Since I just finished band practice and am still humming the tunes, I thought I’d reflect on a musical moment that I love.
One of the greatest experiences of playing in a band is when you are tuned in to each other, hearts open, the song flowing, and magic happens. For me as a singer, I hear myself riffing or accenting a line or creating a tone of voice or a rhythm of the lyrics or vamping, maybe in a way I’ve never quite done before, and whatever I’m doing is just right for that song at that moment in accord with what the other musicians are doing. It’s the best feeling. We all feel it, glancing and smiling at each other. It’s absolutely joyful. And it’s sensuous.
And it makes me a better singer.
The whole is always more than the parts in a band when it’s playing well, bringing together the various instrumental parts, weaving melodies and harmonies, shaping a song. But what I’m talking about is more than that. It’s a conversation without words. It’s a giant hug with your fellow musicians without touching. You feel safe and vulnerable and loved and loving. You can take greater risks. Some musicians are just inspiring that way.
Before you can get there, it helps to really know your instrument. I wish I could contribute to the magic with my guitar, for example, but I’m just not proficient enough. I can’t make it sound the way I imagine it. I think with more practice, I’ll be able include my blues harp/harmonica in that magic. But my voice is the instrument I know the best and can use with the most grace. My voice is what I can give, to my fellow musicians and to audiences.
The beauty is that I’m still learning more ways to use my voice, better resonators in my body to hit high and low notes, different phrasing of lyrics, different qualities and sounds of voice, clear and gravelly and tones in between. Tonight, inspired by a few very giving musicians, I found myself shaping words differently in a blues tune, rounding out vowels, projecting the tone and vibrato in a new combination that made the song sound better. It was very exciting.
And hard to describe! I hope I’m giving some clarity to the experience.
The cool thing is that you can play with great musicians who you can never achieve this experience with. They play by rote, mechanically, what’s on the musical page. It feels like these musicians are shut off from others, not giving of their music. You can still make great music, but it doesn’t have the magic. It doesn’t lift you up.
A sports team can have a similar experience to the musical magic. In the movie Miracle on Ice, based on a true story, the hockey coach doesn’t necessarily pick the most skilled players in try-outs. He picks the right players for his dream team, ones that can each take on an important role in harmony with their fellow players to create an inspired, winning Olympic team.
I’ve had this experience on the theatrical stage too, when you’re working with an ensemble of actors who are wide-awake and attentive and inspired by each other.
I’ll try to articulate this better another time. It’s late as I write this, my eyes heavy with sleep.
