I Got a Gig!?!
Yesterday I got a message asking whether I’d like to appear on a weekly show featuring local artists and contemporary music. It would be about a month out, and I figured I should be able to play something in that time frame. Wuorinen might be a stretch, though. Maybe I should prepare a backup?
Zach Even-Esh once told a story about a weightlifter who was about to do some absurdly heavy back squat: something like a thousand pounds. After he loaded the bar, he chased everyone else out of the gym and locked the door. With no one to rescue him, he had no other option but to complete the lift and re-rack the bar. While my own lifts are significantly more modest, one time I also faced a particularly heavy load in some lift or other: probably a squat. Before I went to the rack, I paused to ask my coach about a strategy for dumping the bar in case I missed. He just grinned at me and said, “ What are you talking about? You aren’t going to miss this!”
There is something attractively reckless about not preparing anything else, so that I have to learn this monster in four weeks. The potential for disaster is pretty high, but I’m the only one standing in my way.
In working on this piece, I’ve been really struck by how… nice it is. I’ll take a couple of measures to work on the shifting or the dynamic gesture or whatever, and discover that each little gesture is full of personality. I’ve sighed with Tristan-like figures, struck elegant poses with gestures reminiscent of the Debussy sonata, danced a quirky little waltz… nearly every phrase has a lovable affect. Not perhaps the first observation that comes to mind when Wuorinen is mentioned!
Among the several things that charged me up for this project were several videos by The 80/20 Drummer on YouTube. As you can surmise from he handle, he’s all about deliberate practice. As I continue to think about this gig, another goal has been emerging: not only do I want to learn the thing, but I want to enjoy playing it. This goal reminded me of a particular video of his where he talks about recovering our joy in playing. In the next three weeks, I’m going to commit to two of his recommendations:
Anti-Exercise: Playing without Self-Editing
Play something you’re comfortable with, listen for the “internal critic.”
When you hear him, stop, send him away, and then start again.
End practice sessions with 10 minutes of this.
Red Light Training:
Single-Take Video (“Good or Garbage”): record and post something to Instagram, etc.to simulate self-conscious conditions
Try to look like you’re having fun.
As I’m writing this, I’m thinking this might be the point to make a schedule. I’ll work on that.