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The
Principles of Practice
Based on "The Principles of Correct
Practice for Guitar"
by Jamie Andreas
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| IN
THIS ISSUE |
October
1, 2000 Volume 13
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Stage Fright Part Three
It's a Concert, Not a Contest
So far we have talked about what Stage Fright is, and what it isn't.
We have looked at how it is done, and why it is done. We have seen
that it is not something that happens to you, it is something you
actually do. We have seen that it is just another form of People
Fright, although a highly potent form.
Well, if Stage Fright is something we DO, I think we can all agree
we would rather NOT do it. But how do we not do it? The answer may
surprise you.
There is no way to not do it. Or more correctly, there is no way
for "you" to not do it. There is no way for the "you"
who does it to not do it.
There is, however, a way to go THROUGH it. There is a way to give
birth to a new "you" who does something else instead.
The answer to our problem is to discover what it is we SHOULD be
doing when we play music for other people, and then do THAT. And
what we will find when we DO that, is that the Stage Fright thing
STOPS.
In order to find out what it is we should be doing when we play
music for other people, instead of doing Stage Fright, we need to
look at a couple of things first. We need to consider a couple of
questions.
One, what is music? Two, why does anyone want music in their life?
Three, what are we really doing (or trying to do) when we listen
to music, or play music for ourselves or for other people?
What is Music?
There are 3 kinds of people. First, the people that have no feeling
for music at all, and whose lives would not be affected if there
were no such thing as music in the world. I believe these kinds
of people are very rare, and that they are similar to the kind of
people who don't like dogs or little children, and the ones I have
met always gave me the shivers. Personally, I don't think I have
met many at all, in fact, only one or two, so I have to account
for them here. I'm sure there must be more, I have just been lucky
so far.
Second, there are the people to whom music makes a pleasant background
to their daily activities. It's nice to have around, like a basket
of plastic fruit on the kitchen table. I do know a number of people
like this, but I try not to spend much time with them.
Thirdly, there are the people who recognize what music REALLY is.
They recognize that music is the most potent form of MAGIC a human
being is capable of making. They recognize that music not only expresses
emotion, music is a tangible form OF emotion. Music IS emotion,
it IS energy in motion, human energy, human FEELING emotional energy.
That is why this third type of person not only likes music, not
only loves music, they NEED music. Thankfully, I know lots of these
people. You will find this type of person as what we call a professional
musician, or as an amateur, it makes no difference.
There are many among this third group of people who recognize that
music is DIVINE. If you are one of the people who like to use the
word GOD to express your feelings about the ULTIMATE REALITY (as
I do), then you may think of it, like me, as the voice of God. When
I was a teenager, listening one time to Beethoven's 9th symphony,
I was at once converted and baptized. I didn't need any scriptures
to tell me what God was like, whether there was a God, or any of
that nonsense. The "Meaningfulness of Existence" had been
revealed to me through a higher Revelation, one that doesn't need
human words. It was revealed in a different language, the one we
call music, the one that never needs a translator or interpreter,
because it speaks "in tongues", directly to every human
heart. And it had been spoken by one of Music's greatest Prophets,
Ludwig van Beethoven.
There are many musicians throughout history who have recognized
the divine nature of music, and because they recognize it, they
have the proper reverence for it. Beethoven, of course, felt this
way. Antonio Vivaldi, the great Baroque composer of the seventeenth
century, was, in addition to being a great musician, also a priest.
One time he ran off the altar in the middle of saying Mass, because
he had just at that moment received an inspiration for a new piece
of music which he had to immediately write down, lest he forget.
"I was called by a higher authority", he later explained.
In our own time, musicians like Carlos Santana exemplify this highest
type of artist. Santana's relationship to his music has always been
intensely spiritual, and you can certainly hear it in the notes!
There is an intense quality of ennobled human emotion in his playing,
as there is in the music of all such artists. "When I play,
it's no good unless I cry" he has said.
I have always noticed that the greatest musicians came to see that
what they had dedicated their lives to was of a Divine, or Ultimate
origin. In addition to being irresistibly compelled to be music
makers and creators, they knew they were answering a supremely high
calling. It is not without meaning that Franz Liszt's students were
not called students, but disciples. The same with Francisco Tarrega,
(who Segovia called "the patron saint of the classical guitar")
Why Do People Want Music?
Now, human beings have argued endlessly over their confused ideas
of "God", and made hundreds of versions of "God"
each in their own image, and each with a different name which they
know is the "true" one. But the beautiful thing about
the language of music is that there is no confusion. There is no
doubt. It is a direct communication of the Divine to the human heart,
and it speaks to each heart that recognizes it. And it speaks in
the native language of every heart it touches. When we are moved
by the music we love, transported and taken to that place which
is above this world, we don't need someone to explain it to us,
or tell us whether it's "true" or not. We know.
And if you are a music lover, it doesn't matter whether you have
ever thought about it in this way or not, whether you have ever
used the words I am using. The Reality we are talking about is beyond
words, by definition! That's the whole point! That's why we need
music to touch it! Music puts us in touch with our INTUITION, our
"inward knowing" of the Spiritual Reality that stands
behind this physical one we normally touch.
A thirteen year old listening to their favorite rock band or rap
artist, the 30 year old listening to their favorite pop artist or
folkie type singer/songwriter, the person sitting down to meditate
upon the mysteries of a Bach fugue or late Beethoven string quartet,
all are feeding upon this most necessary food of the human spirit,
and are drawn to it as naturally as a baby to it's mothers milk.
Now, here is the whole point.
What I am essentially saying is that music is a basic human need,
it is not a luxury. If we do not feed upon this spiritual food,
we will pay a price, we will suffer. If you have put yourself in
the position of being one who MAKES this magic called music, if
you have decided to become one who speaks this potent, universal,
wordless language, than you have just joined a special community.
What Should We Be Doing When We Play Music?
If you have decided to be the provider of this spiritual food for
others, then you have taken on a very special job, a very special
function. And you must have the proper relationship to it, as those
you are providing it for must also.
A priest, minister, or rabbi, is also one who serves the function
of providing, or leading people to, spiritual food. He or she leads
the congregation to commune with a higher, spiritual reality. I
assume that such a spiritual figure, when they are conducting services,
are wholly focused on what they are doing. I assume they are not
up there thinking "gee, how am I doing? Hope the congregation
is liking this! Likewise, I assume the congregation is focused on
the reason they are there, to participate in a mutual "spiritual"
experience, which the leader is providing. I assume they are not
sitting there waiting for the guy to trip up a couple of words!
I assume that if the leader misses or mumbles a few words here and
there it is not going to make the participants lose their entire
focus, and miss the spirit of the experience.
Many performers create terrible strictures for themselves by being
so afraid of missing a few notes here and there. They play as if
their primary focus was to not miss a note, instead of playing with
feeling and expression. That would be like giving a speech, and
focusing more on your articulation than on the meaning of what you
had to say. Of course, it is not like the technical aspects are
not important, but they are of SECONDARY importance. Music began
because something needed to be expressed that couldn't be expressed
in words. Technique is the servant of expression, and should never
be the master. Anyway, technical matters will take care of themselves
when we know how to practice correctly.
Being "In Concert": Your Responsibility
The dictionary defines "concert" as "agreement in
action, feeling, or purpose". It is a union, a meeting of mind,
emotion and spirit. And the meeting takes place in a world of higher
vibrations. If I am giving a concert, I am supposed to have MADE
that agreement, to meet YOU there, the audience member, in the sound.
That is my commitment, and I am supposed to be living up to it,
not be thinking about myself, and whether I am looking good or not,
and whether you like me or not! It's a concert, not a contest!
And you are supposed to be living up to the agreement also, you
are supposed to be "in concert" with me, meeting me in
the sound, and not thinking about something else,
As I said in the beginning of this three-part essay, when a guitar
player plays for another person, they are not only sharing the music,
they are sharing their relationship to the guitar as well. If your
relationship to the guitar, your relationship to your role as a
guitarist and musician, is a mediocre one, a lukewarm one, you will
not have much to share. First of all, it is your responsibility
to make your relationship to music and the guitar (as your chosen
instrument) a passionate one, an emotional one, because that is
what we are dealing with here, that is why we bother to be musicians,
because it is an inherently EMOTIONAL affair.
Don't Fight Fear, Ignore Fear
Many people make a big mistake by trying to "fight" their
stage fright, or to trick by performing little mental maneuvers,
like imagining the audience naked or in their underwear. Well, I
do believe in doing whatever gets you through the night, but don't
confuse it with getting to the heart of the matter. When Fear, when
Stage Fright arises, it is because deep inside yourself, you are
devoting a large part of your attention on YOURSELF, and not the
music. In fact, here is something very interesting to ponder. It
can be just as detrimental to your performance to be sitting there
performing and be feeling really good about yourself as it is to
be feeling bad about yourself. Most of us performers have experienced
playing really well, and then sitting there patting ourselves on
the back (in our heads), when we should be busy playing. Guess what
happens? Bam, there goes that passage! Either it gets messed up,
or just suffers from a lack of feeling or involvement, because we
were to busy thinking about ourselves, this time in a "positive"
sense.
There must be no "self" when you play. There must be only
the music.
When we do make that inner error of putting self before music, whether
"positive" or "negative", the thing to do is
to become aware of what you are doing. Take hold of your attention,
and place it on the music, and feel your passion for it (which is
what you are supposed to be doing, it's what the people came for).
Fear (which is the result of your inner error) is like an unwelcome
visitor who just popped in to see how miserable they can make your
life. He stands there and starts saying nasty things to you to see
if he can get your goat. Like any bully, if he sees he starts to
get a reaction from you, he gets more power, he gets bolder. Pretty
soon, he'll have you on your knees. However, if he sees you are
ignoring him and playing your guitar instead, he gets all deflated.
It's no fun, he hangs around a little bit, gets bored, and leaves.
The way THROUGH stage fright is to stay centered in that passion,
to be with it, to lose the sense of DOING the music, and stay with
the sense of BEING the music. This is the responsibility of the
performer, just as it is the responsibility of the audience member.
When this is done, there is no stage fright, because there is no
one there to be afraid. When Attention is where it should be, on
the music, instead of on the self, you cannot be "self-conscious",
you can only be "music conscious". Then, the magic can
really take place.
To Be With, or Not to Be With
As in all relationships in life, it comes down to this: to be with,
or not to be with. Love, is to be with. Fear, the opposite of Love,
is to refuse to be with. When it comes to this matter of playing
our instrument for others, Stage Fright is what happens when we
refuse to be with. Stage Fright is what happens when we refuse to
be with the music, the audience, and ourselves.
A Guitar Students Lament!
Of course, the whole point of my work is that the learning materials
currently available are INCOMPLETE. They show you what to play,
but do not show you how to get to be able to play it. You are left
on your own. Some learn, and many don't. And most learn with handicaps
that will appear later.
I received this very poignant letter from someone recently. It proves
once again what I came to realize about the sorry state of guitar
teaching, and the desperation so many people feel about satisfying
their need, often a lifelong need, for acquiring the ability to
play the guitar. This letter is from a man named Bill. I get many,
letters like this, but Bill has really put some passion into this,
and summed the situation up:
Hi Jamie:
I got your book. It is great. In return please read this as it is
important to me. I have been around a long time. I have been trying
to learn guitar for 40 years. Following are my observations of the
guitar music world:
1. I love the guitar. It is a hobby.
2. Guitars go up a hundred dollars or more the instant the salesman
determines I am not a very good player.
3. I have taken lessons from several teachers. They all want to
start me over at a level they are comfortable with. So I never advance
very much.
4. Guitar players laugh as those of us who don't play in public
and call us "bedroom players" some call us "bedroom
bullies"
5. I have a room full of videos and books.
6. There are no places to play in public.
7. Playing in public is not a goal. Playing on the Grand Ol Opry
has never been a dream.
8. I would like to get better than I am and find some better way
to enjoy the guitar.
9. People such as I need a method designed for us.
10. Generally, older players have more time and money to spend.
They should be cultivated and not taken advantage of.
I never could understand why the industry cannot see this.
What do I want???.
All I want is for someone to show me how to play. All I want from
a teacher or book or video is to show me how to play. And most of
all please do not take advantage of us or make fun of us.
WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE WRITE A METHOD SPECIFICALLY FOR THE BEDROOM
PLAYERS??
Music is enjoyable and fulfills a need all have.
Thank you
bill henderson
I was very touched by this urgent appeal, and wrote back to Bill:
Hi Bill,
Thanks for your thoughts. You are the kind of person I wrote the
book for, and I certainly will do all I can to help you learn to
play. Start doing the exercises in my book, look at the pictures
carefully, and keep in touch and let me know how it is going. I
am trying to make my website an effective resource for people in
your situation, who have, as you wrote so poignantly, been overlooked
by the entire so called guitar teaching industry.
So I would take it as a personal accomplishment if my book is your "entrance" to being able to play. Let me know how it goes.
Also, make sure you fill out the form for my Teaching Tours on my
site, maybe I'll end up in your area.
Bill's observations made me think of the exchange between the teacher
named, curiously enough, Bill, that I had posted on my site, and
my reaction to him as I sensed the elitism that this Bill has alluded
to. In fact, someone recently wrote to me concerning that exchange,
and said:
"I liked some of the things that you said in your
discussion with Bill. I think you are right in telling him that
one should never start with the idea that what a student can achieve
is limited and that therefore their sights should be set below the
level where they could express themselves with an instrument. Bill
is basically appealing to you as a fellow professional to admit
your scorn for the amateurs you teach. To do this seems to reduce
music to something that can only be produced by a select, talented
few."
This is exactly the point. I believe many players, many teachers,
have this unspoken attitude. They don't even know they have it, yet
it pervades their "teaching", and leaves a world full of
people like the first Bill, wondering why the years go by and nobody
can show them how to play the guitar! And they have SPENT their money,
they HAVE all the books and videos.
Well, little by little, I hope to change this situation.
All
material copyright © 2003 by Jamie Andreas, GuitarPrinciples.com |
