The official mad-at-ragman thread

[Strat-itis]

- ragman intervention thread -

Bruh, you don't get to go around constantly hassling people, and sometimes raging, about what's what about playing jazz, when your clips are 80bpm random quarter notes and eighth notes. I don't want to get anyone, and I don't think the regulars do either, but this is earned defense. Maybe practice occasionally and get good at the essential topics that you can't do and say are wrong? We don't want to hear angry tough love posts about how copying the masters' playing is wrong. That's literally the most false possible statement in the universe.

Here's a ragman post to show how this is not off base when we have to deal with posts like this weekly. Starts with an insult, poses as an authority, and tries to push absurdly false info in service of himself.

You people lack character.

I meant what I said about copying but you don't understand. When you copy something you aren't learning anything because it isn't new or original, all you're learning is copying. And as long as you think like that nothing you do will have any originality in it at all.

You aren't actually learning anything, are you? How long have you been doing these etudes and exercises and you're still here, where you were before. You don't experiment, you don't try, with all your knowledge, to play something new.

It's quite obvious why, because in imitation you feel safe. It's been done before by a good player so, if you copy it, you'll be like them. Apparently you don't see how utterly childish all that is. You'll never, ever be like them so you may as well abandon that approach. But you won't, so strong is your delusion.

Start now. Put down the blues changes and start putting something over them. Make it something of your own. Start that and you'll get better and better at it. Learn to be what you are, not what you're not, there's no future in it.

[James W]

I interpret Ragman's advice very much from the perspective he offers us in the form of his playing. Take all his advice with a bucket of salt because he's obviously long given up on being able to play.

[Litterick]

This is awkward.