Morrighan
Super Member
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Multidimensional Navigator
Posts: 505
Isle of Everywhere
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Pssst: this is how it works: Intent. Anchor in form. Creation. We are creator beings.
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“Do you know Wang Dang Doodle?”
That’s Bob. Bob the harmonica player. He’s a bluesman, and he knows I’m here as the blues bass player. Three weeks have gone by since he first asks.
You mean:
“Tonight we need no rest, we really gonna throw a mess We gonna to break out all of the windows, we gonna kick down all the doors We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long” I reply.
Bob grins. We’re on the same wavelength. It’s a Willie Dixon song recorded by Howlin’ Wolf. Yes, I know it. But can I play it? “How about Wang Dang Doodle,” Bob asks tonight. It’s my night on stage and I’m prepared. After Bob asked the first time, I went back to woodshed the bass line from the original Howlin’ Wolf track.
And this is what my music teachers taught me to do: teach myself. And I listen to that track, again and again and again until I internalize the groove. This is my job with the blues bass: I play the groove. “My name is Ingio Montoya. You killed the groove, now prepare to die,” is the sig of another bass player I know. He also likes The Princess Bride, and this is where he created this witty insight. It is so true. For me to internalize the groove, I first shift my attention to the first metapoint. What’s with this metapoint stuff? Certain I explained the concept of a meta-joke: a bloke walks into a pub. Something happens. The result is hilarious!
The metapoint where I shift my awareness as I internalize the groove to Wang Dang Doodle is where form and formless meet. Some of you who practice meditation may have found this space. To me, it’s about getting out of the way.
I think I have it. Now, using only my right hand, I play only the rhythm. Bzzzt. Wrong. Back to listening. It’s a rather sophisticated rhythm, actually, there is a lot of feel to it. And when I play I’ll be talking with the kick drum as I listen to the snare. My job is to provide the launch vehicle for Bob and Jason (guitar, vocals) to take orbit with Wang Dang Doodle.
We gonna romp and stomp till midnight We gonna fuss and fight till daylight We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long All night long
Now I’ve got the rhythm down, it’s time to work out the notes. I’m teaching myself.
This is about the metapoint. Teacher? Nyet. Some of my music teachers aren’t even alive today. They did their job. It’s my job now to teach MySelf. From the formless to form and back to formlessness. It’s my body that is the instrument I play. From the formless to form. The pattern goes into muscle memory and everything must be perfect. My body will never forget, so it’s vital that every movement that goes into muscle memory is perfect. My body wants to please, and it makes me so happy to
pitch a wang dang doodle all night long
We’re on stage. I know my song well before I start singing, Bob Dylan sang. My drummer is wearing a tee silkscreened with a murloc from World of Warcraft. This is going to be good, I feel.
I lay down my line that I taught myself. The drummer catches on and we settle into a conversation of time. And the band takes off…..
pitch a wang dang doodle all night long
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