More from the notebook
Going back and forth between the acoustic guitar and the electric guitar. On the acoustic, I can get the sound I want most of the time. On the electric — well, phooey. It’s all in the touch. Apparently Pierre Bensusan says you should just have one guitar and learn to play that, and on days like this I can see what he means. (5/7/21)
I think one reason pros sound better than everybody else is that they spend their working lives holding themselves to higher standards than the rest of us do. (5/6/21)
The biggest change I’ve made in the last few years is spending a lot less time increasing what I know and spending a lot more time increasing what I can do. (5/5/21)
Back to my earlier question about why I was avoiding my own practicing routine: I think there’s a balance to be struck between a top-down approach - planned, structured, based in head work - and a bottom-up approach - improvised, in-the-moment, based in hand work.
The planned approach makes sure you cover what you want to cover; it supports discipline and efficiency. It can also get boring. It can discourage the looseness, irrationality and inspiration that are at the heart of playing music in the first place. And you can become committed to it just because it’s routine and familiar.
The bottom-up approach - “Let’s see, what do I feel like playing today?” - can be more fun - looser, more spontaneous. But it can leave you playing the same thing over and over again. No change, no challenge.
In each case there’s a clear up side. And they both have, oddly enough, the same down side - the Comfort Zone. Once you’re comfortable, it’s time to change. Maybe that’s why I was fighting the routine - I had gotten too cozy with it. (5/5/21)
