I remember being a kid in a piano lesson, and my teacher would say, "You have to listen!" And I was like, "Uhh, yeah. I know. Umm, I'm sitting right here." And then one day, my teacher said that same thing, and it dawned on me the breadth and depth of all of the sound that was ringing in my ears, but that I hadn't been listening to. I thought, "Geez! I want to listen to all of that stuff, but it's HARD to hear it all while I'm doing all this other stuff with my hands!" Now I wonder if I ever even learned how to listen at all.... Bummer.
I think I listen better when I improvise.
Seriously. I think when I play classical music, my brain is so busy trying to execute what is written on that page, and trying to do it "correctly," that my ears turn off a little. Or at least they listen in a different way. The ears listen for precision, or clarity, or phrasing and form. But not as much to the creation or the question mark or the process.
When I improvise (like I do it all the time, or something... geez, this is just day two), I have to and want to listen intently. First of all, I'm not burdened by all that pre-written stuff. I can create what comes next, which is also the challenge. And if I'm not listening, it won't make sense. I may not always play what I want to hear next, and sometimes that surprise is the fun part. Or it just means I'm not as good as I want to be yet. But definitely, yes, listening is the big key.
And language, too. The notes might be the same, but the way they are used is totally different. I mean, there's a reason why there is usually a separation between the classical musician and the jazz musician. They're certainly not interchangeable unless said musician has had training in both. I feel like when I'm improvising, I'm sitting down at an instrument that I don't know how to play. Or speaking a language that I only know a few words of, but trying to construct an entire dialogue.
Well, here's what it sounds like when I try to speak Mandarin:
Day Two: https://ia902703.us.archive.org/8/items/Improv81611/Memo-2.mp3
"And language, too. The notes might be the same, but the way they are used is totally different. I mean, there's a reason why there is usually a separation between the classical musician and the jazz musician. They're certainly not interchangeable unless said musician has had training in both."
ReplyDeleteI don't think you really have to worry about "jazz". You have plenty of language from studying "classical" music. Using it might be difficult at first, but it will get easier I think. You are doing instant composition. Sounding great.
You're absolutely right, Jesse! This, I've been realizing over just the past few days as I'm getting these improvs together. I just don't know yet if my "classical" language expresses as much as I want it to. But maybe my own language will just evolve out of what I'm doing here. Thanks for your comments and support!! :)
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