improvising requires an altered state of consciousness - no seriously

[destinytot]

The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, 1992)?

[destinytot]

I didn't know you were a student of Popeye! ;o)

Popeye doesn't cut it - but fa jin* (and wu wei​) does.

*the slow, soft kind - the connection of 'crotch' (sung kwa) to 'fingers' is subtle but significant.

[MarkRhodes]

'Popeye sailoratus' T-shirt!

Here ya' go

Attachment 34384

[destinytot]

Here ya' go

Attachment 34384

Ooh! Suits you, sir!

[destinytot]

[destinytot]

Better - 'cos 'they switched the bride'

[Guitarzen]

The "flow" thing that someone else mentioned, I encountered that early on when I first started playing blues and I'm pretty sure that's what hooked me on guitar. I think every improvising musician experiences it at some point, especially once you can play up the neck in a scale without having to think about where the notes are. I'm not sure it's possible to experience the "flow" when you are playing prepared music i.e. classical music or anything you are just trying to play exactly as written / learned by ear. I've done both types of music extensively for the last 26 years and for me classical guitar and jazz guitar are two completely different creatures. I enjoy them both but for different reasons. Improvisation has always been meditative for me, relaxing & fun. Classical guitar is very challenging and demanding and pushes your technique to new levels, but it is also stressful because there is a clear one right way to play classical piece. Performing classical guitar is like being a ice skater at the Olympics - you make just one mistake and you look like an absolute fool and even if you get right back up and do the last 3 minutes flawlessly they only remember the one big derp in the middle...

Anyways, one of the biggest problems my students seem to have with improvisation is the ability to relax and get into the flow. There are various reasons for this. One thing I always end up telling them at some point goes something like this "I know this is the exact opposite of what I told you before (practice slowly!), but you need to practice fast sometimes too because it will loosen you up!".

Playing fast does have a few benefits as it forces you to develop efficient hand movements in order to get clean notes at fast speeds, and it also doesn't allow you to overthink your note selections and forces you to use your ear more.

[matt.guitarteacher]

I'm not sure it's possible to experience the "flow" when you are playing prepared music i.e. classical music or anything you are just trying to play exactly as written / learned by ear. I've done both types of music extensively for the last 26 years and for me classical guitar and jazz guitar are two completely different creatures. I enjoy them both but for different reasons. Improvisation has always been meditative for me, relaxing & fun. Classical guitar is very challenging and demanding and pushes your technique to new levels, but it is also stressful because there is a clear one right way to play classical piece.

In that Keith Jarrett documentary, he's talking about the ridiculous squeaky thing he does. Says it's to relieve the "pressure" building up from all of the musical possibilities spontaneously coming over him in that improvisational flow space.

The interviewer asked if he did it playing classical, and he replied, "Well, of course not", like that was the most obvious thing in the world. :-) Really cracked me up. I had to rewind a couple of times. To him it was just obvious that they weren't anything like the same thing.