So I stood there, nervous, anxious, scared....I stood in front of on of the worlds greatest composer's asking a question. How should I phrase it? What words would sounds most intellectual? Will I sound like an idiot....But then I said fuck it...It's John Williams...I won't ever get a chance to ask someone like this again. *Ahem* "You have had the most amazing career around....I have a 2 part question. What piece of advice would you give to a young musician trying to make a career, and when you are writing a piece do you think about how its going to sound or what you're really feeling inside?" John looked at me and said "Well, the second part first...I always write with thinking about how its going to sound. Some composers don't take into consideration the limitations of instruments or how they players will interpret the work. But I write for it to sound good...The second part I will say this. I don't have much advice to give because what I have always heard about good advice is to pass it on. But I will say that goals are over rated. Most people...and especially young university music students get caught up in what they are trying to achieve. They do no focus on the now. If I had wondered or thought, or tried to imagine what my career would be like it would have never happened. I just sat there at did the best work I could do with what I had in front of me. And that was the most important."
I left...and I thought. I was sitting at the bar in the biltmore hotel. Hanging out with the past 30 years of movie recordings...what a trip. In the next 3 hours I would get the best history lesson not available in schools. They talk about it, they try to emulate it, but it doesn't happen in the class room. It happens when guys who have been playing in orchestras, circus bands, combos, movies, tv shows, and everything in between want to unload all the shit they've been saving for years. And it doesn't come easy, but man it is worth it.
In short this night ends with lots of alcohol, me getting a free $180 dinner, meeting beautiful violin players form all over the world, learning all the shit there is to know about everyone, and being happy. That is the most important part. Fuck the rest, just be who you are and don't give a fuck. It doesn't matter what everyone thinks of you, it only matters what the good people think of you.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
A Very Good Day
Music has taken me to places and let me experience things I never would have thought possible. I believe it will continue to do so. I got the chance to meet a great person and musician. He is what you would call a true bassist. His technique is flawless, his bowing is like singing, and his feel is astounding. I met him at a concert I sang for in a choir. He played bass for the orchestra, and I went to talk to him afterwards. Although we had just met we soon began talking like we had been friends for quite a while. Never have I met someone who was so willing to share all the prized information and lessons he had learned in music, as well as his generosity. We met for drinks and he told me all about his career, and what he knew about the bass. I had asked him if he gave lessons. "I don't want your money, I just want to teach you how to make the bass sing...you know when you hear someone playing with a bow and it just screeches...You can feel the tenseness in their hands." He then looked at me and said "The bass is a beautiful instrument, and when it sounds that way it just goes 'AAAAAAHHHHHHH'". At that moment I knew exactly what he meant. We talked a bit more about some other things and where he went to school etc.
We met up for lunch at a nice place a few weeks later and talked some more. It was a rainy Thursday and I had my bass in my car. We drove back to his house in the pouring rain. I followed him up and up the road, farther and farther away from the city and all the chaos, noise, and bustle that it held. When we reached his house I was in awe of how beautiful the surrounding mountains and greenery were. I unloaded my bass and we walked in. I met his girlfriend who plays cello and she welcomed me into their home. We walked into the living room....never had I found such an amazing place to practice. There was a Steinway piano and 2 very expensive basses on the wall next to it. The walls were a warm white, and beautiful pieces of art were hung on the walls. I could feel the energy that he and his girlfriend created in the house with their instruments. I felt very inspired and also intimated to play. I was in the presence of not one, but two masters of their instruments. I really had no business playing in their house. These people had traveled the world and dedicated their lives to their art. Although I am trying to accomplish the same I was no where near their level.
He helped me fix the bridge on my bass after he saw me play on it for a few minutes. He could tell and sense things about it that I didn't know where possible. After he adjusted the bridge he began to play it. "It's finicky in spots. Some notes on your fretboard aren't as good as others. The same with my bass." He began to play more and stopped. "Do you hear that?", "No" I replied. "The low E...when you play the low E and cover the G string the sound shuts down. It is sympathetically vibrating to help the sound." He also told me that every note has a perfect spot on the string to bow with and if you slide your bow down the strings it will catch it, as if it is meant to be there. I really couldn't believe he had completely dissected my bass in a matter of minutes. He then showed me how to hold a french bow, and it was a bit different than the way I had been taught before but felt great. We sight read some music and played a blues. I was embarrassed to miss a lot of the notes when we read but he was patient "You're not a reader huh?" he said. "I'm working on it..." I smiled. He showed me some more music he had done for movies. Also some scores that John Williams had given him to play. It was a history lesson in the art of recording music for TV and Film.
But then he took my bass and played it again with his bow. He made my cheap plywood Chinese bass sing with the sorrow of a million broken hearts, so beautiful yet so sad. I couldn't believe the sound that he made come from what I had been playing for a few years. It flowed, it sang, it breathed with the intensity and quality of a fine instrument. After that he offered me a glass of beer. We went out to the back and talked more. I told him about what I had been through, all the pain and suffering, and dealing with Lyme disease and chronic pain. I told him about what I wanted to do with music, about how I was engaged, what had happened the past 2 years, and how I was so honored and grateful to meet as amazing a person as he was. I told him that I am always in physical pain and the only time it stops is when I play music, and it's the most beautiful in the world. I asked if he knew the tune Beautiful Love, and he said he doesn't remember names but if he heard it he might know it. So I offered to play it for him.
We walked back inside and I picked up my bass. It was the first time that kind of feeling had ever happened with picking up the instrument. I was going to play for him, but I was also going to show him who I was. I was going to speak to him through my bass and I knew he would listen. Everything seemed to work, the bass felt like it was just apart of me and when I wanted to do something it did it. It was really some of the finest playing I had ever done at that point I feel like. It wasn't perfect, but even when I missed a note, or wasn't on pitch I knew he knew what I was trying to say and that it was ok. Afterwards he helped me load my bass into my car and I asked him, "Do you really think I can do this? Am I good enough to be a professional?" He looked at me and said "You're very talented and I think you can, but you're starting late in life. I'm not the best teacher because I wasn't the best student, but whenever I can I will teach you what I know."
We met up for lunch at a nice place a few weeks later and talked some more. It was a rainy Thursday and I had my bass in my car. We drove back to his house in the pouring rain. I followed him up and up the road, farther and farther away from the city and all the chaos, noise, and bustle that it held. When we reached his house I was in awe of how beautiful the surrounding mountains and greenery were. I unloaded my bass and we walked in. I met his girlfriend who plays cello and she welcomed me into their home. We walked into the living room....never had I found such an amazing place to practice. There was a Steinway piano and 2 very expensive basses on the wall next to it. The walls were a warm white, and beautiful pieces of art were hung on the walls. I could feel the energy that he and his girlfriend created in the house with their instruments. I felt very inspired and also intimated to play. I was in the presence of not one, but two masters of their instruments. I really had no business playing in their house. These people had traveled the world and dedicated their lives to their art. Although I am trying to accomplish the same I was no where near their level.
He helped me fix the bridge on my bass after he saw me play on it for a few minutes. He could tell and sense things about it that I didn't know where possible. After he adjusted the bridge he began to play it. "It's finicky in spots. Some notes on your fretboard aren't as good as others. The same with my bass." He began to play more and stopped. "Do you hear that?", "No" I replied. "The low E...when you play the low E and cover the G string the sound shuts down. It is sympathetically vibrating to help the sound." He also told me that every note has a perfect spot on the string to bow with and if you slide your bow down the strings it will catch it, as if it is meant to be there. I really couldn't believe he had completely dissected my bass in a matter of minutes. He then showed me how to hold a french bow, and it was a bit different than the way I had been taught before but felt great. We sight read some music and played a blues. I was embarrassed to miss a lot of the notes when we read but he was patient "You're not a reader huh?" he said. "I'm working on it..." I smiled. He showed me some more music he had done for movies. Also some scores that John Williams had given him to play. It was a history lesson in the art of recording music for TV and Film.
But then he took my bass and played it again with his bow. He made my cheap plywood Chinese bass sing with the sorrow of a million broken hearts, so beautiful yet so sad. I couldn't believe the sound that he made come from what I had been playing for a few years. It flowed, it sang, it breathed with the intensity and quality of a fine instrument. After that he offered me a glass of beer. We went out to the back and talked more. I told him about what I had been through, all the pain and suffering, and dealing with Lyme disease and chronic pain. I told him about what I wanted to do with music, about how I was engaged, what had happened the past 2 years, and how I was so honored and grateful to meet as amazing a person as he was. I told him that I am always in physical pain and the only time it stops is when I play music, and it's the most beautiful in the world. I asked if he knew the tune Beautiful Love, and he said he doesn't remember names but if he heard it he might know it. So I offered to play it for him.
We walked back inside and I picked up my bass. It was the first time that kind of feeling had ever happened with picking up the instrument. I was going to play for him, but I was also going to show him who I was. I was going to speak to him through my bass and I knew he would listen. Everything seemed to work, the bass felt like it was just apart of me and when I wanted to do something it did it. It was really some of the finest playing I had ever done at that point I feel like. It wasn't perfect, but even when I missed a note, or wasn't on pitch I knew he knew what I was trying to say and that it was ok. Afterwards he helped me load my bass into my car and I asked him, "Do you really think I can do this? Am I good enough to be a professional?" He looked at me and said "You're very talented and I think you can, but you're starting late in life. I'm not the best teacher because I wasn't the best student, but whenever I can I will teach you what I know."
Friday, October 5, 2012
Putter's Lesson
I began to practice in the morning a few days ago on the bass. I was doing some bowing work and needed some rosin but didn't have any. I called a friend of mine, Putter Smith, to ask if I could borrow some. He said sure thing, to come by in 20 minutes. I walked over to his place about a block away and went back to his studio. To make a brief description of Putter I would say that he is the warmest, kindest, looking man you could ever see. And beyond that this man knows his music. He oozes it. And not just the notes, or the technique, or the nuts and bolts. He knows the ESSENCE of music. What extends beyond any book ,class, lesson, or etude. You can feel his playing in a very special way when he picks up the bass.
I asked him if I could watch his practice routine and he agreed. He started with a 3 finger technique that involved attacking each separate string with each different finger. He would start on open strings and hit the E with his index, A with his middle, and D with his ring. He would then skip the next string and repeat the process till he cycled through all variations. Once he was done with that he started the cycle with his middle finger, and once he finished that he start the cycle with his ring finger. After he finished playing open strings he began running scales up and down the neck. After the scales came the arpeggios, and to top it all off he would do it staccato at the end. It was the mos intense 10 minutes I had ever seen. The energy in that room skyrocketed the second he started. It was a true art from to see a master hone his craft. "I do this everyday, and once I start I don't stop." He explained about the long process that it took to reach a point where it would get easier, and then as soon as it did he would change up the exercises. I told him how amazing it sounded and how great it was to see it. He replied "well just wait...I'm not done yet. I sight read some stuff out of this book. I usually work on it for a month or two to where it gets musical. But it sounds horrible until then."
I thought he was joking, I don't think I've ever heard Putter sound bad...But he opened up the book and started to bow this music. It was all thumb position, and hard shit. It sounded so bad....like a kid had picked up the bass for the first time and tried to sight read. The bow didn't connect in spots, the intonation was off, the time faltered in spots. But he never stopped playing. Every now and again he would yell "Oh man, I'm fucking this up bad..." But he kept going. "I submit myself to this. I keep going until it ends no matter how bad it sounds. I have to force myself to get through it, and after the 2 months it gets to the point where it starts to sound like music" I was really surprised...I was sure he would be able to do this stuff...but I asked him if it was written for bass. "Oh no...this is a classical trumpet concerto book." It was all in treble cleft and insane leaps all over. It looked intense.
He then taught me a bowing exercise that involved making a consistent sound across all bowing points. Closer to the fretboard the bowing is louder with less movement. But the lower you go towards the bridge the less speed you need to create the same sound. I would start bowing near the fretboard and then count how many beats it took to get to the frog of the bow. Once I did that I then shift positions to the middle of the strings between the bridge and fretboard. I then had to count how many beats it took to get the same volume in that place as the last one. It added about 3 beats, and near the bridge added about 4.
After that we talked a little bit about music and his experiences. When I was leaving he told me he is envious of people who quit music. "I really admire someone who can quit. I wish I had the balls to do it, but I'm too scared. Music is what I do, and it is a part of who I am. It is a terrible profession, but if you know it is your only choice then it is your only choice."
That was a very special day.
I asked him if I could watch his practice routine and he agreed. He started with a 3 finger technique that involved attacking each separate string with each different finger. He would start on open strings and hit the E with his index, A with his middle, and D with his ring. He would then skip the next string and repeat the process till he cycled through all variations. Once he was done with that he started the cycle with his middle finger, and once he finished that he start the cycle with his ring finger. After he finished playing open strings he began running scales up and down the neck. After the scales came the arpeggios, and to top it all off he would do it staccato at the end. It was the mos intense 10 minutes I had ever seen. The energy in that room skyrocketed the second he started. It was a true art from to see a master hone his craft. "I do this everyday, and once I start I don't stop." He explained about the long process that it took to reach a point where it would get easier, and then as soon as it did he would change up the exercises. I told him how amazing it sounded and how great it was to see it. He replied "well just wait...I'm not done yet. I sight read some stuff out of this book. I usually work on it for a month or two to where it gets musical. But it sounds horrible until then."
I thought he was joking, I don't think I've ever heard Putter sound bad...But he opened up the book and started to bow this music. It was all thumb position, and hard shit. It sounded so bad....like a kid had picked up the bass for the first time and tried to sight read. The bow didn't connect in spots, the intonation was off, the time faltered in spots. But he never stopped playing. Every now and again he would yell "Oh man, I'm fucking this up bad..." But he kept going. "I submit myself to this. I keep going until it ends no matter how bad it sounds. I have to force myself to get through it, and after the 2 months it gets to the point where it starts to sound like music" I was really surprised...I was sure he would be able to do this stuff...but I asked him if it was written for bass. "Oh no...this is a classical trumpet concerto book." It was all in treble cleft and insane leaps all over. It looked intense.
He then taught me a bowing exercise that involved making a consistent sound across all bowing points. Closer to the fretboard the bowing is louder with less movement. But the lower you go towards the bridge the less speed you need to create the same sound. I would start bowing near the fretboard and then count how many beats it took to get to the frog of the bow. Once I did that I then shift positions to the middle of the strings between the bridge and fretboard. I then had to count how many beats it took to get the same volume in that place as the last one. It added about 3 beats, and near the bridge added about 4.
After that we talked a little bit about music and his experiences. When I was leaving he told me he is envious of people who quit music. "I really admire someone who can quit. I wish I had the balls to do it, but I'm too scared. Music is what I do, and it is a part of who I am. It is a terrible profession, but if you know it is your only choice then it is your only choice."
That was a very special day.
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