Beyond Labels

It's our job as story tellers to express what is happening in the music we play. I don't mean this in an analytical sort of way - i.e. "this is the major 7th chord", or "this is a polyrhythm". All theoretical knowledge is empowering, but at some point we really want to look past the labels and feel the music purely - without any definitions.

It's very easy for the mind to be attracted to labels. I remember being in school, delighted that I could label all the advanced harmonies that were presented to me. I was lucky to have teachers and friends who were fluent at music theory. It's extremely valuable to understand theory, but sometimes theory can become more important than listening. It can become a way of knowing music without really listening to it - like a scientist who studies an animal and knows everything about that particular species, but never takes the time to know each one uniquely.

Lately I've been playing through some very old pieces - I've played some of them for as long as I can remember. When I play them, I practice listening - to the sound of the guitar, the voices as they interact, the variety of intervals, the attacks, the silences, etc. Just listening carefully and discovering - looking it over like a fine jewel. The labels still pop up in my mind, but I'm not so interested in them.

It's very helpful to start your practice this way - just play a basic piece and listen to it from as many angles as you can. Listen to each voice, feel the rhythms fully, try different moods, listen to how the voices interact. Become very interested in all the sounds and silences which create the piece. You will see how much depth can be found in even the simplest forms of music. This awareness will carry over into everything you play or listen to.

listening

Try to remove yourself from mind-based listening for a few minutes each day. Start to notice when when you are analyzing sounds, but not listening to them. Listening is not analyzing, it is being with a sound fully without the distraction of the mind.

One of the problems we have when hearing a guitarist is that we analyze the performance mentally - the tone, speed, phrasing, technique, etc. There is a lot for the mind to chew on. This has it's place and is important, but even more important is the art of listening without the mind being active.

Walk in the place you live and listen without any judgements. Hear every sound clearly, but without analysis. Be full of the sounds you hear - as if they are coming from inside of you. The world is rich in sound color. Now listen to the spaces between each sound. Listen to how empty the spaces are. Notice how the space feels. Now listen to both sound and silence. If the mind interferes, listen to that as well, and then go back.