September 27ths

9/27/2018            

I’ve kept an idea list for as long as I can remember. The funny thing is that I tend to work on things that are in-progress or are a part of a series, which may or may not have been from the list. While I’m working, I will take the time to explore ideas as they arise, which get added to the list.    

9/27/2021            
          
Finally reading one of Neil Peart’s books, Roadshow about their 2004 tour. I liked the bit about “tryism”. I tried the “trying not to try” (wu wei) and never got anything done and never led anywhere interesting. Even if you simply coast to the next destination, you find yourself trying something during the day, regardless of whether it’s creative or not. What I find remarkable about him is how he can be both intellectual and also do the hard work of playing shows every day for six months. I always thought it was about compartmentalization, but in fact, you can do both simultaneously.    

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There was an apparently young bass player on Quora and his question was: “I’m scared of the fingerboard and the strings because I’m afraid I won’t be good at it...” This seems so foreign to me that someone would be thinking that way. Perhaps it’s the initial motivation, and when that motivation involves the idea of guaranteed success, it kills the mood. You must immediately demonstrate success or the whole endeavor is pointless. People see what other players are doing and they want to do those things, but everyone’s hands are different and you have to work around them.             

The question remains whether the music would have been better if I didn’t study music formally. De-skilled artists cut to the chase, perhaps to experience success with a modicum of effort.