As I was reading the latest guitar-player mag, I came across the Carlos Santana article, and wish to post my "Intangibles", or what inspires me when I write music or play.

First off, I wish to say to you that anyone who dares to achieve, can do so if they understand the foundation of what makes a player great. I believe it requires a certain amount of suffering, and self awareness. The ability to affect someone with your musical offering isn't easy. It isn't something you can conjure up at will, or pull out of a hat when you need it. But it is always there, and when the time is right, it will come. Suffering also has a big part in the picture. You must be able to make a note cry as hard as you have cried(Stevie Ray is a great example) Self denial has ways of milking your soul for the "money notes", a Larry Carlton expression for the notes that hit you in the gut. Steve Vai once fasted for three days before he wrote his epic masterpiece "For the Love of god. Playing scales to a metronome may increase your speed, and may help you discover the fretboard, but it in no way will help you bridge the gap between the audiences heart, and yours.

Now onto my "Intangibles". I think of the hard times that I have had, the feelings of being homeless, hungry, and destitute of truth. I remember these things and how they made me feel. I translate that to the fretboard by playing the chords and notes that helped me make sense of the whole mess. I also think of the joyous occasions such as the birth of my Daughter, and the journey towards truth. These things have a pure base, and will always inspire melody that is pleasant and cohesive to that which makes us human, namely the ability to accept our place in life.

And lastly, you must love music with a fervent love. You have to explore its depths, and seek its acceptance. Only then will you have the tools to carve your spot on the worlds heart.


Thanks for your time.

Brody Cobb

P.S

I'm of two minds when it comes to this topic. I do agree that your playing is more than simply the sum of your years of practice. It comes from how you listen to music and how you listen to others as well as how you approach and think about playing. I usually put it this way: Music is a listening skill -- the playing is merely physical, the outcome is based on how you listen.

But...

I'm reminded of the story told by Dustin Hoffman, when preparing for his role in Marathon Man as a victim of torture at the hand of an ex-Nazi played by Sir Lawrence Olivier. Using method techniques, Hoffman purposefully hadn't slept or eaten in days and a lot of time yelling at the top of his lungs to blow out his voice. He came on the set ready to shoot, looking like the wreck he had become during his prep. Olivier looked at him, and asked him about his appearance, and Hoffman told him of the excruciating preparation for the scene, to which Sir Lawrence Olivier replied, "My dear boy, why don't you try acting?".

A good player is the sum of his/her musical and life experience, but I feel a little skeptical about things like Steve Vai's fast and meditation over a guitar solo and the old, "you have to have felt the blues through some sort of personal calamity to convey the spirit of the blues in your playing" maxim. I feel an accomplished player (I don't mean a master of technical scale work, but an experienced player who listens to the music and his/her craft) can be truly authentic and can contribute greatly to the Canon of great players.

You make some good points, and I agree with you to an extent, but I still feel that one who can direct his energy and passion towards his craft via emotions and such has an advantage over the ordinary player who simply studies music and theory and always thinks only in those terms.

I suppose it has a lot to do with focus, and there is no set rules or science to it, but in my own playing, I have noticed this to be true.

The difference between playing well and playing well with feeling...may be subtle and often NOT noticed by the audience....but there is a difference.

I guess if you never felt sad (but who hasn't)...it's not that simple for you to play sad just 'cuz you studied the proper "method" for "sad playing"...etc.
So I think we ALL already have many experiences/emotions to draw from...some people just know how to do it better than others, and that is not necessarily something one can learn...
...you either feel it, or you act like you feel it.

When I was an Air Force medic, I worked Newborn Nursery a lot of night shifts. There was one particular night that changed my outlook on a lot of things. Now, up to that point in my life, babies were, in my opinion, little blank pages waiting to written on, and whene they were adult, their behavior was pretty much programmed into them by parents, schools, other kids, etc. As babies though, they cried because of discomfort that originated in an empty stomach, a full diaper, or the wrong temperature in their environment, or at worst because they were afraid of something, a loud noise or bright light, whatever. They didn't have cognitive processes sophisticated enough to motivate them to action of any sort beyond weeping pitifully when they were uncomfortable. They simply hadn't learn how.

One night, this baby was crying because it wanted something, feeding I think. I went out to pick it up and give it a bottle. But the closer I got to it, the more obvious it became that the baby wasn't weeping pitifully, it was hollering angrily. He was one pissed-off kid, let me tell you. Anybody could have seen it. There were no tears in it's eyes, and the cry was not sad or painful in any way. It wasn't kicking it's legs and waving it's arms in that spastic way babies do, it was rolling and thrashing around in it's crib as violently as it's undeveloped muscles would let it. That kid was making it as plain as he was able to that whatever it wanted had better get there PDQ, or there was gonna be Hell to pay. In short, this 2 or 3 day-old baby was throwing a full-on tantrum. He hadn't had time to learn what a tantrum was, he'd never seen anyone pitch a tantrum, or ever been told that if he acted that way, he might get what he wanted. He was as totally natural a person as it is possible for a person to be, and he was pitching one of the most obvious tantrums I had ever seen.

I guess you could say I had a revelation or epiphany right there. From that moment on, I knew for certain that everybody carries personality traits into this world with them. They are NOT little blobs of flesh with the potential to become any sort of person they are raised to be, they are little packages of personality that learn to express themselves with socialization. I still pity that kid's mom and dad, because I know they spent a lot of time thinking :"My God, what did I do wrong with this kid?", when they likely didn't so anything more wrong with him than they did any other kid they had.

To me, the intangible people bring to their expression of music or any other nteractive endeavor is their personallity, and it always shows one way or another. If a person is compulsive or sloppy about practice, it shows. If they are an emotional and/or spiritual person, it shows. If they are a total putz, it really shows, as it showws when they are a loving, generous person. That part of us we are born with. We may learn to control it to one extent or another, but we never completely lose it.

Certainly, experience tempers personality, and to some extent gives it form. But we can't lose it, it's the essence of who we are, and it becomes obvious in pretty much everything we really put ourselves into. No matter what we experience, we are experiencing it through "me" colored glasses, and always have. To me, that is at least one of the major influences on what our music is and/or can become the most.

That happened in 1973 or 74, so if he didn't get himself killed one way of another, would be 34 or 35 now. I suspect he will be giving someone a hard time as long as he lives. I just hope he has learned to do it for the right reasons. Who knows, he might be playing grindcore, or death metal, or nihilistic punk, or whatever they are calling angry agressive music these days...

Maybe he just crapped in his diaper and wanted a fresh one...???




I know I would be real pissed if that happend!

I'm kind of saying the same thing. One is the sum of one's experience, but just because someone has felt true sadness, does not make them better suited to play the blues, than someone who has a very experienced ear, strong listening skills and can play with conviction.

I'm not talking about faking it, here... I just think the intangibles are more subtle in some cases than stated and in other cases, they're less influential.

I've played with total wankers who in other areas of their life have known, heartache and suffering. While technically good players, they were not good listeners and wanked all over the music capturing none of the emotional content.

So it really is an intangible combination of emotion, experience, talent and ...um, I'll use the term "community" -- an active listening skill to "tune in" to the intention behind the music.

I did say I was of two minds here... I am in agreement with the posts here, just believe there are so many other variables.

Well, depending on where you were stationed (Elmendorf AFB?) that could have been me!

(I've been told that half my problem is that I spent my whole life pissed off! )

(edit)

I've always had an affinity for angry music. Now I'm really curious where you were stationed...

Yeah...I agree...you can't just play...you really have to listen to what you are playing, and then let that input feed back into your playing.

Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson AZ, from August of 1972 to May of 1976.

Me too. I don't look forward to my Depends years...

Nah, his diaper wasn't loaded, but even if her were, it was the way he made his problem known, not the problem. He was the only baby I ever saw pitch a fit like that.

Yeah...maybe it was the Griffinator...

one more spam torpedo

I guess the ocean that I dip my toe into when I'm playing is that of music itself. Music has a written language, and we can describe it in intervals (minor thirds, perfect fifths, etc) and rhythms (quarter rest, eighth note, etc). But it's the journey from one note to the other, from one beat to the next, in which all the magic and spirituality lies.

Why does the flat fifth in a pentatonic scale sound so greasy and bluesy? Why does the tritone sound so "Satanic?" Why do major keys sound "happy?" Notation can't express those sorts of feelings or provide any explanation for them, they only show you how and where to play them in any given piece of music. Yet, when people hear them they can be brought to tears, experience a huge rush of adrenaline, fall into a meditative state or even all of the above..sometimes in the same song!

It's how a player reaches into the those intervals/modes/keys, extracts and expresses all that vibe and emotion that gives players those intangibles that we sometimes just can't describe. And that's what inspires me, and what I try to tap into. How do I wring out the soul behind even the simplest chromatic riff? How can I bring a tear to someones eye with nothing more than bending up a whole step?

Not sure who said it first, but that's what this saying is all about (I'm paraphrasing):

It's not the notes...it's the space in-between them that's important.

To an interviewer’s question about Carlos Santana’s thoughts on tone, John Lee Hooker replied, “He know.”

Carlos got it right again. It’s not moments of musical virtuosity that stop me in my tracks; it’s the beauty of unadorned honesty, like Mike Bloomfield’s 30-second “Easy Rider” on the Electric Flag’s “A Long Time Comin’.” Or Blind Lemon Jefferson’s low E string gongs after the line “Did you ever hear a church bell tone?” in “See that My Grave Is Kept Clean.” Or, on an old Lily Brothers album, Don Stover’s five-string banjo break on “Passing by a Lonesome Graveyard,” which says pretty much all you need to know about bereavement. These moments never fail to give me goose bumps, but it sure ain’t because of the musicians’ gear or speed or hip voicings.

So what “intangibles” do I try to express? Would I rather my listeners boogie themselves into oblivion or come away warmed by a sense of belonging to a community of souls? Do I step aside as I play to let the light shine through? Am I telling the truth? Is what I’m playing honest enough to make listeners exchange smiles of affirmation? Might a listener some hundred years from count it among the blessings of being alive—as I do when I hear Django’s “Ou est tu mon amour”? A tall order, which I know I’ll never achieve. But in a world of false gods, encroaching darkness, cruelty, and confusion, I can think of few ambitions more important than the attempt to express, as music can, what’s best about us.

William Faulkner in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech said, “I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.” And I believe that the undisputed proof of that prevailing will be a soul expressing the inexpressible through music.

Wayne... You said it, brother.

Something I was thinking of today when slacking off at work:

My original post talked about moods and emotions that certain tonalities evoke, and how we as players tap into those moods. But a big part of plucking those emotions out of the universe are the tangible aspects of playing we use to express them...assaulting the strings like Pete Townshend, the elegant fingerpicking finesse of Chet Atkins, the fuzzed out Univibe-y swirl of Hendrix (though that's not really tangible in the traditional sense..but we can recognize and describe what's going on)...I can go on forever.

For you guys, does the tangible part of your playing help you tap into the intangibles? If you consciously play angrily or sadly or joyfully, does that open the door to those intangible senses and help you harness them?

Or is it the other way around, where you reach up into the ether first and find those vibes, and your playing mirrors it, almost subconsciously?

For me it's the second way...
I can "doodle" all day long...but until I find the mood/vibe...it's just doodling.
Of course, there are some things that help set the mood...but it's rarely that I can just do steps 1-2-3 and there's the mood/vibe.
I wish it was that simple...that you can just turn on the intangibles by using a given set of tangibles.

That is good stuff man! I really took a mental note there. I'm pretty sure you met my ex wife in that crib...

Why are these the same thing? Uh That's Deep!

Very well put God Bless..

In order to be the superior of the people, One must, in the use of words, place himself below them. And in order to be ahead of the people, One must, in one's own person, follow them-Tao


Hello,




I just got done reading the Multi-dimensional Miracles Article. This is certainly my most favorite Gp article of all "time". Im tired of competition. Are you? Im tired of the guitar culture. It needs a re-vamping. For so long I would judge every musician, mainly guitarists that I saw. I would pick on every detail, and if it wasn't what I thought should be played or fit under my standards it was trash.


Ive learned to open up. I can accept every musician, I can learn from every musician, maybe for what to strive for, or perhaps to shy away from, but in EVERY instance I learn something.

When Carlos speaks about the Intangible he is spot on. Everyone can do this! Everyone has a birthright to discover this gift within them. Everyone has the gift! Open up and Open it! But what Carlos does not stress, as he is of course a multi-dimensional being and therefore he has transcended these material things, these Material things being your Phrygian, Dorian, Pentatonic, Whatsatonic. He Transcends these things! Its a beautiful thing to see him in action! To see him Surrendering to God!

In my experience one has to learn technique, or material. Excuse me- I had to learn technique. Things like Dorian Phrgiyan. These are only tools to help you transcend FASTER! The goal is to learn these things, bury them into the subconscious or whatever, trust that you know them and then TRUST in the GOD or SElf or subconscious, whatever you what to call it. THE TRUST IN YOU! And watch yourself fly, experience your music as one in the audience experiences your music. When the ego of Carlos steps aside there is no difference between him and I. We are both listening to God Play, we are brothers of our Father.

Of course we have been lost. Our relationship with God has been lost. We need to build this relationship up, and believe that HIS fingers can play us! You are his instrument. He gave you the hands to play, he gave you the wood to build your guitar so shit man move over and let him play! Hahah

For some it may be hard to step aside and just experience yourself watching God play. But trust in him, you wont be disappointed. He was behind every guitarist, every book that has ever come into your path, he created the eyes. He created vibration it self. When we play we pray.

I recommend learning the scales and getting them under your fingers, know them, use them for a long time. So you can build trust.(because this power is of course already there, you just have to believe and have faith in it.) Then gradually work on just listening, and playing. MAKE MISTAKES! Lots of them! The more mistakes you make, the quicker you will learn! We learn by our mistakes, or the mistakes of those who have gone before us.

To begin trusting in god, try to forget playing, and focus on your breath. Its hard but stick with it and see the results, he will play and you will listen. Or simply watch your hands as if you had nothing to do with them.

If you are still saying things like "that guy sucks, I am better than him, Im better than her" than you are only fighting yourself! Open up and learn from everyone. In no way to I believe I am in a position to tell anyone to do this, because I have not done it completely, only tasted the possibility, so I share my intangible thoughts.


It is precisely because he does not compete that the world cannot compete with him.


Sincerely,
David

Right on.....I've always thought that we are all instilled with the potential to do great things from God (whoever your God may be), and that when you do these things, you are communicating with Him. To use realize and use our God-given talents is to pray, not just folding your arms and saying "Our Father who art in Heaven......"

And this is coming from a guy who doesn't attend church and is pretty well out of religious practice (at least in the non-musical sense).

I guess where I part company with your thought is that I don't believe God plays through us. Rather, I believe He wants us to play to Him, to find our way to Him on our own. He doesn't directly help us transcend (though He can inspire us to).

Cheers to a great post

Everyone has their opinions.

I am not a big Carlos fan. He just seems over rated to me. But thats my opinion of course.. Oh yeah, we don't talk religion in this forum, to the best of my knowlege. So leave the His and God stuff at the door please.

I get the same effect after a nice doobie...

Hehe

For me, the creative process begins and ends with being watchful. At times, during a dry spell for example, I wonder if I have another song in me. But experience has taught me not to worry about it. Instead, the focus is redirected outwardly. What's going on? Who is touching my heart? What are the issues needing to be addressed? What inexplicable signs pop up? Are my dreams speaking to me?

I know something is cooking in my subconscious that shouldn't be forced. You can't bake fine bread more quickly by raising the temperature. Rather, it will take as long as necessary.

Then one day the idea appears fully formed. It feels as if it has been there all the time, floating around, waiting to be rescued. That's when the pieces fall into place. Often it feels effortless, and the actual work of assembling the lyrics and music are energizing rather than draining.

I think the "intangible" in this instance has to do with learning how to get out of my own way. If I avoid chasing a song like a keystone cop, the song will walk up to me and ask me to dance.

Howard Lewis, The Embedded Reporter

Plenty of those at the Santana concert I went to a few years back