you wrote:
>
>
>That BAM thing is great, isn't it? I think a very high level of
>concentration is necessary. The catch is - not putting all your
>concentration onthe act of concentrating. I'm pretty good at getting the
>BAM thing to kick in, butsometimes it's just a bad day for me.
>
>Here's what I do when I've just gotten together with some guys to play
>and what I'm playing doesn't feel right to me. I stop playing until I
>have what I can only describe as a _need_ to play a note. Before that
>happens, I always get the very uncomfortable feeling that I'm not doing
>my job as bass player and that I should play along, even though I'm not
>inspired to play anything specific. It seems like as soon as I shake that
>feeling, I get ideas, not just things that kinda work over thechanges.
>
>Make sense to anyone?
>
It makes a lots of sense to me because you are employing the most important
part of any musical performance YOU ARE LISTENING nobody can get in the zone
until they hear what is going down around them. And only then if everybody
else is listening too. The only time I ever get this "bam" experience is
when all the other players are as concerned about space as I am and when
everyone else is listening their respective butts off.
In as much as this is my first post, I hope it arrives in the spirit in
which it is sent as a recognition of the application of what for me is one
of music's basic tenets if everyone on the stand ain't listening 'til there
head hurts it ain't gonna happen.
Yours in jazz Daniel W. Sowter
musician at large
drdan@cwi.net.au
Life is the greatest teacher unfortunately it kills all it's pupils