Playing Music

Recently, after a sound check at a fun gig, the bass player approached me and commented how nice it was to simply play music together. He talked about how neither of us were trying to impress the other — that we were both there to play music. There’s a maturity that has come along for me in my life. Yes, I’m physically older (we all are!), but I seem to have a better understanding of what is called for at any given moment. I really like that. I still have so much to learn and master on my instrument, and that’s such a cool thing. Yet, at the same time, this bass player and I have both learned to weed out extraneous notes and unnecessary rhythms. We both have less of a need to prove anything or show-off and play something simply because we can. We want to play something because it means something at that particular moment. It gives me great joy to not play something these days. Twenty years ago was a different story! Hopefully, I can keep learning new things and finding the right places in which to use them. That’s my goal!