Long day at work today followed by a long wet commute home. I had a brief time available to play guitar before I went to a friend's celebration. I languished a bit with my AT lie down, enjoying the release this simple but powerful practice offers. Reinforcing the thought that improvising is easy to do, I began. Flat, uninspired, more flat - simply the reality of where I was. The judging thoughts tried to impose themselves on me, and to a degree they did. Returning to what worked last night I did enjoy improvising around the arpeggios in fourths and sixths again.
Returning home at 9:45 pm, I was ready to call this a night. Yet I felt as if I had not made an effort with my commitment to the Creative Pact 2011 project. I know the value of honoring commitments, and tiredness is not a reason to let go of what I needed to do. As I thought of what to do, Brian Eno came to mind. What would Eno do, to find a way past his habits and be open to music. The thought that arrived was to fire up my copy of 77 Million Paintings and improvise a soundtrack. Sparse, simple, and Enoish moments came and went, replaced by other moments. Watching the changing collage of color, lines, shapes offered me a focus.
The time flowed gently. I thought that I was not thinking about the Alexander Technique much. Smiling I let this pass, and played on. Very occasionally wishing for my neck to be free. Just releasing the notes from within this space the images and overall influence of Eno created. Yes, improvising is easy to do ...
Screenshot from Brian Eno's 77 Million Paintings.
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