A couple of years ago, someone I vaguely know from fannish music circles heard me playing, and said “Every time I hear you, you get better and better”.
I tried to take that to not mean that I used to suck.
Anyway, it’s because I treat music as a continuous learning experience. I always want to know more about music tomorrow than I did yesterday. And when I’m not learning, I get frustrated. Lately, I’ve been frustrated. Thanks to a heavy gigging and recording schedule, my chops are great. Physically, I’m playing very well. But I’m not learning to be a better musician, and that’s frustrating.
To be fair, I’ve been learning – in the studio. My abilities for recording and producing have skyrocketed over the past year and a half, with four albums under my belt in that time. But my guitar playing is pretty stagnant, and my drumming has actually regressed. Technical proficiency is no substitute for new ideas and skills.
With production complete on Apocalypse Blues, I find myself with some spare time and energy to devote to learning something new. But what? There are so many ways I could spend this time!
Two things I want to work on are music theory. On one hand, I would like to delve more deeply into maqams and middle eastern scales. On the other hand, I’d like to dig into the Lydian Chromatic theory for jazz harmony.
But I’d also like to work on instruments I neglect. I want to take up pedal steel seriously again. I miss playing doumbek as well. And I’d like to be better with keyboards. And I really should work on my singing.
And lurking behind it all is the feeling that the reason I’m “not a songwriter” is fear and lack of hard work, rather than some talent, and I could be a good songwriter as well if I just committed myself.
Hmm.