Playing ''in the moment''

funkyjazz82 · #1 11-07-2011, 04:35 PM

How do you guys approach playing in the moment? Coming up with new phrasings, over changes, basically, your approach to soloing? sometimes i find myself playing the same lines over and over again, and I wish i could just play in the moment. It's a hard technique to master, but with enough practice, I know it can be done. For you experts out there, any pointers or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

mr. beaumont · #2 11-07-2011, 05:28 PM

Prefaced by saying I'm no master, just a guy who's been at it for a decade and is finally starting to get it

Part of it, for me, is really knowing the song inside out. I'm at the point now where I can see a chart and play okay "right through," but I'm not really making good original statements unless I can basically "breathe" the piece. Hal Galper would tell me if I'm reading, I'm not listening, and he'd be right...and you have to be able to listen to really play worthwhile stuff...

The other thing for me is to be warmed up...I'm not sure if I'll ever get to the point where I can jump right in and create great lines without a little time to get things rolling...usually about three or four songs in, that's when I'm "loose" enough.

pingu · #3 11-07-2011, 06:34 PM

again I'm no expert at this but .........
you're talking about making stuff up on the fly right ?

ie improvising .......

I think you've got to practice the tune REALLY REALLY slow

and only play the lines you hear , cut out all your usuall licks
and flicks start with really simple do re me stuff

Sing the lines then play those notes only

brwnhornet59 · #4 11-07-2011, 09:53 PM

Woodshed the living daylights out of it. That is the only way I know how to scratch the surface of improvising well. Like the other guys said, know the tune inside out, start with little motifs and build from there. Stay away from the licks that you do when playing on automatic. I am using a lot of small sequenced phrases that fit around the chord changes to my taste, then trying to embellish from there. Sometimes less is more.

jayx123 · #5 11-08-2011, 04:59 AM

When I enter "auto pilot mode" I will use scatting to get myself out of it.

Strangesound · #6 11-08-2011, 06:05 AM

Make pauses, sing along (not the pitch but the rhythm is the main thing!), not to care for every single chord and maybe NOT to think about the chords at all. If you play jazz for a few years you start to have a vocabulary you could rely on. What I noticed some days ago is not to think at all while playing!!!! Really, let it go.

Gilad Hekselman: Wide-Open Reaction : NPR

Somewhere in the middle or end in the interview Gilad points out he tries to describe musically a chair or table when he plays a gig and sees one to be just in the moment. If you play every chord out, it's not a melody and to be in the moment I make pauses and these pauses direct me to something new.

marcwhy · #7 11-08-2011, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkyjazz82

How do you guys approach playing in the moment? Coming up with new phrasings, over changes, basically, your approach to soloing? sometimes i find myself playing the same lines over and over again, and I wish i could just play in the moment. It's a hard technique to master, but with enough practice, I know it can be done. For you experts out there, any pointers or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I'm no expert, but I just interviewed one for an upcoming issue of Just Jazz Guitar magazine. Chris Crocco.

He spent a lot of the interview, and he does this in his lessons (in person or "virtual"), talking about finding your voice, playing "real" stuff (not canned lines out of a book), etc. His own playing sounds very "non-guitaristic" to me, which is fine since I like horn players' lines.

Set up a lesson with him -- you will not be disappointed.

Marc

Kman · #8 11-08-2011, 09:25 AM

It has it's advantages, but when I try to play in the moment and not think at all it often comes as though I am not thinking at all and my brain switches back on. I come up with some interesting rhythmic ideas and the solo builds somewhat, it's fun, but I miss changes and overall I don't sound my best. I need to concentrate. I think it's best to go in and out of it maybe. It's a very difficult thing to put your finger on or define. I think it's good to do pure improv and not think much but you have to play the changes at least.

eddy b. · #9 11-08-2011, 09:38 AM

I'm not an expert either but the "moment" is where expertise exists, I know some people deride his method but Kenny Werner"s "Effortless Mastery" can be of use for becoming free in one's expression. For me I like to practice playing"free", then aplly the same energy to tunes that I know really well,for me the epiphany is that the moment is the same whether driving to work or playing the gig or making breakfast, it appears that that is all there is...this moment

beasleybubba · #10 11-08-2011, 10:18 AM

Scatting (even just doing it in your head) will really help you to play what you hear. Something I read about years ago that Bird used to do is to just open up, observe, and channel your surroundings. Every gig is different, every crowd is different, and every day is different… all this can be expressed spontaneously through improvisation:
If you see a beautiful girl walk in the room in the middle of your solo, try playing the phrase “Damn you fine, girl!... Daaaamn!” or something to that effect. Not only can you try to approximate your emotions and thoughts harmonically and melodically, but playing spoken phrases will really take you in some interesting rhythmic directions and will no doubt add to the spontaneity of your solos.
If some dude you don’t like walks in, play a phrase that mimics the rhythm of a spoken phrase like “What you doin’ here, punk?! Get out, get out.”
Sounds corny, but it really adds a whole new dimension of meaning to your playing.
Or, look up at the lights. How many are there? Play a phrase for each lightbulb. One’s burnt out? Leave some space for that one, or play a little fizzly flickery melodic idea.
What the other guys are saying about knowing the tune inside and out is crucial (it’s the first step) but beyond that, I know it can be difficult to come up with interesting ideas on the fly. These are just a couple approaches I use when I feel like things need to be spiced up a bit.
As my fellow musicians and I say every rehearsal, every gig: “let the great spirit move you.” Sounds corny, I know, but I totally buy it. Feel life deeply, channel your perceptions and emotions, and the music will become yours.

kaishakov · #11 11-08-2011, 11:24 AM

I think that your skill of playing in the moment will improve automaticly when you master the scales and other devices you use while improvising. So improvising a lot and trying to play the tunes that you hear is the only thing you can do to improve this. I think all other more filosophical approaches will be a waste of your time.

beasleybubba · #12 11-08-2011, 12:12 PM

kaishakov, definitely true that mastery of arp's and jazz vocabulary, your instrument, and ultimately the tune you're playing are the most important. That is step 1. What I was describing is not a waste of time because it does not take any time to do. It's just a mechanism to get your brain to approach the music a little differently "in the moment." You don't even need to practice it, you just do it. Don't get me wrong, I've spent hours on end over the past 15 years practicing the hell out of my instrument and trying to master every aspect of jazz that I can. But sometimes in a live situation, if I find myself just playing through the changes but not playing anything meaningful, I'll try to tap into another realm of playing. May not work for all, but it definitely works for me.

Reg · #13 11-08-2011, 05:49 PM

I am a expert at playing in the moment... that's a joke.... Lets just say that's what I do. I have a fairly different approach... I learn and understand concepts... different approaches to how I want to hear... what I want to play. I never practice slow, never have. But I can play as slow as I want... what ever the moment implies. I don't practice something a lot unless I'm memorizing and performing... To me that's definitely not in the moment. To be able to play in the moment... your skill level needs to be good enough to react and interact with what ever your playing... with out getting to mechanical. Different tunes or music requires different skill levels.
I find most players are limited by what they're able to conceive, There's a thin line between being in the moment and slightly ahead, knowing where the moment is going. With out being aware of concepts of playing... as a opposed to applications of concepts... it's fairly difficult to get ahead... The memorization and trial and error method does work, but takes a long time, a shit load of trial and error and you need exceptional talent. I'll keep it short... Reg

kaishakov · #14 11-09-2011, 08:56 AM

Hey beasleybubba, i wasn"t really talking about your reply but just in general. I just tried to be a bit direct because i think that stressing out everything as important doesn't make a good advice. I'm only a beginner in jazz guitar so it could be true that after mastering all the theory and technique that your approach is verry helpfull.

beasleybubba · #15 11-09-2011, 08:02 PM

pauln · #16 11-12-2011, 09:48 PM

Even if you had decades of careful listening and ardent practicing behind you, "playing in the moment" would still remain a mysterious and wonderful challenge.

Imagine having the opposite problem - an ear overspilling with creative and unique ideas of what to play, hands that could execute any of that, and the central problem being which ideas from which to select in the moment?

"Playing in the moment" must always bring you to your boundaries, whether that be what you can do, or what you can decide to do... if ever there was a sure fire system that provided you a certain and comfortable way forward, that would defeat the beauty and nature of "in the moment", the spark of spontaneity would be dimmed and the relation between musician and music might become mechanical.

Maybe to a large degree, "playing in the moment" requires uncertainty, ambiguity, and a little discomfort in the mind of the player so as to sound original, authentic, expressive, and insightful.

SammieWammie · #17 11-13-2011, 01:24 AM

I'll share with you an experience where I felt I was most definitely playing in the moment. All the jazz musicians at our school (all three and a half of us) were having a casual jam. The pianist started playing a funky, bluesy thing in G and the rest of us went with it, completely unrehearsed. We were all just having fun, messing around a bit but we had that connection between us where you're feeding off each others ideas while feeding them ideas (just like I've been told how a jazz combo should be like). Well me and the saxophonist were doing trades and right then I felt right in the zone, in the moment. I was playing things I hadn't played before because I was getting ideas off what he was playing and elaborating on them while he was doing the same. As you said you wanted to come up with new phrasings and such while playing, we were getting new phrasings off each other on the spot. You just can't do that with the Aebersold backing tracks.

Anyway I don't know if this is common for everybody to do every time they play with a group but that was what got me playing in the moment.

Also check this out, Finding Flow For Musicians & Artists | jazzadvice.com that site has heaps of great things to read, this one kind of relates to playing in the moment.

ronjazz · #18 11-14-2011, 08:38 PM

Playing in the moment actually expands your boundaries. It is more accurately called "listening in the moment", because it's about reaction and losing yourself in the music. It's about singing through your instrument, and can actually be orchestral in nature, especially if you're playing with, say, just a percussionist. It involves all of the concepts everybody has mentioned, but not consciously. It's really fun and exciting when doing it by reacting to another player or players, but it also can happen in a solo context, especially on the guitar. And, in my experience, it is the achievement of absolute and complete comfort. The endless flow of Bill Evans is not being caused by uncertainty, I don't think. In fact, I can well imagine that his rationale for his drug abuse was to do away with uncertainty.

monk · #19 11-14-2011, 09:26 PM

Something that I've seen becoming more widepread over the fifteen to twenty years, especially among students and graduates of college jazz programs is everyone showing up for the gig with Real Books and music stands.

As Mr. B pointed out, it's difficult to listen and react when you're immersed in a chart.

Every university jazz curriculum should require student to attend and pass Learn The Damn Songs 101 before allowing anyone to graduate.

When I was a pup learning to play and went see the older guys play in clubs, no one had any music. Someone would call a tune and off they'd go. Sometimes the old ways are better.

AmundLauritzen · #20 11-18-2011, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monk

Something that I've seen becoming more widepread over the fifteen to twenty years, especially among students and graduates of college jazz programs is everyone showing up for the gig with Real Books and music stands.

As Mr. B pointed out, it's difficult to listen and react when you're immersed in a chart.

Every university jazz curriculum should require student to attend and pass Learn The Damn Songs 101 before allowing anyone to graduate.

When I was a pup learning to play and went see the older guys play in clubs, no one had any music. Someone would call a tune and off they'd go. Sometimes the old ways are better.

I couldn't agree more. I think the way to accomplish that is by learning tunes. Hundreds of tunes. I think that after a while, the ear recognizes harmonic movement and if the player has practiced in all keys, then relative pitch becomes automatic. I know a few people with this skill, and many bassists seem to have this ability. A piano player or guitarist does a chordal melody statement and the bassist is spot on when the first chorus of solos begin even though he has never played or sometimes never even heard the tune before. I think NHOP was like that.
Horn players usually have their favorite keys, piano players tend to like charts, and guitar players... well there is a rare breed of guitar players who can play a lot of standards without the real book in front of them.

As someone who has played jazz guitar for 3 and a half years, I am still at the embarrassing point where I have to look at charts for tunes I don't know but have heard on records. I think once you get to the point where you can play a tune you've heard, but never played, in any key, that you're really beginning to open up to let the intuition totally take control of your playing.
It's all that mind junk that has to be dealt with first, as someone who is in the early development as a player.
These are just reflections from my own point of view as a student.

wizard3739 · #21 11-18-2011, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmundLauritzen

I couldn't agree more. I think the way to accomplish that is by learning tunes. Hundreds of tunes. I think that after a while, the ear recognizes harmonic movement and if the player has practiced in all keys, then relative pitch becomes automatic. I know a few people with this skill, and many bassists seem to have this ability. A piano player or guitarist does a chordal melody statement and the bassist is spot on when the first chorus of solos begin even though he has never played or sometimes never even heard the tune before. I think NHOP was like that.
Horn players usually have their favorite keys, piano players tend to like charts, and guitar players... well there is a rare breed of guitar players who can play a lot of standards without the real book in front of them.

As someone who has played jazz guitar for 3 and a half years, I am still at the embarrassing point where I have to look at charts for tunes I don't know but have heard on records. I think once you get to the point where you can play a tune you've heard, but never played, in any key, that you're really beginning to open up to let the intuition totally take control of your playing.
It's all that mind junk that has to be dealt with first, as someone who is in the early development as a player.
These are just reflections from my own point of view as a student.

+1 I agree 100% with your comment, Monk, well put!

wiz

Reg · #22 11-18-2011, 03:28 PM

If you read well enough... the printed music doesn't get in the way... Real Book charts are at best only a reference.
We all know what it takes to play jazz well enough to be able to "be in the moment", and stay there. It's great to be in the moment... but if your not able to know where that moment might go... or have the skills and knowledge to keep that moment going... or bring that moment to the next level and on and on... OK... so what is the defining characteristic that makes being in the moment "real". Is it the groove locking between players... rhythmically, harmonically and melodically, and of course all the articulations.... Is it the ability to be able to anticipate what's coming or simply reacting together ... Is it a spiritual thing...
Sorry... I play that way all the time. You can be in the moment and crash and burn also. But if your a good musician, and you can also play well with out being in the moment... you generally can have those Playing in the moments when ever you choose. That's what playing live Jazz is. The better you get your skills together... the better you'll be able to play complex or simple music at that point of being in control and somewhat out of control... trusting your abilities to react differently and go where no one has gone before... sorry too much star trek as a kid. Are you playing music for music's sake... and if the listeners get it cool, if they don't ... better luck next time.
I find that I can get in the moment in almost any type of music... to me that moment requires the musicians to lock. With good players, that moment can be a lousy written out tune, or section of a tune. Even when the music doesn't have all the typical characteristics that help make music lock. But if the players have the skills and all lock on most of the levels... we get in that moment. Not my favorite moments... but the same sensation. This is typical Big Band arrangements, written out ensemble work, involving reading music as well as playing.
Obviously playing live jazz is the most fun... you really don't know where the music might go.
I know that when I play with good rhythm sections... we can make or break those moment. We can create that ensemble being in the moment feeling for soloist.
So if you make a list of 10 defining characteristics that make that feeling of being in the moment real.... how many do you need to be in the moment... Reg