I feel exactly like what tater expresses but I really deserve it, and am doing something about it. Maybe thats just the way of it, cycles of pursuit followed by lassitude, don't know.. but I hear it, it sounds honest, and I wish I could be starting from where you are instead of where I am. linda
On Jan 20, 2:47 pm, Bill Burnette <[email protected]> wrote: > Far be it from me to argue with a per-fesh-un-al such as yerself, but I > still think when it comes to music, when you think about it too much, you > lose part of the soul. I suspicion that most of us hang around here more for > the inspiration we derive from your music than from your good looks, charm > and personality... ;) > > Bill in Nashville > > On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 7:41 PM, Mark Seale <[email protected]> wrote: > > Tater - > > > I don't know what brought this on, and from the sounds of it, I don't want > > to. Now, I'm not going to tell you not to practice and keep working, > > everybody has to do that. But I will say that what you do inspires a bunch > > of us to play music musically. Listening to you and really hearing what you > > do got me out of the "shove as many notes in as possible and play as fast as > > possible mode." Your rhythm and drive and right hand shed a whole new light > > on music for me. And for that, I'm eternally grateful. Sure, when compared > > to a classical, pristine piece what you do sounds raw, but that's what draws > > so many of us to it. > > > Keep doing what you're doing and always strive to do it better tomorrow > > than you did today. > > > Mark > > > On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 7:25 PM, mistertaterbug > > <[email protected]>wrote: > > >> Okay, I've decided to go back to the drawing board. It's been looming > >> on the horizon for some time, bugging me, nagging at me in the back of > >> my mind, one of those things that I know needs doing. So here goes... > > >> While it's true that I've taken some flack of late from uneducated > >> n'er-do-wells with snappy comments regarding the "slop" I play and how > >> I'm apparently luckier than Kenny G in my musical success based upon > >> my apparent lack of ability to be an actual musician, this is not the > >> basis for my conclusion that things need to change. There's a lot of > >> things that need changing around here really, and the musical aspect > >> is only one of the pieces of the puzzle. I'm getting fed up with > >> feeling like the weak link in so many chains, not all of them musical. > >> Call it a delayed New Year's Resolution list, if you will. > > >> As middle age comes and settles in more firmly I find myself wanting > >> to play better, to understand more, to feel a connection with what I'm > >> doing that's not been there in quite some time. Yes, I've been winging > >> it. But then I suppose I've not fooled everybody judging by the latest > >> flurry of comments and my own personal feelings of musical unrest. I > >> need a feeling of belonging to what I'm doing, I need to feel I'm > >> doing it well, that it's a part of me. So far, no cigar. > > >> I sat here today and played "Black Joke w/Variations" as I do every > >> couple days(or so...there's part of the problem right there; lack of > >> consistency and regularity) and made a greater effort to play the > >> notes cleanly and with character. Egad. You'd think I never saw this > >> exercise before. I used to play at it every day, every morning first > >> thing, out on the porch with the mando and the 'dola to do my ritual, > >> my mando-meditation. But now I'm playing it and paying attention to > >> detail in a different way. I am reworking my right hand some due to > >> feeling some wear and tear over the last 38 years and it's hard, REAL > >> hard. I'm working on making it work smoothly and relaxed, but feeling > >> strong and sure. I'm watching my pick angle. I'm watching how much > >> motion I use to make the strokes, how I cross over strings to get to > >> the next, listening to the sound of the notes, the evenness of the > >> tremolo(or not, in this case), watching my pick angle, etc. Everything > >> I can think of. And I know that the more I work, the more things will > >> turn up that need attention. > > >> Truth is, I spend a lot of time working, but not efficiently. I waste > >> 30 minutes here, an hour there not focused on anything. Now I don't > >> mean to say that putting one's brain out of gear now and again is not > >> a good idea, but being on auto-pilot all the time, not filtering what > >> goes in and comes out, is not really a good idea. So, the tune books > >> are out, the paper is out, the iTunes list is open, lyrics are at easy > >> reach. I'm not sure I even know how to accomplish what I want to get > >> done. If I sit and ponder it too hard the task will just seem like too > >> much of a mountain to climb. Maybe in pieces small enough to chew is > >> the way to go, but I feel like now I have to chew all the time to get > >> ahead and see real success, real progress. Real progress will instill > >> passion for success. > > >> I find I've got a lot more things I want to get done, and feeling I'm > >> playing at the level I think I should be is high on the list. I have > >> raised my standards for myself. I have quite a collection of material > >> I want to learn and explore. The list grows and I just sit and watch > >> it without whittling any of it away. I know myself well enough to know > >> that this will all nag me in the back of my mind until I do something > >> about it. Here I go... > > >> mistertaterbug > > >> -- > >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > >> "Taterbugmando" group. > >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > >> [email protected]<taterbugmando%[email protected]> > >> . > >> For more options, visit this group at > >>http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en. > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "Taterbugmando" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected]<taterbugmando%[email protected]> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en.
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