Getting better all the time.

webby

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Wow, what an amazing couple of weeks, well just a couple of particular practice sessions really where it all came together and then "something else" overlayed itself on the scene.

Hard to really explain what happened but I had been practicing a fair amount lately after putting the ukes down for a couple of months and focussing on a couple of guitar pieces i had put on the back burner a year ago.

Then the new Maton came along and the focus has shifted back to uke again, wasn't intentional but this little uke kept subconsciously pulling me towards its case and demanding to be played, well the more it got played the more it really started to bed in and open up as an instrument, i've had other nice tonewood instruments before that have settled down but never one so fast as this little Maton, it seems to have matured and aged in tone in just a few weeks of playing, I'm putting it down to the incredible qualities of the wood and the build quality.

Anyway back to this magic extra "something" I was talking about....

I was playing some pretty bouncy and up tempo swingy things and had been practicing and playing them so much recently that I found myself looking out of the window and staring at the rain as I was playing, my thoughts were wandering a bit and then I noticed that the music was still happening, and I wasn't even thinking about it, the only way I can describe it is that it's similar to when you are driving and everything to do with the actual operation of the car is happening on auto pilot and you are miles away in thought or conversation, but the driving thing keeps happening perfectly.

So I notice this phenomena is happening to the uke playing and then I start to hear this extra "something" that is going on, it's like I'm hearing the music on a good hifi for the first time instead of on a crappy old radio and I can hear all these overtones and harmonys threading behind and through the main sound, I notice that the tiniest variation in finger pressure or vibration is really controllable and varied, the instrument is really singing, because the chords and fingerings are all happening with no fumbling, no chord finding pauses, every melody note is there when I want it, then I can really start to play with this tune and add some emphasis and inflections that fit with the mood of the moment, the way the instrument itself is behaving and with my own personal preference for groove and feel.

At no point was any of this spoiled by the fact I was struggling with the actual playing or worried about a difficult section or trying to frantically remember what part comes next, none of that was getting in the way of the actual music and as a result the music and my relationship to it in that moment changed from a wrestling match into a dance.

i was there, the instrument was there and when it all came together "Music" was that extra "something" that showed up made it better than usual practice, I was no longer practicing I was suddenly just playing music for the pure enjoyment of it.

I remember when this moment happened to me on guitar a few years ago, when the double thumb picking thing came together and my whole relationship with the guitar changed forever, I think that has just happened with the Ukulele over the past couple of weeks and I'm really happy about it, next time it is all grooving along and happening I will try and remember to hit record on the webcam to try and capture what I'm describing.

Sorry for the big long rant today but I was just trying to inspire people who are almost there with their playing and know it to just hang in there, keep practicing and push for that magic moment when the roles change and instrument is no longer your master but a trusted partner in the musical dance.


(EDIT).. Many thanks must go to Gerald Ross for inspiring me with his playing and his groove.
 
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Yup. Inspired. Time to get off the forum and get back to playing.

Cheers, webby.
 
Yay! Congratulations! I feel like I'm getting close to that. I need to start working some picking in with my chords. Thanks for the extra inspiration!
 
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