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finding mojo once again

i go through periods where i feel i'm hearing and playing above my abilities then one day i'll sit down and play and it's all gone. i'm always trying to figure out how to keep that mojo. sometimes i stop practicing for a few days and it returns. anyone ever fell this to some degree?

by p16251 on 08/10/2010, 03:29

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yeah. i think the "mojo" is always there. it comes out when you're not trying or expecting it. "trying" stops the process. i think kenny werner said it best when he said "ya have to yield to what wants to happen". he also said something like "intellect has to surrender to instinct when it's time to play"...so if you can, practice aproaching playing with a blank slate and allow things to happen naturally. of course being a well practiced musician will help to allow you that freedom and level of trust.

much easier said than done. i've been playing for 45 years and still struggle with it. a great way to trash my playing is to make an announcement that i'm going to play. "ladies and gentlemen this next song is going to feature..." then i suck:)

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by Dr. Whack on 08/10/2010, 09:19

as i am far from being a great pianist, my best analogy is based upon sports activities. there are times when an athlete plays on an entirely better level than normal, many times this is referred to as being in the "zone". it is an unconscious act, there is no deliberation, no real thought process, just an abiding knowledge that you can accomplish whatever is set before you. i have experienced this far more often in athletic endeavors, but i have felt the same raw zen-like state when playing music. keep playing as much as you can from an unconscious, perhaps pre-conscious, level and you will become more adept at reaching that plateau. great artists can do this relatively routinely, we mere mortals must strive for our moments of true greatness. as always, just my humble opinion.

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by wdennissorrell on 08/10/2010, 10:03

for me it means learning how to play with consistency. learning how to always play in the zone. i credit dave frank with teaching me how to do this. i can find the zone as soon as i sit down at the piano now. always without exception. i believe i learned how by mastering swing eigths notes and playing them in groups of four ... and always being able to find a particular swing groove with that. now i can be more flexable and versatale than that particular groove but it started with always being able to sit down and find that with out fail. always knowing i could sit down and immediatlly start swinging bad... consistently find that groove at will right away, lock in.. that mojo as you are calling it was always there and is still there whenever i call on it.

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by Mike on 08/10/2010, 12:04

might be worth looking into your body biorhythm graph ,which time of the month your intelect is at its best ,and see if it meets the period of you best playing ,
it is also interesting for learning , teoretically thus period of your high intelect cycle you can learn much faster then in you physical.
full moon too is afecting.

happens to me too, i stop practising for a few days and the im back wondering that my playing got better instead of worse,my teory is that if you learn and play for long period of time without rest the brain gets sometimes too busy with processing ,organizing and sorting all the musical info and when you give it a break for a few days and the braind is done with all the work it will have more processing power available and also acces the organized musical info more efficently

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by ado on 08/12/2010, 10:46

i'll just try to play along a tatum / peterson / corea cd for a few minutes, then turn it off and play. i'll even convince myself i'm doing some things better than they are.

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by casparus on 08/12/2010, 12:18

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finding mojo once again

There are 5 comments, leave a comment.

by Dr. Whack on 08/10/2010, 09:19

by wdennissorrell on 08/10/2010, 10:03

by Mike on 08/10/2010, 12:04

by ado on 08/12/2010, 10:46

by casparus on 08/12/2010, 12:18

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finding mojo once again

There are 5 comments, leave a comment.

by Dr. Whack on 08/10/2010, 09:19

by wdennissorrell on 08/10/2010, 10:03

by Mike on 08/10/2010, 12:04

by ado on 08/12/2010, 10:46

by casparus on 08/12/2010, 12:18

Reply to Thread

Jazz Piano Notebook Series

"Latinesque"

LJP Jazz Piano Blogs

Most Recent Discussions

Articles

Top Sheetmusic Picks

Jazz piano education is cool.

Rock on. Follow your passion.

Sign In