What Am I Trying To Do?

I don’t know how to be happy, I know how to be right.

The above phrase is an oversimplification, but it came to me while thinking about some general things in my life. I quickly realized how it applies to music for myself and many others as well.

I’ve been reading Kenny Werner’s excellent book Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within, and he touches on this subject as well. Most of us spend time trying to play the right notes, afraid we are going to play the wrong ones. So what if we do? We get in these two ton metal machines all the time and drive them around without thinking about it, yet we’re afraid to play a wrong note? Which activity truly has more risk?

I don’t deny that there are some musical situations where perfection is demanded. But that is up to the person in charge. Yet, that is what most people think all musical situations are like.

Think about how many people took piano lessons as a kid, but gave up on it, yet wish they could play now that they’re older. On top of that, they think they still can’t learn to play. What happened was, a well-meaning but misguided piano teacher sucked all the fun out of playing the instrument. Instead of being about having fun and possibly even creating, it became about being right, playing properly, and all sorts of other things that were not fun and creative. I’m not saying those things shouldn’t be learned, but there is a time and place for those and they should still fit in the context of the overriding goal, making music and having fun doing it.

I recently lost the having fun part of music. I’ve been trying to get it back. My conscious mind has a pretty clear idea of what the problem is, what is holding me back, what is blocking the fun. Unfortunately, those problems are currently at a level in my mind where it takes some determined effort to rid myself of them. I have to convince myself that there is no real risk, to not worry about trying to get everything right, to have fun, and as Kenny Werner says, that “there are no wrong notes” (I am primarily playing blues and jazz, after all).

“You speak treason, my lord.”

“Fluently.”

Posted 2011 06 03 at 8:48 PM

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