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Natural Selection

  • Natural Selection
  • There are many factors that make us who we are as people. In the art of music, there are many factors that make up a musician. A partial list could be: listening experience, theoretical knowledge, musical influences, mentors, technique, etc. If I had to name a very important catalyst in the development of a jazz musician or composer, it would be personal musical taste, or rather, our musical selection process. It would seem to be common sense to think that a musical choice would always be based on our taste at the time, but this too often is not the case. The very idea of playing what we hear and is in our hearts should be a natural selection process. Most vocalists can sing what they hear because there is nothing in between their having access to the note in their head. For a vocalist, there is a direct connection to ear and voice without the need for musical theory of any kind. An instrumentalist MUST bridge the gap between the sound they wish to hear – to where it is on the instrument. Personal musical taste cannot even come into play until this happens.
  • Oddly enough, a person’s musical connection can be greatly obstructed when taking up an instrument. The instrument itself, although necessary for awhile, becomes the main focal point. Then comes the reading, the theory, the technique, etc, but what seems to be left out in all these studies (almost universally) is keeping the internal connection to music that they had in the beginning. The severing of this most important connection too often results in unnatural selection. In other words, the would be/could be musical choices get overshadowed and blocked by rigorous practicing standards, the pressure of keeping up with “jazz chops”, scales, ready for this one? – becoming an expert at looking at a chart and being able to have the “skill” to play through the changes (with “right” notes) OR following the chord chart with NO real insight into the tune, or what the tune is about. Question: Does “right notes” played with considerable velocity (fast) equal jazz? If you answered yes then we have very different definitions of what this “in the moment – living every note” wonderful art form is all about.
  • Jazz listeners often get mesmerized by the technical skill of the performer, thus the musician can be affected by sometimes putting flash before taste. To clarify, the energy of a technical improvisational solo and good musical taste are NOT mutually exclusive, but the point of this article is to show there can be more than one mindset during artistic expression. For me, jazz is like life – a striving for perfection. I am OK with that. Adopting this “imperfect” frame of mind takes the pressure off, relaxes me, and allows me to play in the moment and go for what I hear.
  • We owe it to our musical selves to keep in touch with our musical ears and NOT have our instruments play us, but serve us. Serve us in such a way that our musical choices stem from our emotional connection to the tune and the players involved, NOT musical theory. In other words Natural Selection. Our ever growing, evolving, musical taste paving the way into creativity – without judgment but with utmost sincerity.
  • Steve Giordano