Playing from the heart

Motive Motive, Motive.....what is the motive behind someone playing an instrument....you can't assume to know that. Some you see onstage never have played "from the heart", or at least not as many here have assumed it's definition. Which is worthy of it's own thread.

And then there are some who've, either temporarily or permanently,had the passion drained out of them due to the occupational hazards of playing for a living. So there's that as well
 
And then there are some who've, either temporarily or permanently,had the passion drained out of them due to the occupational hazards of playing for a living. So there's that as well

It reminds me of a Leunig cartoon - a duo on a tiny stage, a very depressed looking sax player with a dowdy woman (complete with horn rimmed glasses) playing a snare with brushes.

A drunk his partner are standing in front of them saying, "Play the Golden Wedding again" ...
 
There is a big difference between playing all the right notes and playing the music. Most musicians at the bar room level really don't know much about making music. The ones who actually do stand out. It's not really heart you're talking about it's musicianship and musicality.
 
The players I'm referring to can get around their instrument. They just aren't plumbing the depths of themselves or these songs. It's not like they have to look emotional while playing from an emotionally deep place, I'm not saying that at all. Garibaldi is a great example of that.

I'll try and put a finer point on it. It's not the emotion that the player puts into their instrument, it's the emotion that flows out of their instrument that is the criteria I judge a performance on.

I used to have too much going in, not enough coming out. I pretty much got past that, with the help of my trusty recorder.

An analogy would be someone reading you a story monotone vs someone reading you a story with varying degrees of emotional intensity, depending on what part of the story they are in. As for the shy players, I'm betting they wish they weren't shy. I don't think being shy is a goal of musicians. The goal of musicians, IMO, is to communicate human emotions through their instrument, using songs as a vehicle. The ones who aren't there yet, like the shy ones, I get. The ones who know their instrument enough to express emotion.... but don't....are the ones I am referring to. Hey, maybe they can't because of their personality. Maybe they're too bunged up to let go. If that's the case then I think they should do accounting or something. I like seeing someone up there who is communicating, who is unafraid of expressing an emotion other than cool, rather than someone just standing there and playing the right notes. There's a world of difference in my mind. It's the difference between good and great.


Well then what my opinion of what you mean is this and it can be applied all across musicianship and songwriting.

It's the difference between a guitarist who writes a more simple but emotionally powerful solo in a context suiting the song ,is effective in a songwriting sense and one who plays an abstract solo full of wankery. Apply that to drums as well, something that a layperson can connect to at a gig.

That example Aeolian gave was a good one regarding the big name musician.

In fact, is heart even the right word? It's more brain than anything, knowing what to play when. Just good musicality I guess.
 
I like this topic and I like the responses so far.


I look for integrity.
I think I can tell if a musician has a love for what they do
and they should do-what-they-do even if stranded on a desert island.

I think ebay still delivers to uncharted islands in south east Asia.

Having said that, I highly value creation. So someone presenting a somewhat
unpolished song or idea is just as interesting as a more competent and emotional reproduction.
 
interesting topic. i've been accused of looking like a robot when i play. "sorry. i don't smile when i'm having sex, either." the pursuit of making good music requires my full attention, and i am loving it, but it may not be obvious externally. as far as sounding inspired, that's a matter of taste. nowadays, it doesn't seem to matter what we're doing, so long as we look good doing it.
 
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Heart is the exact word I'm talking about. Not musicianship...or musicality...in my mind they are more "the right notes", where heart is the X factor that doesn't fit so neatly in a little descriptive box..Heart is something that I want to see when I see a live performance. Great musicianship and great musicality musicality don't necessarily have to be present to see a heartfelt performance. Average musicianship and average musicality will suffice if the heart factor really wows you.

Heart is when the person clearly has transcended "the right notes" and is communicating feelings, or emotions, on an egoless plane. They have moved way beyond the "Don't I look cool" phase and are really using their instrument to channel the music in such a way that connects with people on an emotional level. Of all the 6 bands I saw there, perhaps 6 people out of 30 up there were playing or singing in a way that I felt was heartfelt. My eyes were on them most of the time, because it was the most satisfying. The love for what they do is unmistakeable.

If a guy looks bored onstage, and his playing isn't electrifying at all, I think it's safe to assume that I can make a call on how he approaches music. Bland is the word that comes to mind. No one can convince me that the guy who looks bland and sounds bland is feeling things deep.

There are some YT clips of a female Chinese/Japanese/Taiwanese/ (not sure which) piano player that exudes such joy in her playing, it's electric. I can't remember her name, and I can't seem to find it on YT, but if I could, I'd post a link so I can point to someone who embodies the spirit of what I am trying to describe. One look at her and there is no mistaking what this girl is feeling and communicating. I wish I could remember her name.
 
In my opinion, playing from the heart was obvious when watching Keith Moon. My guess is that he's inspired more people to take up the drums than anyone. It's hard not to have been mesmerized by him. If he wasn't the most technical drummer who cares...?
 
Keith is a poster child for heart. I should have mentioned him. Thanks.
 
I think what we are discussing it the difference between Classical beauty and Romanticism.

The Classicist says a work of art can stand on its own
but the Romanticist believes something personal must be added.
 
Perhaps. I don't think it is that arty. I wouldn't call most of those players I saw classic, not by a mile. I guess it all comes down to a persons personality. Some just can't get to that place I guess. I am inspired by the ones who can and do. The others? They just aren't tapping into the potential. Hey, maybe they are doing the best they can, operating at their peak output. If so, in my mind, it's not cutting it. Sorry. Next!
 
No. These are my opinions only and your average non musician will like whatever you give them IMO, as long as it doesn't totally suck. Nobody sucked up there. I just want to see higher standards. It could have been soooo much better.
 
Wait, wait. Am I supposed to believe that there's some other way of playing? Other than from the heart?

To me, the only purpose of technique/skill/craft/whatever we call it is to enable our souls to express themselves. And FWIW, the way I know if a drummer's heart/soul are expressing themselves is by hearing a drummer "swing." Even heavy metal drummers can swing. It's all about propelling the band with everything you've got, not just your hands and feet.
 
Keith is a poster child for heart. I should have mentioned him. Thanks.

Funny thing. The poster child loved drumming so much that he didn't touch the drums when left to his own devices :)

No doubt Moonie was fully immersed when playing - as we all are when we don't play enough to get stale. For him, drums seemed to be an expression of his RnR lifestyle so playing with conviction wasn't an issue. Definitely the poster child for a method acting approach.

I'm thinking about the drummers you saw who prompted this thread. Ambientgreg earlier talked about making assumptions - that we only know what we see on the outside.

Who knows? Maybe the drummers you saw were flat out getting their parts right let alone adding anything else? Or they might be holding back because they were told just before the gig to keep a lid on the tempos? Or the dog died earlier in the day?
 
Wait, wait. Am I supposed to believe that there's some other way of playing? Other than from the heart?

I see my share of people playing that IMO, are doing it for the cool factor, and other ego based reasons. Musicians need to be team players, and have something to contribute. Way too many, based on what they do up there, seem to be motivated from a shallower place than I would like to see.

One guy in particular...I really liked him. He was a guitar player that played a cigar box type of guitar. What a fun guy to watch play. He used his guitar and his facial expressions together to convey himself, and his fun attitude to the audience. It was infectious. Totally entertaining.
Compare that to the drummers who play just OK during the song and sleepwalk through the endings, not putting any energy into their "dismount". Night and day. One drummer..I swear he looked like he had sand in his eyes.... he looked like was crying the whole time. Waaaa. That guy desperately needed to see himself on video. It wasn't good. You could see the mental holdback in his playing. But I can't fault him too much. He just wasn't that far along in the journey, that was obvious.
 
A player can be totally into his performance and give a heartfelt performance and still suck. Lots of players love to play, put there heart into it and sound terrible.

This totally reminds me of a story I just heard about a seminar the great Keiko Abe just put on this past summer here in America. A young marimbist played one of her pieces. He was totally into it, played all the right notes and was supposedly very animated while playing. He finished his piece and the other participants clapped wildly. Keiko walked out on the stage to critique him. She looked at him as he was beaming and said "yes, yes they clap that's nice. You played all the right notes but you missed the music" The whole place went silent.

I think we many times misinterpret enthusiasm for talent.
 
There are some YT clips of a female Chinese/Japanese/Taiwanese/ (not sure which) piano player that exudes such joy in her playing, it's electric. I can't remember her name, and I can't seem to find it on YT, but if I could, I'd post a link so I can point to someone who embodies the spirit of what I am trying to describe. One look at her and there is no mistaking what this girl is feeling and communicating. I wish I could remember her name.

Larry, is this the one? http://youtu.be/95UpHPvQAXE Hiromi Uehara. There are some of her playing with Steve Smith which is where you may have first run across her.
 
You played all the right notes but you missed the music" The whole place went silent.

I think we many times misinterpret enthusiasm for talent.

I find that the GP tends to be opportunist and happily accepts the good in the absence of the great - unless they've paid for greatness, of course.
 
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