Good Day Earthlings. Happy Thanksgiving to you. The thirteenth song of the Plant Songs Series is called The Ascent. When I started this project I had said that I’d give myself this week of Thanksgiving off. However, I found myself with enough spare time to get one written. It turned out to be a bit of a beastly song to record! But it was plenty of fun.
The nervous system is fascinating. There’s a phenomenon known as “red light syndrome”. This refers to musicians getting “freaked out” when the tapes are rolling. I remember reading about the great jazz pianist Bill Evans’ issues with it. I actually bought a CD box set of live bootleg recordings called The Secret Sessions in which Bill did not know he was being recorded. I don’t know, Bill always sounded great, so I can’t say that his playing on that box set was better than his other recordings.
I think I’ve been more aware of my nervous system as I’ve gotten older. I can be practicing a song and be totally relaxed. But the moment I press the record button there’s a pretty remarkable shift. There must be different chemicals being released at that moment. For the most part, I’m able to deal with it. I think I’ve done enough recording that I can usually perform in that state. Sometime, hopefully it even helps my focus. But focus is interesting for a musician, especially for an improvisor, perhaps.
It seems to me that there’s a sweet spot state of conciousness for musicians - a state where you’re fully aware, listening on many levels, but also NOT thinking much. Thinking, especially analytically, can really hinder an improvised performance. Instead you want to be in a feeling state. In this song, I found that it was the same during the written part of the performance. I had to practice this song a lot and it got to the point where my body knew how to do it, expcept for one thing: the left hand ostinato in this song is interrupted by an ascending phrase in the right hand, several times. At the very end of the form the ascending phrase happens again, but this time it goes farther up the piano, and requires a different fingering. So I had to be in a feeling state, but be aware enough to remember that fingering change for the end, otherwise I’d mess that up. It was an enjoyable challenge.
The title, The Ascent, is in reference to my Mount Beacon hiking routine (again). I ascend fast to get my heart rate up. I find that during most of the ascent I’m working out problems of life in my mind, thinking the thoughts that need to be thought, while also making a few observations along the way. It’s a busy and active state of mind during the ascent. I usually set a timer for twenty minutes. When I get to that mark, I take a break, take a drink, have a few breaths, then head down. Now my concousness shifts. Endorphines have been released. I’m observing much more and feeling my way down the trail. It’s a fantastic state. I’m feeling energies, essences, and love from my surroundings.
I hope you enjoy The Ascent. I’m a little surprised that this came out of me. It’s not the first thing I’d expect out of me. And I’m surprised that there have been more medium and fast tempos coming out of me. When I started the Plant Songs project, I was gearing up to defend myself from myself about all the slow songs I would be writing. But as always, these projects go their own way and I’ve now released six songs in a row that are not ballads, at least in my mind. Go figure.