Virtue v Vice.Virtuosity v Violence.

[Beer Moth]

Just thinking about what it was a week or so ago when my son was watching yet another impossibly virtuoso bass player that didn't make him (orme) think "Wow,the next ...(fill in as required)..."!

 

It strikes me,and this is,of course,only my view, that the big difference is the ability to go berserk,either within or outside one's normal limits.

 

Or,indeed,to give theimpression that there's always something more.

 

This works even at a ballad/slow understated level.

 

I have come to the conclusion it is best named "Fury".

 

People who are content have no reason to create.

 

Does one dig,one's majesties?

 

(Hic,but by no means a big one).

Edited May 28, 2008 by Beer Moth

[m-m-m]

.... that didn't make him make me (or him) think .....

 

I was completely lost after I read that bit, and I never quite regained my footing.

 

 

(cough, but not a big one)

[Beer Moth]

I see what you mean!

Edit coming.

And done.

Slighty larger Hic than I thwat!

[m-m-m]

hey, did you ever see in that other thread where I asked you if you listened to Ornette Coleman???

[m-m-m]

here it is ...

 

based on the kinds of posts you generally make, I'm guessing that your an Ornette Coleman fan. I have yet to get one of the albums, but it's pretty high on my list. Any suggestions??? (ok, so I'm being pretty presumptuous here, but an I wrong??)

[camillo jr]

People who are content have no reason to create.

 

Think I'll hide my meds. 8)

[Beer Moth]

here it is ...

 

based on the kinds of posts you generally make, I'm guessing that your an Ornette Coleman fan. I have yet to get one of the albums, but it's pretty high on my list. Any suggestions??? (ok, so I'm being pretty presumptuous here, but an I wrong??)

 

Oddly enough,I've not listened to much Coleman,but was often 'accused' of obviously having done lots (mostly in my youth).

 

Sorry,I can't really help you there!

[ManOfHank]

 

This works even at a ballad/slow understated level.

 

I have come to the conclusion it is best named "Fury".

 

 

I get what you mean. The trick is to control the fury. A great performer always has things under control. Total control.

 

Francis Bacon's paintings illustrate this. They look wild and aggressive. Yet the man has the whole canvas under his command. And the message comes across.

 

Now on the other hand you can be like the skillful bassist you and your son saw. Great musician... but nothing to say. Nothing to add. The control is there. But where is the message.

[fader8]

A great performer always has things under control. Total control.

I may be missing it, but I felt the point was more about sounding great even when you've lost control. Or perhaps control was just an illusion to begin with.

[Beer Moth]

It's a bit of both.

Wobbling on the edge of grip like Villeneuve Sr in the rain.

And always the sense of "what the hell's gonna happen next?".

[Orsanct]

Indeed! Apollo and Dionysius engaged in mortal combat — but neither ever achieving a long-term advantage. This is, to me, is the magnificent knife's edge of creativity!

[camillo jr]

A great performer always has things under control. Total control.

I may be missing it, but I felt the point was more about sounding great even when you've lost control. Or perhaps control was just an illusion to begin with.

 

I did a gig last summer where I had this flu that had been going on for weeks. I was wobbly and moving veeerrrrry slooowly. I decided before the gig that I would have absolutely no expectations of my playing, that it didn't matter what came out of me.

 

The gig was amazing. I played stuff I'd never played before and with more finesse and ease than I usually played. I mean a lot better. There was so much flow, it was kind of like just watching my fingers do their thing. This was a huge lesson for me in getting out of my own way. It's changed the way I practice too. I've had a bit of a habit of pushing myself in rehearsal, now I just concentrate on landing on the keys in the most solid and effortless way.