Music maniac

I had an interesting exchange of thoughts about music last night. And it got me thinking today a little bit further. I don't consider myself qualified to debate about music with musicians but that doesn't mean I don't have any opinions about the subject. The discussion yesterday was about my musical taste and about improvisation and about the "right" way to deliver music to your audience. And oh boy, you people have the wrong image of me if you think that my taste is limited to one music style. Yes, I do admit that my main interest involves mostly rock. But it's not the only type of music I listen to.

But to the point. I had one wish for the star of the yesterday's gig. I'd be happy if I'd get at least one song played and sung correctly from start to finish. The thing is that he prefers improvisation to the bottoms of his heart. But I don't think one thing rules out the other. I believe that the better you know and understand the original version of the song, the better you've learned to play it the original way, then that much easier it is to improvise and the better the end result. One does not necessarily need a folder filled with lyrics and chords on a gig but a set list does help without a doubt. And a set list can be planned loosely enough that there's room for that improvisation. The set list works like a spine: it keeps you up and going but it also allows you to do much more than just that. When you get those blank moments when you don't have any idea what to play, you'll just take a look to that set list and you're back on track again. Even with the set list one can fullfill wishes from the audience or play a song that suddenly pops into your head. The set list isn't the law, you can leave some songs out of it and add others. And the set list gives some sort of structure to the gig, so that one doesn't play just one type of music but can successfully mix different types of music. Mix it in a way that answers better to the expectations of the audience.

Improvisation is a good thing but to make it really work takes a lot of training. Let's think about acting for example. Sure, I could improvise a Shakespeare play, base it to the movies or theater plays I've seen of it. But knowing the original play, reading it and making notes of it would make my improvisation so much better. At least that's what I believe.

But with this said, the gig last night was good and I was having a great time. :)