1Posted on 08/16/2014 at 10:00:03August 16, 2014 editorial: comments
Doing it Your Way
Sometimes I feel bad for classical musicians. Sure, they practice like crazy, and most have amazing chops and can read like machines, but take the written music away and ask them to improvise, and a large percentage of them will be totally lost.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to listen to classical, and I admire the brilliance it takes to compose and arrange for an entire orchestra or to play the ridiculously hard parts in some of the repertoire. But for me, music is all about self expression and creativity, not just learning how to play the same thing that everyone else does.
When I’m playing in a band and we’re learning a cover song, I’m not the kind of musician who plays the part off the record note for note. I like to inject my own ideas into it. Of course, if there are iconic riffs or certain parts that everyone is expecting to hear, I’m fine with learning and playing those, but otherwise, I’d rather just go with what feels right.
I do think it’s useful, from an educational standpoint, to learn the parts of great players. It helps you to understand their techniques, and tends to widen your musical vistas. But on a gig, unless you’re in a clone band where you’re expected to play everything note for note, why be shackled to copying somebody else’s exact part? Where’s the originality in that?
Yeah, up until a couple of years ago, I felt exactly the same way. I had little to no use for classical music at all, in fact. I'm not sure what changed, but something in me did. I still appreciate and love a good impromptu jam, but now I also dig the idea of hearing some of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best music ever composed. I think its that ultimate level of artistic excellence and mastery that I like so much. I didn't seek it out on purpose, but somewhere along the way I've grown to appreciate composition to the point that I find a great composition just as fascinating as a great improvised performance. Which one I prefer depends on my mood.
