Re: Practice, rehearse, perform

[Douglas Baldwin <coyotelk@optonline.net>]

Per wrote:

> You might also try:
>
> "Practice / practice even harder / forget it all / get up there and
> play"  ;-)

Well said! I like "up there" as an all-encompassing phrase. Although it
immediately brings forth the image of a stage, it could be a state of 
being:
I am no longer down here, I am up there.

Nemoguitt wrote:
>i yearn to play with other musicians but it never happens.....

What I find fascinating about the transition from practice to rehersal is
that, in rehersal, I am outside myself. I become my own critical listener. 
I
am playing what I've practiced, but with an objective ear examining whether
I am getting "up there." I practice for myself, but I rehearse for my other
self as I would for another musician. I am still not playing "for the
world," as a performance would be.

>99.9% i play by myself with my boxes, sometimes to an audience.....playing
(looping) whatever it is that i do is turning more and more into a crap
shoot, i roll dem bones and step on record and i'm off.....so i dont know 
if
there is a difference between: practice, rehearse, perform.....to me its 
all
kismet/zietgiest.....

But I doubt if you would choose to "practice" when you are ostensibly
performing for an audience: "hmmm. Maybe I should see if I can introduce
exactly one new note every minute for my entire set. Maybe I should rewire
my looper thingie so it comes before my atomic effects atomizer thingie,
then route it back into the looper thingie with just a touch of feedback.
Maybe I should play this new microtonal bass, even though I've never even
held it before." Nomsane?

And David wrote:
>There are three other modes used to bring music into this world: we also,
beg, borrow and steal!
And, do I detect some borrowing here... :-)

Yes, when I was playing with The Wes Houston Band, circa 1979-80, one
musician was relentlessly practicing his part as the others sat about. It
was supposed to be a rehersal. Wes announced with excellent authority: 
"Hey!
Practice at home! This is a rehersal! We've got a gig tonight!" I've used 
it
ever since to sort out what was/is attempting to be accomplished.

>You are of course correct in what you say, however.

Thank you!

And Greg House wrote:

>While it's nice if your playing is effortless, but along the lines of the
other
thread I was just writing on, it can make for a more interesting 
performance
if
your looping appears LESS effortless.

And, wiseass that I am, I have an aphorism about appearance. "Music is the
performance of sound; theater is the performance of appearance." Many
musicians add theater to their performances. Some even do so intentionally!
 ciao for now
Douglas Baldwin, coyote-at-large
coyotelk@optonline.net