STARE WITH YOUR EARS

By Mike Murphy

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.

Try this. Turn off the phone and the lights. Get into a comfortable chair or couch. Put on your favourite piece of music and close your eyes. Now listen. Feel. Are your eyes trying to open? Your eyelids most often move a bit at least. Like when you are having a dream. Now try this the opposite way. Turn the phone on. Include all the daily distractions and sounds. Turn the lights back on. Keep your eyes open. Your reaction is different. If you are truly connected to the piece of music you will find that using your eyes will distract you from the total listening process.

Ever wonder why blind people are sometimes very gifted artists musically? They are listening to the music, not looking at it. This takes time to develop but is a great realization once found. Hence the phrase "stare with your ears" at the music. Not your eyes. Many of the big concerts rely on huge lighting rigs to make you stare with your eyes. To buy into the hoax. But close your eyes and listen. Are they singing in key? Are they playing in time? Are all the instruments in tune with each other and their intonation set?

What's the real message here? Or is there one at all? Maybe it's just a big party concert with no meaning other than fun. Many of the most famous songs evoke deep emotion. The people that really care about their music do a lot more than play an instrument. Have you ever wondered why some music sounds okay and other music sounds out of this world? Differences? Not as many as you might think. They usually all have a few common threads. They take the time to make sure their instruments perform properly. If the instrument plays poorly then guess what? The player will also. They are short changing themselves from giving the best performance as possible, and making the group sound out of key, which now affects not only themselves but all their bandmates as well.

Try being a singer with every instrument out of tune or with bad intonation. Hey, your singer relies on you for pitch! Same goes with the bass player. Is it fair to show up to a gig with worn out strings, maybe break one during a show that might have been avoided with proper care and maintenance? Maybe by playing with bad technique (playing too hard, etc.). The drummer should have changed the snare skin before the show but didn't and now it's busted during the guitar player's best solo of the night. Is that fair to the guitarist or the band? Out of respect for everyone involved, and if you want to have any chance of getting any better and developing as a band, you owe it to yourself and your fellow bandmates to show up as ready as possible. Of course, life factors in here to a degree. Showing up in a decent mood and with a decent attitude. Having your equipment working top notch. These factors will at least give you a fighting chance to do a good show and learn from each other. Take the time. The little details all add up to a great show as much as a bad one. Use some common sense and ask yourself a few questions:

1. What do I need to do to be ready for this gig?

2. What am I or we as a band trying to accomplish? Do I or we as a band have a common goal?

3. Most importantly: Why am I doing this? You have to have a personal purpose or you are just going through the motions and will eventually have little impact (return bookings, crowd reaction, call back for fill in again as a sideman, etc.).

A band or player that takes their music and all their preparation serious will have a far greater impact than one who doesn't give a care. Of course all this is actually the second step in the whole equation. There is something else that is far more important and without this, the second step is mostly a waste of time, effort, and in many cases money.

Talent. Take a hard look in the mirror before you get too obsessed with all of this. If you are getting compliments from club owners, managers, talent agents, etc., then this is worth looking into possibly. But if the only praise you get is from your Mom, Dad, husband, wife, lover, or drunk buddies at the show, maybe get a professional opinion to save yourself a lot of misery. The truth hurts, but is far more rewarding once you get on the real path of life. If it is music, then go at it and get prepared. Get your bass set up and playing in tune including intonation, action, etc. Same as your guitar. Drummers, talk about a timing problem. Do you change drum skins only when we change Prime Ministers or Presidents? Every musician should have a personal metronome. If you can't play to that in time how can you possibly have a chance of playing with each other in time? You don't go to play a game of hockey with a golf club do you? Whomever your influences are, find out what kind of gear they are using. Chances are you'll like some of the same gear they use. You like them in the first place. There must be a reason. Their tone, technique, mindset, etc. With today's availability of info there is no excuse for not doing a bit of homework and getting some tips to educate yourself. If not, maybe you don't care. Maybe you're in the wrong business. Question your purpose. Practice and prepare. Get in the right mindset. Find inner peace. Now play! And stare with those ears!