grooving and unconsciousness

[dougjwray]

On Sunday morning, while driving home from a gig in the early hours for the second night in a row, my caffeinated brain had an interesting insight (interesting to me, anyway).

I'm a baseball fan. Do you know how pitchers fail when they "aim" the ball? It's the same thing with swinging, or grooving. If you focus on where each and every note falls, you miss. If you go "somewhere else", mentally, you ride the music.

This explains Doc Ellis's famous one-hitter pitched while secretly out of his mind on LSD. It also reminds me of when announcers say that a basketball player is "unconscious" when he's hit, say, 12 shots in a row.

How many times have we been in the studio and done our most zoned-in playing after many hours, when we're so mentally burnt out from concentrating that we can barely see straight?

Just thinking...
Oops... must... stop... thinking...

[HeadyVan Halen]

Originally Posted by dougjwray

On Sunday morning, while driving home from a gig in the early hours for the second night in a row, my caffeinated brain had an interesting insight (interesting to me, anyway).

I'm a baseball fan. Do you know how pitchers fail when they "aim" the ball? It's the same thing with swinging, or grooving. If you focus on where each and every note falls, you miss. If you go "somewhere else", mentally, you ride the music.

This explains Doc Ellis's famous one-hitter pitched while secretly out of his mind on LSD. It also reminds me of when announcers say that a basketball player is "unconscious" when he's hit, say, 12 shots in a row.

How many times have we been in the studio and done our most zoned-in playing after many hours, when we're so mentally burnt out from concentrating that we can barely see straight?

Just thinking...
Oops... must... stop... thinking...

Whoa, slow down Tommy Lasorda, I don't think LSD is as effective as God-given talent + Training but....

It's the best for me after I have really worked the song inside out and then I can just 'LISTEN' instead of forcing the music.

It's good when you're thinking 'Sounds' instead of 'Notes'.

[dougjwray]

[quote=HeadyVan Halen;11108360]Whoa, slow down Tommy Lasorda, I don't think LSD is as effective as God-given talent + Training but....

QUOTE]

Yeah, I'm absolutely not saying that Doc Ellis didn't have talent otherwise, and I hate it when people claim that acid made Hendrix who he was, for example.
I'm only saying that the fact that he threw a one-hitter rather than throwing the ball over the screen on every pitch, deserves some attention. When he "confessed", later, he admitted that he could barely focus on where the catcher was.

[dougjwray]

And kids, I'm not advocating drug use!

[dougjwray]

Also, I'm not certainly claiming that you can play better drunk or stoned.
Instead, I'm taking about the weird clarity and relaxation you can achieve when you get your super ego, or self-consciousness, or whatever it is, out of the way.

Speaking of getting out of the way, I'll go now...

[BassBrass]

if anything, LSD is about over-consciousness and over stimulation (see A. Huxley's "Heaven & Hell" or any description of "tripping" that's come out...) That's why the baseball feat is so peculiar. It has little to do with being in The Zone, which as a musician is when the music tells your body what to do and your brain doesn't get in the way.
btw, Recent reports of clinical trials of LSD in a hospice setting show huge success...resolving fears, doubts. and long held inner conflicts. If you are in a hospice you should be allowed.

[dougjwray]

Originally Posted by BassBrass

if anything, LSD is about over-consciousness and over stimulation (see A. Huxley's "Heaven & Hell" or any description of "tripping" that's come out...) That's why the baseball feat is so peculiar. It has little to do with being in The Zone, which as a musician is when the music tells your body what to do and your brain doesn't get in the way.
btw, Recent reports of clinical trials of LSD in a hospice setting show huge success...resolving fears, doubts. and long held inner conflicts. If you are in a hospice you should be allowed.

Fair enough. My Doc Ellis reference was actually just an afterthought. I was really talking more about the Zone, as you describe it. Pat Metheny once said that when he's deep into improvising, he strives to stare at the floor and think about doing his laundry... ANYTHING but playing the guitar and music.

[allexcosta]

You think while practicing so you don't have to think while making art...

Enough said...

[BassBrass]

Originally Posted by dougjwray

Pat Metheny once said that when he's deep into improvising, he strives to stare at the floor and think about doing his laundry... ANYTHING but playing the guitar and music.

So that explains it. I thought it was Lyle Mays' fault, or those infinite mid-western skies. .

[carl h.]

You've got it there. I practice so I don't have to think when I'm on the gig. Having to get out side the zone - thinking - has never been a good thing. That's not to say I don't think when playing, my mind is going way beyond where I'm at on the good nights, but I'm focusing on where I want my bass line to go, not where am I at this second and what am I doing now. The less I have to "think" the better.

When you drive do you think, right foot more gas, right foot off the gas, left foot clutch pedal down, right hand pull shifter out of 4th move it in to .... no you just drive the car. Go to England and see how fluid your driving is, having to think about driving is harder than just driving.

It's also why I am selling off my 4 string electric guitar basses. I find myself having to think about which instrument I am on when I go back and forth which is a distraction from playing. Upright and acoustic have a different enough feel that it isn't an issue, but BGs are too similar and, at this point, I need to stick with 5's til I get past the string count, finger location issue.

[Doc Ellis]

Alas, the reason for my screen name has been revealed... it was also the name of the very first band I was in in the 90's...

[Russell L]

It was 1958. I was eight-years old, sitting at my grandmother's piano late one night. I had been sitting there playing for about three hours, making things up by ear. In front of me, on the shelf where the sheet music usually sits, was a 1958 calendar. It was one of those calendars with photos of great scenery. That particular month was showing the Grand Canyon. I could not help but look at the picture. After so long a time of playing and staring at that picture there came a time when the music began to seem to have a story to it, or, that is, the notes took on some kind of meaning, and then it seemed to blend with the picture. I was in a reverie. I don't know how long it went on like this, but it seemed that as soon as I realized it, it went away. I immediately tried to recreate it, but as long as I was thinking about it and trying, it would not happen. After many attempts, I later discovered that I had to let my mind go, and just "let" it happen.

It is the same thing that happens in transcendental meditation. It is the most wonderful feeling, and it is what has had me hooked on music my whole life.

[WilliamSandoval]

When I practice playing along with songs I have learned, especially Black Dog where timing is most important, I look somewhere else, and think of something else other than what I'm doing, but not on purpose. I don't think about the timing, or what the bass player is supposed to play, I just... make music.


Also, when I'm sleep deprived, there is this feeling I get where I do things I wouldn't think about doing when fully rested. Don't take it like I'm sleep walking or anything, but I just get into music, and just... ya know? It's just different. Like the feeling of great music is amplified to where I'm just out of it, and the music just takes over my body. It's hard to explain. If you ever get a chance to experience it, it is a great feeling.

[FretlessMainly]

Originally Posted by Russell L

I was in a reverie. I don't know how long it went on like this, but it seemed that as soon as I realized it, it went away. I immediately tried to recreate it, but as long as I was thinking about it and trying, it would not happen. After many attempts, I later discovered that I had to let my mind go, and just "let" it happen.

Good stuff. I remember a jazz gig about a dozen years ago; hard bop stuff with a sextet, so it really got cooking. Having a tight band that picks your feet up off the floor is a big help on this kind of thing. Anyway, there was a section in one tune that was just so tight and swinging that I totally forgot where I was, what tune we were playing and the whole thing just happened - it was impossibleto miss a note.

Come time for horns trading 4s (or 8s; don't remember) with the drummer and I suddenly snapped back into reality and then I really couldn't remember what tune it was, or what notes to play. So, I had to start thinking again. There have been plenty of other hot moments, but that was one that I really remember and it highlights the point of this thread. Like a great golf shot; just one and you'll search forever to make it happen again.

[elgecko]

Originally Posted by dougjwray

On Sunday morning, while driving home from a gig in the early hours for the second night in a row, my caffeinated brain had an interesting insight (interesting to me, anyway).

I'm a baseball fan. Do you know how pitchers fail when they "aim" the ball? It's the same thing with swinging, or grooving. If you focus on where each and every note falls, you miss. If you go "somewhere else", mentally, you ride the music.

This explains Doc Ellis's famous one-hitter pitched while secretly out of his mind on LSD. It also reminds me of when announcers say that a basketball player is "unconscious" when he's hit, say, 12 shots in a row.

How many times have we been in the studio and done our most zoned-in playing after many hours, when we're so mentally burnt out from concentrating that we can barely see straight?

Just thinking...
Oops... must... stop... thinking...

Most people call it being "in the zone". It can very much like almost "out-of-body experience". Also, it can happen in nearly any activity that requires concentration: sports. music, chopping onions, etc.

The mind's ability to get "in the zone" is amazing. Unfortunately, nobody is "in the zone" all the time. If researchers could figure out how to turn it off and on and harness its powers, humanity would benefit greatly!

[WilliamSandoval]

The next song I write is going to be called "Grooving and Unconsciousness". Thank you.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by FretlessMainly

Good stuff. I remember a jazz gig about a dozen years ago; hard bop stuff with a sextet, so it really got cooking. Having a tight band that picks your feet up off the floor is a big help on this kind of thing. Anyway, there was a section in one tune that was just so tight and swinging that I totally forgot where I was, what tune we were playing and the whole thing just happened - it was impossibleto miss a note.

Come time for horns trading 4s (or 8s; don't remember) with the drummer and I suddenly snapped back into reality and then I really couldn't remember what tune it was, or what notes to play. So, I had to start thinking again. There have been plenty of other hot moments, but that was one that I really remember and it highlights the point of this thread. Like a great golf shot; just one and you'll search forever to make it happen again.

Speaking of golf, I remember one time teeing off on a par 3 and having something wonderful happen. I forget who said this, but the idea is to "be the target." I felt it on the backswing, that little spot 150 yards ahead where I wanted the ball to land. It was the simplest thing in the world to swing and follow through. I could feel the ball as it went through the air. I swear! And I could feel that spot in the grass where it was gonna land, as if I could reach out and put my finger on it. Sure nuff, the ball landed right there where I wanted it. Just perfect, and I could feel it all the time. No swing thoughts beforehand, nothing. I WAS the target.