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Looper's Delight
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Hi all, This is probably the most challenging thing for an artist to do. Because it involves risk and a certain discipline . . . usually. However, it is probably also a little easier for musicians in general and maybe even guitarists in particular. The way I see it there are basically two ways to go 1. Disrupt. Place limits. Close down options. Restrict yourself to an "underexplored" area of your current work or a technique or "roots" area of that work. Turn off favorite effects. Play only on one (or two) strings or tune all of the strings to the same note. If you use a pick, play with your fingers, if you play with your fingers use a pick. Limit yourself to playing in a single mode. Write a song with only one chord. Write a song in a foreign language. Set boundaries. This is probably the easier of the two options. 2. Open options up. Try something totally new. Pick up a new instrument and schedule a gig to play it in public in a week or two (or a month or a year). Learn to play (and hopefully appreciate) a musical style you currently HATE. Play with other musicians who play a different musical style than you would ordinarily feel comfortable or competent at. And (of course), my personal favorite: play with people who are much better than you. There's no better way of getting a good kick in the pants than playing and hanging out (and picking the brains of) your betters. This is risky and will demand discipline but it's always a sure bet. I know it currently may not be very PC in some circles to look at art/music making in such a "hierarchical" fashion and acknowledge that there actually are "betters" in art. But most of us know it's really true and behave very much accordingly -- even if we sometimes say otherwise. Heck, one of the greatest benefits of going to "Loopfest" type gatherings is the vast array of experience present that can be learned from. It's like a crash course for me every time I go. Plus seeing so many performers -- good, bad, indifferent, and (as often as not) even great -- is a wonderful opportunity to meet, talk to and get your creative butt kicked really thoroughly. Best, tEd ® kiLLiAn http://www.pfmentum.com/flux.html http://www.CDbaby.com/cd/tedkillian http://www.guitar9.com/fluxaeterna.html http://www.garageband.com/artist/ArsOcarina http://www.netmusic.com/web/album.aspx?a_id=CBNM_17314 http://www.indiejazz.com/ProductDetailsView.aspx?ProductID=193