The Elusive “Pocket”

There is this term used in music called the “pocket” or the “groove” and I can only describe it as this musical place where your one usually simple rhythmic part fits in perfectly with the other perfectly simple parts.

Consider an automobile engine for a moment. Each of the 8 cylinders fire only once, but in perfect succession, creating a powerful energy that can move a car! If one of those cylinders fires in the wrong place, the engine loses energy and doesn’t function as well.

In a band, a powerful rhythmic energy can be obtained by, contrary to a beginner’s first instincts, playing less rather than more. The trick here is to find out just which notes are really the important ones to play, and then play them in just the right place, with perfect timing. As each person finds their perfect part, the combined effect is a full, powerful sound.

But what the real obstacle often is, is the player’s willingness to forego the notion that playing more means you are a better player. I consider a good player to be one that plays the right notes at the right time, not a bunch of notes all the time.

Consider another example:
Have you ever noticed someone who talks constantly about themselves and their achievements to the point that no one else seems to get a chance to join the discussion? They talk so much that they leave little room for anyone to contribute to the conversation.

Now see if you recall anyone who tends to wait patiently for the just the right opportunity to say the perfect, simple statement. That statement is often so insightful that it encourages others to share their thoughts on the subject, too.

Finding that elusive pocket means being confident in your abilities to the point that you don’t feel the need to show off or dominate the musical conversation, but rather finding that simple yet profound statement to contribute. And it’s a group thing – you find and create your part with the others’ in mind.

This is a hard concept to explain in words, but I can only tell you that when you have truly experienced this, you won’t forget it. Playing becomes effortless and magical.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Have you ever experiences anything like this?

 

 

When you first learned to drive…

Remember when you first learned to drive?

There were so many things you had to remember: check the mirrors, anticipate the turn, put on the turn signals, ease up on the gas, apply the brake, put in the clutch, ease out the clutch, change gears, watch your speed, check the odometer, look out for other cars next to you and behind you and in front of you…

My gosh, that was a lot to keep track of, wasn’t it. At first.

But the more you drove – the more you practiced driving – the better you got. Some of those actions became automatic, like how to change gears with a manual transmission. Your hand knew just where that turn signal lever was and you didn’t have to think about that anymore. A quick glance in the mirror and to the side now and then became automatic, and you could monitor where the traffic was all around you. You knew how much to push the gas pedal to go the speed you wanted, and how fast to hit the brakes to stop without jerking the car unnecessarily.

Learning music is kinda like learning to drive.

At first, we have to learn all those chords, rhythms, and notes. We need to monitor our speed by paying attention to the other players behind and to our side. We have to anticipate the next chord, the next section, and know how to change our dynamics while playing. We have to watch the leader to learn how they will end the song, how to make that quick decision on how to play that last chord – long or short, and whether it is really the end, or whether they will start up again.

But just like driving, much of this will become easier and easier the more you do it.

The more you pay attention to the details, the more they will enhance your experience.

Soon you will be playing along and not even realizing all the background tasks you are performing.

Then you can go on a nice musical “drive through the country”.

[Dm]How easy is it to [Bbmaj7]read this sen[A7]tence?, or “Why I don’t like chords embedded in the same line as the lyrics!”

There is a style of song chart that has the chords embedded in the same line as the lyrics, such as:

[example 1]

[B]lyrics blah blah [D]more lyrics blah
Lyrics blah blah [Am] blah blah blah blah
Some lyrics [C]blah blah more [E]lyrics blah

As I understand it, this is a way of coding that when finished, will produce this:

[example 2]

B                         D
lyrics blah blah more lyrics blah
.                              Am
Lyrics blah blah blah blah blah blah
.                     C                         E
Some lyrics blah blah more lyrics blah

What happens sometimes, is that some people will leave it in its first form [example 1], sometimes to save space on the page or perhaps because they don’t realize there is another way to present a song. This then gets shared, passed around, copied, etc.

The simple problem with this is that it is hard to read while playing – trying to pull the chords out of the lyrics is difficult.

But the real problem with this “music” is that it isn’t musical at all.

Music isn’t a series of instructions. It’s not like assembling a bookshelf.

Music is rhythm. Music is lyrics that can be interpreted and sung in variations over the rhythm.

To teach and share music this way is doing a great disservice, as new learners begin to believe that one must think of music as a series of “things to do” without seeing (or hearing) the big picture.

Even the second way [example 2] of presenting music is misleading, in that you still think of chords occurring at a particular word, instead of in time.

Many students have asked me, “How do I know when to change the chord?” when viewing this sort of chart.

“You don’t, really.” I respond. “You have to know the song already. It’s just a guide.”

(To really know when to change a chord, you need a real chart: one that shows the time signature, measures, and structure of the song.)

I can go on and on about this, and perhaps in the future I shall, but for now I encourage you to stick with the chords OVER the lyric style [example2], as that is a step in the right direction for learning music the musical way!

The five musical senses.

Offhand, I would say that a good musician utilizes five basic skills (or senses), and with the large groups I have been working with lately, the order of learning is often in this order:

Chords (Learning basics: C, F, G, etc)
Group Playing (Singing a song together)
Rhythm (Being in sync and knowing where the beat is.)
Awareness (Knowing where others are rhythmically and hearing everything going on around you.)
Dynamics (Being an artist. Loud, soft, tender, long, short….)

The reason the Ukulele is so popular is because it is so easy to learn the basic chords one needs to start playing music. In little time at all, the beginning uke player knows C, F, and G7 and that is all they need to play hundreds of songs. The joy of singing and playing together in a group is infectious and the group singalong captivates everyone’s interest. Playing chords, strumming, singing, and reading a basic chart offers a challenge to keep up with.

Often, the other three musical skills: rhythm, awareness, and dynamics – get left behind in the pursuit of learning more chords and finding more singalong situations.

What I try to teach my groups and students, is that learning music eventually requires a basic knowledge of ALL the skills, and as long as you’re working on one or the other, you are learning.

Here’s an example: in my large group class, I remind everyone that if a chord or a particular section is offering a challenge, don’t worry about  it. Instead, listen to the rhythm of the song, get your head up out of the music and look around to notice (awareness) the visual cues I am giving to everyone, or think about the dynamics of the song. Those are just as important as the actual playing of the instrument.

Learning those five senses can occur in ANY order. Sometimes playing music means to NOT play music, but rather to observe and listen. You see, you are learning to play music even when you aren’t actually playing.

 

 

Bring a Rock to Show and Tell or “Here’s my Performance for Open Mic”

I am imagining a young boy or girl in elementary school dreading the upcoming show and tell day, as he or she doesn’t have the latest toy or fancy story about an exciting trip to Disneyland. The young child has come to think of show and tell as show off and tell, and that simply isn’t how it has to be.

I think it should be about presenting something that the child finds interesting, fascinating, or exciting! And the presentation can be about why they think it is interesting.

For example – the child who doesn’t have the latest, greatest toy to share: with the proper encouragement, he or she could, on the way to school, find something notable and share it with the class.

“On my way to school this morning I found a rock. Not any rock, but a special, magical rock! It was laying right in the middle of the sidewalk, and since there were no other rocks nearby, it must have transported itself magically there in the night.”

Creativity and presentation is key here. An ordinary rock could be the center of imagination and an example of creative presentation.

And that is how you, the beginning ukulele player, can think of what you might do for an upcoming open mic show.

So you don’t have a song fully mastered yet? Do you only know a couple of cords and are still learning the very basics? Does singing and playing in front of a group of friends scare you?

So don’t do that. Try considering this option:

“Hello everyone. I have just started to learn how to play the ukulele, so I’d like to do my open mic presentation on the three chords I have learned.”

And you would stand there very confident and play one chord…. let it sound and smile at how great it sounds…. then the next chord…. and the next… then bow and thank your audience.

Why not? It’s an open mic – an opportunity to present something you find interesting.

Or how about gently strumming one chord while reciting a short poem you wrote about being nervous at an open mic?

You see – we tend to make things more scary and complicated than they need be. Keep it simple and think about who your audience is – these are your friends, whether you know them or not. Share yourself and your interests. Don’t worry about what you imagine they want you to do – this is your time to share.

Keep it short and sweet, and then you never have to say you are afraid of your “first” open mic.

For that matter, you could always make up a song about the rock you found on the way to the open mic.