Your hands are like dogs, going to the same places they’ve been. You have to be careful when playing is no longer in the mind but in the fingers, going to happy places. You have to break them of their habits or you don’t explore; you only play what is confident and pleasing. I’m learning to break those habits by playing instruments I know absolutely nothing about, like a bassoon or a waterphone.
–Tom Waits
Also of interest: Tom Waits on Songwriting: Beautiful Melodies Telling You Terrible Things
WONDERFUL. Not only is it true, but he puts it in such a poetic way.
Time to teach these old dogs some new tricks!
I’d add that our musical ears have their “happy places” too. I met a guitar student once who twisted his strings into interesting tunings (some up, some down) but had then instinctually just found complicated ways to finger major triads.
haha – I’ve been there too! I’ll never forget the day I discovered C major!!!!
I know Robert Fripp has his guitar students tune strangely to encourage them to drop their past habits and routines.
Have you developed any ways to consciously step out of your own head when you’re playing, Matt?
Well I’m sure I have in the past, but recently digging back into my own archives has been great for that, after 10 years it’s like these songs are by someone else and I’m reinterpreting them. I mean I’ve been through many phases, heavy metal, hair metal, guitar heroics, minimalism, swing jazz, world music, musical theatre/contemporary dance (music for/not me dancing!), Christian praise & worship and now I’m reinterpreting all these through the grid of DIY singer/songwriter
so to sum up – I don’t need to get out of my head as I’m constantly trying to get back into my head!
(and I always try to write a song that is different from the last one)
Ha, I hear that! I’ve got quite a few archive entries that get stripped of their lyrics, or reharmonized, or rewritten entirely. By the time they see the light, they’re as piecemeal as Frankenstein’s monster–though hopefully the seams don’t show…