Musical Tradition.
The other night I sat up watching an overnight music video show dedicated to Aussie rock from the 1970's. Some faces were familiar, I played with some of the guys from that era in the late 80's and early 90's when they were the same age I am now. By then they were considered the gentry of rock and roll, I was honoured to play with them, learn from them.
This tradition of passing on musical knowledge and spirit is a beautiful thing. It is present in every form of music. It takes two to make it work, the experienced musician with a love for his craft and the patience to teach, the novice with the humility and desire to learn. Like any other creative pursuit becoming a good musician requires self knowledge, without it one is just playing party tricks one after the other. Humility is the first step to self knowledge. Humility is way out of fashion, an almost forgotten word.
Wherever I go I hear young musicians who don't understand their craft. They are clowns or actors or freak shows, many entertaining things but not musicians. They use music to serve their own purpose instead of using their talent to serve the music. This is the one lesson I heard from older musicians from every field, jazz to punk, that our job is to serve the music.
These old masters knew humility. They'd gone from national fame and fortune to playing with me, a massive fall. The ones who had kept playing, who came to a small gig and cheerfully nursed me along were the true players, the men who lived by a code of honour when it came to music. Most of them had suffered for it, their ex wives couldn't understand, most people they met couldn't understand, maybe I gave them something back by understanding what they were trying to tell me.
All the guys I saw on television had much more commercial success than I've ever had. Because of what they taught me I've never needed to strive for fame, they freed me to pursue my own musical desires. Seeing them as slender young men full of energy and power, strutting peacocks under lights, filled me with joy. I felt like I shared their night in the sun, that I'm part of their tradition.
Parkstreet.
This tradition of passing on musical knowledge and spirit is a beautiful thing. It is present in every form of music. It takes two to make it work, the experienced musician with a love for his craft and the patience to teach, the novice with the humility and desire to learn. Like any other creative pursuit becoming a good musician requires self knowledge, without it one is just playing party tricks one after the other. Humility is the first step to self knowledge. Humility is way out of fashion, an almost forgotten word.
Wherever I go I hear young musicians who don't understand their craft. They are clowns or actors or freak shows, many entertaining things but not musicians. They use music to serve their own purpose instead of using their talent to serve the music. This is the one lesson I heard from older musicians from every field, jazz to punk, that our job is to serve the music.
These old masters knew humility. They'd gone from national fame and fortune to playing with me, a massive fall. The ones who had kept playing, who came to a small gig and cheerfully nursed me along were the true players, the men who lived by a code of honour when it came to music. Most of them had suffered for it, their ex wives couldn't understand, most people they met couldn't understand, maybe I gave them something back by understanding what they were trying to tell me.
All the guys I saw on television had much more commercial success than I've ever had. Because of what they taught me I've never needed to strive for fame, they freed me to pursue my own musical desires. Seeing them as slender young men full of energy and power, strutting peacocks under lights, filled me with joy. I felt like I shared their night in the sun, that I'm part of their tradition.
Parkstreet.
http://www.kentparkstreetblog.com/
Studio single, Drum, available for download at iTunes, all the other sites.
Studio single, Drum, available for download at iTunes, all the other sites.
No comments:
Post a Comment