I love this question....how did you get so good?
I get asked this by my kid students all the time. "How do you do that? How did you get good at that?"
I do my best to let them know it's an exercise in persistence, appreciating the little bit you did learn already and all that good stuff.
I've been in a real woodshed period. Lots of hours practicing classical guitar, lots of hour practicing my saxophone. The fruits are starting to show and it feels good. I feel good. I don't yet know what it's for or why I do this, but have just surrendered to it and accepted the mystery. I'm having this weird temporary experience called life bookended by 2 great mysteries. I could haven been a soldier, fireman, wall street guy, engineer, father, but chose to make music and dedicate my time to this activity that brings me almost no money but a lot of joy.
So I was recently at a party with my parents. The host and his friend had a little jam session and they played some classics. I had my guitar in the car so I went and grabbed it to sit in. Some of the folks were astounded. One guy was near tears talking to me. I was moved by that. I didn't know it was possible.
He asked me how I got to this place......
It sounds bitter but it's not. I looked around and thought "well, other than my 5 year old niece and the 2 teenagers here, I'm the only person in this room who has probably never been married and who doesn't have a family...."
I didn't say this out loud, but the thought naturally popped into my head.
This has been a lonely existence. I'm quite sane but accept that I'm not easy to be around either. There is always melodies in my head, things I'm working out musically, solving this seemingly unending puzzle. 90% of my days I'm quite okay being alone. I'm defensive of my time. The minute I'm sharing too much of my time I lose the sanity part.
One friend said something about the 'sacrifice Jef made' or something like that. It's no sacrifice. It's just my life. It's that simple. When the music is good it's all worth it. Being this age and on my own, and it's quite possible I may remain alone, I've accepted this, I best make the most of this creation. Maybe this is my child? These sounds, the few records I've been a part of. I mean, why not?
So it's not to say that all artist are difficult and are just good at being lonely creatures. I'm open to any possibility to share this life. My feelings about the whole matter can change as soon as I click publish. And certainly it's worked out for others. And I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a good musician. And I'm digging this journey. Maybe I'll someday get that good.
JB
I get asked this by my kid students all the time. "How do you do that? How did you get good at that?"
I do my best to let them know it's an exercise in persistence, appreciating the little bit you did learn already and all that good stuff.
I've been in a real woodshed period. Lots of hours practicing classical guitar, lots of hour practicing my saxophone. The fruits are starting to show and it feels good. I feel good. I don't yet know what it's for or why I do this, but have just surrendered to it and accepted the mystery. I'm having this weird temporary experience called life bookended by 2 great mysteries. I could haven been a soldier, fireman, wall street guy, engineer, father, but chose to make music and dedicate my time to this activity that brings me almost no money but a lot of joy.
So I was recently at a party with my parents. The host and his friend had a little jam session and they played some classics. I had my guitar in the car so I went and grabbed it to sit in. Some of the folks were astounded. One guy was near tears talking to me. I was moved by that. I didn't know it was possible.
He asked me how I got to this place......
It sounds bitter but it's not. I looked around and thought "well, other than my 5 year old niece and the 2 teenagers here, I'm the only person in this room who has probably never been married and who doesn't have a family...."
I didn't say this out loud, but the thought naturally popped into my head.
This has been a lonely existence. I'm quite sane but accept that I'm not easy to be around either. There is always melodies in my head, things I'm working out musically, solving this seemingly unending puzzle. 90% of my days I'm quite okay being alone. I'm defensive of my time. The minute I'm sharing too much of my time I lose the sanity part.
One friend said something about the 'sacrifice Jef made' or something like that. It's no sacrifice. It's just my life. It's that simple. When the music is good it's all worth it. Being this age and on my own, and it's quite possible I may remain alone, I've accepted this, I best make the most of this creation. Maybe this is my child? These sounds, the few records I've been a part of. I mean, why not?
So it's not to say that all artist are difficult and are just good at being lonely creatures. I'm open to any possibility to share this life. My feelings about the whole matter can change as soon as I click publish. And certainly it's worked out for others. And I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a good musician. And I'm digging this journey. Maybe I'll someday get that good.
JB
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