John Lennons song is a beautiful one for sure. Imagine if every musician played exactly what their heart told them to. What kind of musicial world would we have? I venture to say one we would not comprehend. Kind of like going back to 1623 and showing people a computer in action. I have been dreaming on this idea most of my life. The first things I see as roadblocks in our current musical set up are:
No way man. How will groups make music when each is doing just what they want?
How can we sell a song that is only played once?
How will the audience know how to react when they have no idea what will come out of the band/performer?
What would happen to music charts - top songs, songbooks, tabs, record labels, radio stations, etc?
How can we book an act not knowing how loud, how long, how queit, what instrument configurations, what style?
How can musicians get up onstage and not have a clue as to what they will be doing and make any sort of music?
These things are as forgien to most musicians, music buiz people and society in general, as the computer to the people of 1635, and is basically the stuff I have been up against for going on 40 years. I belive that all this stuff can easily work if people let go of preconcieved ideas and rules. These preconcieved rules and fears keep music a very rigid form of expression. Much like people talk of parallel universes and such, I belive such a musical dream will someday be a reality. I am pionering this not out of choice, but because it called me as boy. At this point in my life it is directing me write what I am here the same way that songs appear to me. I am a channel for the future on some level and I belive we all are if we let life unfold without fears of failure, shame, acceptance, money. What do you all think? Walter
here is an example of a spontaneous song/video production I did awhile back that is as close as I get to doing music as it done oftentimes today(I overdubbed and then added a video to it). I can forsee a filmaker listening to a live song and then just walking out the door and making a spontaneous movie, and so the chain reaction would continue until millions of people were doing spontaneous artistic acts!
Anyway, I got inspired to do a overdubb song and laid down at the same time, a spontaneous guitar, vocals, and drums with my feet in one take, then overdubbed with one take the harp. When I got done, immediately the memories of living through the 1967 newark, nj riots hit me. Then my heart told me to go to google and search "pictures of newark riots" I added each picture as they appeared on the google page until the song filled up with them. Then I listened back to the song and for me at least, the pictures and words synced up as if I put hours into it. This is basically a window into how I have done music all my life. Just food for thought......
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Wow Walter what a great concept! It seems to me that people prefer structure and definition and very few are capable of obscure concepts. Yet, Some of what you desire is currently present in some jazz styles and of course different genres attract different folks. So in some way the modern music business has that in it. For people to take abstract approach to music would require a massive shift of the big wheel. Do you feel that this is possible? What would the rest of society and world populations look like? Would conventional instruments be used? Might that on itself not cause conflict and perhaps retreat? Would vocals still be the primary instrument? Man so much to think about..... Where are the philosophy majors? Let's hear everyone else chime in on this. ---------- "Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
XHarp: I hear you on your thoughts. I have been at this all my life and have always felt like it is just on the verge of happening as a movement. I have tried to connect with the improv community to no avail. Most are university professors and play very complex music. I send emails to them with links to my music and have yet to get any response.
I am a street kid, that knows nothing of theory, and play simple american roots based music. This fits no box as of today. The blues world is the closet I come to fitting and I am thankful for that but never will call myself a bluesman. The massive shift is a fact on the big wheel. The music executives that have courted me over the years stated up front spontobeat will never work in their world.
Anyway, I enjoy what I do and will most likely do it to the day I die and leave my 1,000's of cds of my music to whoever wants them or if no one wants them I thought a big bonfire with them would be cool at my funeral. I bet that plastic would make some wild flames and colors! Thanks for your thoughts on the subject. Movements always start with one person getting the ball a rollin! I think young people are getting frustrated with todays world much like they did in the 60's. I feel this kind of music movement would be a great anti establishment statement on where todays world is going with a kazillion new technologies a week emerging in every possible field of life. Look at how much technology has entered the world of the simple little harmonica. My recording computer is down for 4-6 weeks and the 3-10 hours a day I spend recording my music hopefully will open up new roads like this one. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
I have met some jazz improv guys over the years and one of my best friends has played with lots of that group. From what he tells me and I have heard is they usually have general ideas before the song starts and albums are recorded. I am talking about total improv. No idea of what you will do going into it. You let your hands, voice, spirit, completley detach from your mind and whatever is in there comes. There is no thoughts of song lenght, making beats different from song to song, etc. There is no right or wrong in this realm.
I was hanging out with friend who a poet. We were at a college coffee house in the 70's and he was going to recite some of his spontaneous poetry. The guy before played guitar and Danny asked if he could borrow it. I asked if he knew how to play and he said no but the spirit was calling him. He went onstage and did some of the most memorble music/poetry I ever have heard. Another was as I walking down the streets of New Brunswick NJ. An old black wino was taking the last pull out his pint bottle. He emptied it, smashed it in the street and went on a singing/yelling rant for a minute. I had no idea what he was saying but it moved me to this day. complicated or simple as comes out of ones soul. Complicated, simple, one note, a million, 20 seconds, 20 minutes, there is no right or wrong when you let your soul run without control. I say this is as forgien a concept to most of the music world as that computer would be to people from the 1600's. ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
So was it the "music" or simply the fact that he was so uninhibited that he simply let his emotion carry him that you remember? Do you recal the melody of that rant or simply the act? I would think that to play uninhibited would take a mind set further out then Tom Waits. I would say that he, like yourself, plays from the moment. Although I am still visualizing this thing you seek. I can't seem to move away from the fact that an underlying structure would reveal itself because people will find such dissonance uncomfortable. Improve is definitely "in the moment" but still requires a path or pattern to be understood and consequently accepted. ---------- "Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
danny's guitar playing sounded like a sitar. He just slid his one finger up and down the neck and picked the string with his other hand. That, the tone of his voice, and the words all came together. Tom waits music is thought out. My childhood friend marc ribot played guitar with him for years. I learned a ton from Danny that night and the wino. In reflection tonight, I realize it confirmed in my soul that such a way to do music is there for the taking. Up till these points I lived with my spontaneous music in pretty much complete isolation. My friends, music buddies, family, could not get with how I do music. It has been very lonely most of my life. This post is very good example. If I was writing about how to wire a mic, or tab a song, how to do a specific solo or cover, there would be lots of posts. Like I have said, for whatever reasons the way I do music is forgien to most. Check out this link. It is me backing up one of my autistic students. She is a savant in the knowledge areas of music, television and film. She writes tons of poetry and comes in my studio every now and then. I lay down a beat on the drums with my feet and guitar and she sings. Then I overdubbed some keys, guitars, harps on a lot of songs. Katherine my longtime drummer from Ca was here yesterday and today. I played her some of Gwens music we did together. She said she liked it but it scared her at the same time. Gwen runs at her speed and I run at mine. Neither of us compromises. That dischord of groove is what most people can't understand but both of us dig playing so who cares! I learn alot from Gwen as well with letting go of myself and letting the music take over. Her songs last less than a minute. That unto itself is a dischord for most. We are so conditioned into what is proper that most will with a knee jerk reaction, write off stuff that doesn't fit the accepted boxes. I do a few gigs a year backing her at disabled artist art shows. The people that come to these things are fascinated with disabled art and dig the heck out of her. She sells a couple hundred dollars of her cds at each show and people just stand there mesmorized. Here is a picture of one of gigs. I try to just be me and not let her influence my playing. That is the joy of it all. She plays the guitar live and like Danny has no idea of how to "play" it but I dig the sounds that come out. Thanks for the thoughts XHarp! Walter
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
I want to commend you on the work you do and the effort you put forth. I think you are a unique soul. What you choose to do as a teacher of autistic people and others with challenged syndromes makes you true to the march of a different beat. That you take your music to those not encumbered by convention and show them that the music is beautiful in any form is the makings of heroism. You are destined for a rewarding life. ---------- "Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
I enjoyed the whole thread. As spontaneous as I am musically I can't (haven't?) "imagined" playing without any kind of a foot hold in prior existing rhythm/melody/structure. Even the frequencies are preconceived. I'd be willing to try though.
