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Playing Music for Its Own Sake

#21
I love listening to music, I love playing an instrument, I love playing in a band, I love having an appreciative and paying audience, I love that through music I had opportunities to meet and play with people and travel to places I would not have otherwise have had the chance to. I also had an interest in sound and stage production and working for a big touring company, SHOWCO, put me in the right place more than once. Luckily I also had a commercial driving license as many opportunities came through driving the bus or equipment truck.

Music is still my drug of choice whether playing the "same old blues' or discovering something new it keeps me running.
 
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#24
lowplaces said:
I host an open mic on Wednesdays at a friend of mine's neighborhood bar.

I received no compensation but a couple of beers, and I had to purchase a small PA.

It's worth it to me just to get to play out.

I've been trying for 2 years now to get a Americana Originals project going but I can't find people willing to commit to a minimum of three rehearsals/sessions a week yet.

So in the meantime, hosting the open mic at least gets me out of the living room lol
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Getting together once a week to play music you love with people you like is fun. Three times a week is a job.
 
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#26
One of the tensions of having a hobby is that you have to care enough for it to be meaningful. So just having a generally apathetic attitude won't be very rewarding. But also recognizing that the vast majority of us will never have a Grammy on our mantles. For me caring enough to do it well is the only reward I need. I also don't let audiences or any other external force define my success. I know what I want to accomplish and I know when I manage to pull it off.
 
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#27
Nashrakh said:
Playing for the pleasure of the listener is not something I associate with mediocrity. Being a hack is, cutting corners, not practicing on your own time. I believe as long as you give a damn you're past mediocrity.
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I get what you're saying, but perhaps the article is using the dictionary definition of mediocre (average) as opposed to the way people commonly use it (terrible).

Edit: well, "average" or "not very good." But definitely not "terrible."
 
#28
ToneMonkey said:
having a generally apathetic attitude won't be very rewarding
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Oops!
Apathy & Misanthropy are what keep me from joining a band.
If I had a set-list to practice I might be less apathetic, but so far I'm fine playing what I want to, instead of what the band's members decide.

Last weekend I went to see a local band & 10 songs deep I was thinking "They've only played TWO songs I would be interested in playing!".
It's not specific to this band either, all the dance covers bands play stuff like that.

I learned another Motörhead riff the following day & felt much better!
I'm getting to a place where I can entertain myself by playing various riffs & improvising, which was my goal all along. I never wanted to join a band.
 
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#30
I played out for years, and quit about 8 years ago, as I can no longer control the homicidal rage that would boil over IF I had to go back in a club and stare down drunks for five hours at a time. Done. Finis. Never Again.

But, I'm 63 and began piano lessons when I was 7 years old, and have continuously played something every day of my life since. I play for me at the house, and I'm good. But then, that all I ever did, really . . . . . was play for me, it does good things to my mental health and well-being. It's cheaper than golf or a bass boat, and I never get rained out. Like one of the previous callers said, I'll quit when I'm dead. There's nothing, and I mean nothing out there that can duplicate the buzz I feel when I play well, THAT's the drug for me.

Mediocrity covers a lot of ground . . . . . I always said I was better than most, not as good as some. And all those people in the crowd, well, if THEY were any good, they'd be up here instead of me, so let's roll. I believe obsession is far more worrying than being mediocre. I almost slept with the damn thing for part of my life, and I've got the lines in my face to show for it. So mediocre is just fine for around the house.
 
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#31
The only thing that really ever got in the way of my playing and overall enjoyment of playing was other people. Once I gave up on trying to be in a band I began to enjoy the instrument so much more. My iphone and laptop never forget how the song goes.

Still enjoy playing bass on my own and it remains my only true escape from life and the world.
 
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#32
LowDownHawkeye said:
I get what you're saying, but perhaps the article is using the dictionary definition of mediocre (average) as opposed to the way people commonly use it (terrible).

Edit: well, "average" or "not very good." But definitely not "terrible."
Click to expand...
I do mean "average", actually. If you're passionate about music, I believe you already have what it takes to rise above "average" - a word that doesn't really mean much to me. What is average anyway? It's like driving a car, everyone you ask would tell you that they're an above average driver - but what does that leave us with? Wouldn't they actually be the statistical average? Does that mean these "above average" drivers think others suck, but statistics would show that aren't any better or worse than others?

I think that's my main problem. Average is such a non-descriptive word. By definition, most of us would be included in that, like in a bell curve. So what does it mean?

But... what if "average" in the music world actually does mean "terrible"? :eek: From all the TB stories, that would seem to be the case. :laugh:
 
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#33
A friend of mine, sadly no longer with us, used to say that as soon as a piece of technology becomes ubuquitous, it transforms the world, but not before. For instance, we had the telephone for decades, but the world wasn't transformed until there was one in every home, and so on.

I think that the same applies to almost everything, music included. To have wonderful professional musicians is a great thing, but one of the reasons we got them in the first place is that it's been widely considered a good thing for children to learn how to play an instrument, either having piano or guitar lessons, playing in a school band etc. Some of these children grow up to be professional musicians, and those that don't are still often active in musical pursuits in their local communities, inspiring others to take up an instrument, giving lessons, and generally keeping the musical community going. The best musicians are standing at the top of a very large pyramid of other professional musicians, amateur musicians, kids in bands, music teachers, and other members of the musical community.

Excellence is, and always has been, a collective pursuit, and if the base diminshes, we get fewer musicians overall, and fewer excellent musicians as well. Like Isaac Newton said: "If I have seen further, it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants."
 
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#34
There's nothing wrong with playing to whatever standard and NOT performing... I play in one band which gets together purely for fun and will probably never gig. In fact all the players - two of whom are well into retirement age - are all of a good standard. But it's playing just for the love of playing.

I also play in a couple of other bands, but those are occasional gig bands doing original material.
 
#35
I indulge and implement my creative tendencies in whatever way shape or form that suits me. I don't look to how others do it for any kind of validation or reassurance. It's got nothing to do with anybody but me. You don't need to be validated by other's methods. Do what you do and do it with pleasure. It's nobody's business but yours.
 
#37
Epitaph04 said:
The only thing that really ever got in the way of my playing and overall enjoyment of playing was other people. Once I gave up on trying to be in a band I began to enjoy the instrument so much more. My iphone and laptop never forget how the song goes.

Still enjoy playing bass on my own and it remains my only true escape from life and the world.
Click to expand...
I don't get that you'd be satisfied playing to a machine that never did anything spontaneous or surprised you with a great run or lick. I never set out just to play bass - I always wanted to play music - the instrument was just a means to do that and it has always been more exciting to play with other people. Sure, I practice with machines but they don't give me the thrill that a bunch of other players kicking your butt can do.
Of course it's not always peachy playing in a band - I sometimes get grouchy with my wife for some reason or another too but I love her to death and always will. Any kind of relationship will always throw challenges at you. Bands can do that but the rewards are a level of excitement my iPad just can't seem to come up with no matter how hard it tries. Your iphone never forgets the song but it never gets excited either.
I should also add that singing harmonies live with other people is the biggest buzz of all. It lifts your spirit in a way no machine could ever do because it's living energy manifest and the feeling is unbeatable. That also goes for live horns. No recording ever sounds as riveting as horns do live. A good brass section live can make your hair stand up.
 
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#40
The eternal question: is it the Process or the Product that's more important? After seeing the Product mutate from petroleum based objects called albums to digital downloads completely dependent on the vulnerable electric grid, live venues everyone had to go to, to virtual in home experiences, and bands and projects come and go proving that the only constant is Change, ...it's beginning to look like the Process wins. And by that I mean the creative process, or (AKA) the Flow. As in, when one is in the flow and the song writes itself, the band plays as if it knows what it is doing etc. If you experience this in your profession no matter what it is, you will probably achieve quite allot. Knowing how to get into the flow might be the only thing we do get to take with us.

One thing I've found to be certain, you can become discouraged when bands break up and creativity is on hold, but if what you value is the experience, you'll pick it up again and keep going because it's become what you do.
 
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