As I prepare music for the group's upcoming tour, I am facing an idea that I've been thinking about for a while: solo guitar. I don't have very much experience playing solo guitar and to be honest, the thought of it makes me kind of anxious and concerned, "what do a play?" "will it sound complete enough?" or "will it sound cluttered?". But in my heart I know it's the direction for me to focus on right now, even if I'm also focusing on the group. To be honest, I've always had a kind of funny thought process about being a solo instrumentalist, fearing that if I did too much, it would impede my group playing skills. And in some cases, there are solo players who don't quite sound comfortable in a group scenario. But I'm starting to realize that it's not mutually exclusive. You can do both, and you SHOULD both!
Chris Thile is a wonderful example of a great solo performer as well as a masterful group player. Gary Burton too....well all the masters do both.
I saw Roy Haynes last week in New York play the most ridiculous solo piece in the middle of the set and it gave me such a new appreciation for his group playing. Because I could see how much he owned his musicality.....If he was playing by himeslf, cool. If there were other people playing too, cool. Maybe in reality there is no such thing as solo....It's always you playing in relation to your environment. And sometimes that includes other players, and sometimes it's just you, your instrument, and your surroundings....
Cool stuff to think about.
there is no solo playing... unless you're in a room alone... if there are people in the room listening to you, they're just as involved as you.... I'm starting to think of music as nature's Wi-Fi.... if there is a musician playing within ear shot, we all have the ability to connect into what they're doing... or not... those that are connected are with you for every note, good or bad.... Jul5, don't worry... people will connect to the sounds you're broadcasting..
ReplyDeleteThe first time I heard you play Julian, you were at Tommy's training playing solo guitar and Yuriko was putting hands on you ala the Alexander Technique. So, playing solo? I love what the previous comment says - there is no solo playing. We are all connected by vibration. There is always a stimulus to play off of, to respond too. There is space between the strings. You can play off that space as well as your ideas eh? much love...
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