Sometimes I see musicians that are so fantastic that they touch musicality. Musicality isn’t something that can be achieved throughout an entire set, it’s not like turning on a faucet. Instead, there are moments within songs, within riffs and within appoaches that touch musicality. What is it, exactly? It can’t be measured, bought, sold or handled. The “touching” of musicality is sensed with the heart and soul, perhaps?
- Vitality. Viva! When music has life, it breathes. It pairs up with our own breathing and heart rate. Sound waves are real things in the air, touching our bodies and ear drums. We relate to music the way we might to nature, or an animal, or another person. It is alive in this sense. It becomes a being, a thing. In a clinical way perhaps it connects to our limbic system. But there’s that moment where you lose yourself as a listener, where the music is a force that envelops you, and wraps around your head. Is it becuase the music is alive, or it makes you feel more alive? Discuss.
- Fluidity. Far from simply chops, musicality is the grammar of being able to speak freely on your instrument or with your voice. Fluids like water flow easily. They seek their own level. They give life, quench thirst. They soak entire landscapes in a monsoon, or run like a river to the sea. Whatever poetic thing you can reach for, this ease of movement is as important in music as it is in dance. When a dancer’s movements are fluid, one is connected to the other seamlessly.
- Fluency. Knowing the language, and speaking it regularly, and having the audience understand that language: when these three things come together you are fluent on your instrument. That is why, for example, a folk tune by Woody Guthrie which only has three chords, becuase it’s in a langauge he is fluent in, and that the listener is fluent in, can resonate well. If he played at a jazz gig, where people are in suits, no one might get it. In a jazz room where an instrumentalist is soloing, and playing lines, and quoting other songs and other riffs, that is a language that only those who know those tunes will grasp the virtuosity of. Fluency is relative, yet important. And you can’t miss it. It’s easy to see when someone you are talking to is fluent in a language or not.
How do you gain these things?
Fluency can be gained through use (not repetition). Playing with other musicians, and being immersed in the language of music is the only way. It’s said that being in a foreign country where you must speak a language out of necessity is one of the surest ways to learn quickly.
Fluidity can be achieved starting with the body. Relaxation and ease of musles allow you to move easily between notes and tones whether singing or playing. Drinking a lot of water might help! Also, it has become a cliche but “an open mind” is pertinent; being able to perform without expectations and execute without stress allow you to be able to move freely as needed when the music calls for it. Clear that mind. Stare at cherry blossoms. Whatever you have to do. One metaphor that may work is being an “empty tea cup” then you are able to be filled by what’s happening around you, and you are open to what you can learn.
Vitality comes from within. There is a life force in all of us. What awakens it, what grabs it and what makes it soar? Vitality is also created by importance and relevance. Food is vital for existence. The understanding of pipes is vital for a plumber’s job. In this sense, what is truly needed is vital. Vitality is also from outside of ourselves.
All of these things can be considered when reaching toward musicality in one’s musical practice.
About the cover photo: This was intentionally chosen so as to not pander to a splashy, fun image of what musicality is. Instead, in a wabi sabi style it shows what is imperfect, yet has great beauty. This take out container abandoned on the street has a napkin coming out of it with all the bursting grace of a dancer or the robes of a classical sculpture. The cigarette butt, also white against the stark background of the city street, is the small part of us that seeks to be something greater. The takeout container in this way is Godlike, and the state of man could be represented by the butt. There does not have to be anything majestic or grand about musicality, instead, we can seek the stark simplicity of musicality. It can be a simple moment. It is a matter of preparing for that moment.