Day 5 - Abstract Playing

Immediately I started playing classical music, I was training for my Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) exams. My main goal at the time was to get my three songs and technical exercises perfect so that I could pass the piano exam. Having skipped two grades at the advice of my teacher, I had quite a lot of work to do in a short period of time. This, I believe, resulted in me playing in a mechanical way as opposed to playing with analysis and deeper understanding. The piece was placed in front of me, with notes and performance directions. I knew what came next before I played it, because I could physically see it. However, I could not hear it before playing it, because I did not have that deep understanding. This ability to hear any piece of music in your head before playing it, and then translating it onto your instrument, is what I am referring to as "abstract playing".

One of the challenges I've faced as an emerging Kenyan musician and crossover artiste, is abstract playing. I was able to hear the sound I wanted in my head, but somehow along the way the translation would be lost and my fingers would not execute the appropriate sound. This was particularly frustrating because the Kenyan music scene mostly requires improvisation and on-the-go creations. As a self-taught bassist (before I discovered the power of Google and YouTube..woohoo!), since I did not know the string and letter names, I had to rely on shapes on the fretboard and connecting those shapes with sounds. I believe that this connection is what bridged the gap between my head and fingers. A lead guitarist friend of mine even remarked once that my musical ear (read abstract playing) is much better on bass than on the keyboard. However, sound via shape is just one of the ingredients for abstract playing.........To be Continued...