Randy Stein Posted October 8 Share Posted October 8 Recently I moved. Moving is not fun. In fact it's exhausting. On top of that I had some gigs already scheduled and picked up four more dates. I shouldn't complain. I moved only 28 miles from where I was previously. With assistance I took two days to do so. Two days after moving I had a 3 hour gig. I was fall down tired. I realized halfway into the first set my ability to look at chord charts were useless. So I just trusted my familiarity with the music and the musicality of my band mates. Muscle memory took over and I can't say I didn't make a wrong note here and there but I had a competent performance. I slept like a baby that night. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathasach Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 Sometimes when I'm aty.most exhausted, and occasionally when I'm a bit drunk, the muscle memory takes over and I play my best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Thorne Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 1 hour ago, Cathasach said: Sometimes when I'm aty.most exhausted, and occasionally when I'm a bit drunk, the muscle memory takes over and I play my best. Is this a bit like being able to drive better when you've had a few? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Irishman Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 Hmmm.. As a folkie, I find that the only place where chord charts are any use in in the practice room. By the time you get the piece on stage, either you have the chords off by memory, or you know the tune so well that you can improvise the chords. With classical musicians, it's different. In my church choir, singing Bach, Mozart or Mendelssohn, I'm in "classical" mode, and need my reading glasses to know where I am and what comes next. Cheers, john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Madge Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 The real muscle memory experience is when you are in a session on day four of a festival and you wonder "Who is playing that realy nice harmony?" and you look down and realise that it is yourself. Robin 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 (edited) On 10/10/2024 at 2:37 PM, Clive Thorne said: Is this a bit like being able to drive better when you've had a few? Drifting slightly off-topic, I must say that when I used to go sailing in France on a regular basis, I always found that my otherwise mediocre French improved enormously after a couple of 'ballons de rouge'🙂. Edited October 11 by Roger Hare 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Thorne Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 3 hours ago, Roger Hare said: Drifting slightly off-topic, I must say that when I used to go sailing in France on a regular basis, i always found that my otherwise mediocre French improved enormously after a couple of 'ballons de rouge'🙂. Same here Roger. The alcohol certainly reduces the inhibitions so you tend to go for it. I think it comes out better after a few, but haven't actually asked anyone that I'm trying to converse with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunks Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 Reminds me of an old song I just wrote: " A ship in a bottle an' a glass full o' gin, and me old concertina made a leather an' tin, haul in for the weather and we'll set sail ag'in ........" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcolm clapp Posted October 12 Share Posted October 12 I was once told at a folk club by an audience member that the more he had to drink the better my concertina playing sounded.... Rightly or wrongly, I shouted him another beer. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wild Posted October 12 Share Posted October 12 12 hours ago, malcolm clapp said: I was once told at a folk club by an audience member that the more he had to drink the better my concertina playing sounded.... Rightly or wrongly, I shouted him another beer. A few pints of somerset cider greatly improve my singing!!!🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathasach Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 On 10/11/2024 at 2:29 AM, Roger Hare said: Drifting slightly off-topic, I must say that when I used to go sailing in France on a regular basis, I always found that my otherwise mediocre French improved enormously after a couple of 'ballons de rouge'🙂. They've done studies showing this to be true. You really can speak and understand better when you're drinking, most likely bc you're not afraid of getting it wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if there were something similar for those of us with less skill at an instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON GABRIELOW Posted October 18 Share Posted October 18 I do not myself believe in the muscle memory theory except to say that it a skill normally developed over hours of practice, in any art form, which enables abilities to then become so naturally engrained into the individuals whole persona, and that is the aim one hopes to achieve; that your art becomes engrained as part of your complete personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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