next thing, which is the most important thing, and it’s tied to the first thing. and this is, just play the lines that you hear and go for it, don’t send anything through the filter of theory, or most importantly, through the internal judge or critic. F them. They slow it all down, and just muck up the works. Just play the sounds, and you’ll be fine. And guess what? you’ll play “wrong” notes, but if the line is good, they won’t be wrong.

Besides, check out transcriptions of the greats, there are wrong notes all over the place. It doesn’t matter. The line, the gesture, the phrase, the impact matter. That’s it. If your line is too off, it won’t have the effect you’re after, and that’s what matters. What effect/affect are you after? Does it resolve? Does it leave you hanging? Does it question? Does it shout? Does it destroy? Does it give sweet little kisses? What effect are you after? Play that.

It is a balance between intellectual an emotional. so, play freaking wrong notes. (often they end up being the juiciest.)

All, this is being said with the assumption that you can play the right notes when you decide to, and play simply on the changes.

Subject for another day. Playing Chords Changes vs the form and its events.

As for tell a story when you play, I still have no f’n idea.

peas
gman

After practicing your ass off for a long time, take a break from practicing.

And there are three ways to do this.

1. Don’t play at all.
2. Play, but don’t practice.
3. Just light maintanance practice.

Each have there benefits.

1. Don’t play at all. For a day or two. I think two is the longest I’ve gone. You might try longer, it might work, I just haven’t done it. You get some perspective on things. Also, things gel that you’ve been working on. And come back when you start up again, things will be in your playing and come out naturally. Somehow, I need the separation sometimes to make it mine.
2. Play, but don’t practice. This is really great and can be done for longer periods, weeks even. So, you’d better be gigging or have a lot of playing sessions during this period, or it doesn’t really work. Playalongs might even work, but play for a hour or two, or three and just play. Don’t practice. Be free.
3. Just light maintenance practice. This can go with #2, or just be like a half-way version of #1. Just do basic fundamentals to keep chops up, usually not more than an hour, and don’t try to add new stuff.

Ok, I’ll flesh it out more later.

peas