www.dagobon.com

While it probably doesn’t seem like this would help - let’s face it - if you are unwilling to play a lot of wrong notes, you’re never going to learn how to do anything hard. And improvising is hard! It isn’t something that you can do safely, with the assurance that you will look good while trying to get good at it. You won’t look good. You won’t sound good — and the sooner you realize this, the sooner you will be able to do something of real value.

Strangely, we are from a culture that reinforces the idea that we should always look
good. I mean there are actually people who think you should look good when you’re
sick. When you get up in the middle of the night. Or when you haven’t slept for 36
hours.

Get the picture?

So, now that that’s said - what is the best strategy for playing wrong notes and
actually making progress at the same time?

De-emphasizing Note Values

I have found that the best way to start is by de-emphasizing note values - focussing
instead upon rhythm, texture, density and shape. Music is way more than just the
notes you play, and note selection tends to be the very thing that stops people in
their tracks. Thus, my “Wrong Note Strategy.”

The following are possible points of departure for playing wrong notes - properly:

Melodic Shape - Conceptualize a melody - don’t get too specific with notes, but
think only in terms of the overall shape of the line. Does it go up? Does it climb?
Does it jump? If you have a hard time, try creating a melody on your instrument
that is shaped like something else. I think it was John Cage (a rather famous
composer) that used the New York skyline as the basis for a piece of music. My vote
is, if John Cage can do it, we can too.

Density - Think about density. Are there a lot of notes all close together? Or are
they spaced wide apart? Density shape is determined by where there is little space
between notes, and where there is a lot of space. It is applicable melodically,
harmonically and rythmically. I think there are even methods of encoding data that
use this approach (can’t remember the name of it). I figure, if it’s OK for Intel to use
this concept for data, I think it’s OK for us to use it too.

Rhythm - What about a rhythmic approach? What if note values were totally
unimportant, and we thought only percussively about the music? Like using blocks
of notes - dissonances as though playing drums with the keyboard (or whatever)? It
seems to have worked for legions of 20th Century composers, so why not for us?

Texture - How about making sounds - funny sounds - on our instrument? I
remember working with a violinist from the LA Philharmonic, who told me she
couldn’t improvise. I asked if she could make noises. She said, “Oh sure! I like
making really funny noises like this; and this; and this.” We proceeded to “play funny
sounds” for the next hour and a half, experimenting with all sorts of melody,
harmony, rhythm and texture - coming up with some really beautiful stuff, after
which she asked, “was that improvising?” I said, it sure was, and she was totally
changed by the experience.

I love that story, because it really shows that all we really need is permission to play
“wrong” notes. Once we are willing to do that, then we can experiment - often on a
very high level - with the vital textural, rhythmic, shape and density aspects of
music.

It still communicates, it’s genuinely creative, and it really is music.

So play some wrong notes today!

©2000-2005 Ben Dowling, the author of “The Metaphysics of Improvisation” - is a
pianist, composer and an authority on music improvisation and publishes Music-
Improv.com, a web site that provides useful paradigms and practices for musicians
interested in expanding their ability to improvise. Learn more about “The
Metaphysics of Improvisation” and “The Music Continuum” by visiting http://www.music-improv.com

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The Russian Composer Igor Stravinsky once said: ” A good composer does not imitate; he steals.”

I think what he meant by this is that it’s OK to use a technique developed by another and make it your own. To imitate is to steal a technique or style and, somehow, not incorporate your own voice and energy into it.

We all get our ideas from somewhere, whether by accidentally listening to a piece of music and subconsciously storing it away, or by a conscious act where we say to ourselves: “This sounds great and I want to use it in my own music.”

Some people have the idea that everything created must be original and by that they mean that there must be no outside influences - but this is unrealistic. Haydn taught Beethoven. Italian composers influenced Bach and so on. All past and present composers on this planet have their influences whether they admit them or not.

Now, most of you know that I have two major influences: George Winston and John Herberman. You may or may not know of these people. The point is I admit that they shaped my own style. How? Because I liked listening to them. It’s that simple.

When I sit down to play, I inevitably gravitate towards one style or the other. I’m fine with that. It doesn’t mean that I’m unoriginal. It just means that I acknowledge reality and don’t try to come up with “something original.” What sounds new is 99.9 times out of 100, a modification of what came before.

The whole point I’m trying to make is this: Don’t try to be original. Instead, focus on what you like and love and your own voice will come through in the end. The music may be modified to an extreme (innovation) or just a little (homage). Just don’t imitate.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

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Jealousy - do you feel it? Do you sense it in others? Does it hinder your relationships with other musicians? Does it sap your confidence? Does it block your creativity? Here are some questions to help you get clearer about the jealousy in your life.

1. What is my jealousy trying to teach me? Generally when I have a strong emotion towards a specific person it’s either because that person represents something about me that I can’t tolerate yet or because that person embodies something that I wish I could do or have. I remember being in a high school arts program and being incredibly envious of a fellow singer. What I was so painfully aware of (though I couldn’t have articulated it at that time) was that this person was able to fully express herself and her talents, and I couldn’t. I was a better singer at home in my bedroom than I was in front of other people, and THAT’S what I couldn’t stand about the situation. By doing what I couldn’t do, she shone a spotlight on my biggest challenge. It made it virtually impossible to have a good relationship with her.

2. How can I identify with this person as a fellow musician, instead of comparing our work? What opportunities are there for collaboration, mutual support and the exchange of ideas? Can I open myself to receiving gifts from this person - feedback, support and love? What can I, in turn, give to this person? Even the most famous, the most successful musician is a human being just like you. Find the connection. What can I give to a musician who’s newer than I am?

3. How can I develop confidence in my unique message and express this authentically? I will never sound like this other musician, or anyone else for that matter. Influences may be heard, comparisons will inevitably be made, but my words will never come out exactly like theirs, because my “story”, my life, my experiences, my collection of qualities, strengths and challenges are completely unique to me. When I honour my uniqueness my confidence grows, and it becomes pointless to compare myself to others - there’s no comparison. This quote by Martha Graham further explains what I mean.

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. - Martha Graham, quoted by Agnes DeMille, Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham

4. How can I turn my attention away from this other person and back to what I can do to further my own success and creative fulfillment? If I’m jealous of someone winning a songwriting contest, I can ask myself: how many songwriting contests have I entered? If I’m jealous of the size of their fan base, I can ask myself: how am I attracting new fans and how I am deepening my relationship with the ones I have now? If I’m jealous of the number of songs they’ve written, I can ask myself: what am I choosing to do with my time instead of writing songs?

5. Now that I’ve learned from it, how can I let go of my jealousy? Often in life we hang on to emotions long after they’ve served their usefulness. They become comfortable, familiar and safer than doing the work to get to the other side of them. And yet they can also weigh us down and block our creativity. Try the analogy FEEL. First, Feel your feeling - don’t suppress it, actually let yourself feel it. Next, Express the feeling - write about it, sing about, talk about it with someone you trust, play it on an instrument or express it in art. Next, Explore the feeling - what is it trying to teach you, etc. as discussed above. And finally Let it Go. This can be as simple as saying a short prayer or affirmation (”I have let go of my jealousy”, or “I have valuable and unique gifts to offer”), or writing the feeling on a piece of paper and tearing it up.

Jealousy has a lot to teach us. So when it shows up in your life, pay attention. If you notice jealousy in others, put yourself in their shoes and help them to identify with you. Reveal your humanity. Let them know that they’ve got something to offer you.

This article was originally published on the Muses Muse Songwriter’s Resource website (December 2004) http://www.musesmuse.com.

(c) Copyright 2005, Genuine Coaching Services.

Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive her free monthly newsletter, “Everyday Artist”, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/artist-newsletter.html

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