Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Posts: 279
Location: Ampang
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I used to jam with my band, playing our own song.
When it's time to play guitar solo, usually I'll just "improvise".
Almost all of the time my solo is shit, to say the least; it's too stiff, too rigid and too "made-up".
It pretty much sums up my story as a musician.
Then one night there was just 3 of us: the vocalist, the drummer, and me the guitarist
We decided to jam anyway.
No song list, no chorus fix, no song to rearrange, no nothing.
The vocalist didn't sing that night, he played rhythm.
We started to jam without any goal, just play.
We play chord progression from our own songs.
Since there are no vocal the songs feel empty, we started to play around.
Free to play exactly what we feel like playing.
It seems that with no pressure to hold on to a rigid structure, release our inner musical sense.
Everything is spontaneous. It was heavenly.
It's the feeling when time stops and you just enjoy the ride.
Then it was time for guitar solo.
I don't think of any scale pattern on the fret board, or trying to structure my solo.
I don't have any idea what the key was.
I just feel the wonderful music that my band play immersed into me.
The joy of that moment opens up a gate of this wonderful feeling.
I sing the solo from the top oh my lung, while my hands play exactly what I sing.
It's not an exaggeration when I say that I nearly cried.
When I heard "me" being played on the guitar, it's almost untrue.
My inner voice being played on the guitar and amplified through out the room is such an overwhelming experience.
The voice was there all along but being blocked by something.
The consciousness of the moment melts all that away, there was no more resistance.
It was liberating.
All three of us felt it that night. It's so obvious from the faces, the playing, the feeling, the music.
What was supposed to be a 4-minute song being extended up to 20 minutes.
We just don't want to stop.
It was the best jamming session ever.
For the first time the word "Jamming" holds a true meaning for us; where musician comes together and let their inner music flow.
Playing other people's song is pale by comparison; so does playing a pre-planned song.
Jazz music started to make sense. No wonder those people are so into themselves.
We did try to recreate the moment, to rediscover the magic; but to no avail.
It seems that the more you try, the more it evades you.
The agony of experiencing such joy and not being able to replicate it makes playing music a frustrating process.
Once you taste it, playing "normally" doesn't feel good anymore; for that feeling is not something that you can forget.
And because I've tasted it, my faith is deeply imprinted.
I will keep on playing, keep on searching. |
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