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| SELF-PROFILE ON WAKAN (IMPROVISATIONAL GUITARIST) (continued) To be honest I still don't completely understand how I'm doing this, although I've reverse- engineered it substantially. There are a few original playing techniques that help the process, but they're not the heart of the matter. What I do know is that this unusual skill appeared seemingly from out of nowhere a few years ago, and I made many conscious decisions to trust in the direction it was leading me. Put in perspective with my previous experience and study as a composer/improviser/instrumentalist, it seems like an almost logical progression (almost). The specific understanding that evades me still (that I mentioned the other night) is how, on certain occasions, I seem to be able to put my fingers in exactly the right places without really consciously thinking about it. What's important here to understand is that when I'm doing this, my brain is often on overload, so when all of the sudden I'm able to do it at an even higher level without even breaking a sweat - it just freaks me out. I've performed between 7-800 of these live improvisations for people over the past few years, and out of these, maybe 20 actually frightened me as I was performing them. I remember one in particular that I did at the old La Luna that scared me so bad I was physically shaking when I got off the stage. I also remember feeling convinced that someone else in a dark trenchcoat at the back of the room had actually been playing my guitar through me from that vantage point. This is very unlike me. I consider myself to be a fairly self-aware person, and don't do drugs or even drink, but this was definitely a deeply altered state. The piece itself was one of the best things I ever played in my life. What all this boils down to is that I've inadvertently become subconsciously competent at improvising this way. Realistically speaking I don't have any illusions concerning whether or not other guitarists could do this. After all, the ability to pull this off, unusual as it may be, is just a skill that can be learned like any other. In fact, I know from experience that it's much easier to do something the second time round, unless of course the first time was a fluke. But that isn't the case here. Anyway, the important issues aren't the technical aspects of it, but what the music itself is saying. Another nice thing about this approach is that if 10 accomplished guitarists were to begin exploring it tomorrow, all of them would have something unique to offer. This serves to re-inforce my belief that 'telling your story, using your own voice' is really what it's always been about. It's also the highest degree of musicianship that I know of, and what the world is truly asking of us, through whichever means necessary. |
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