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I confess; I’ve not been much of a teacher so far. I don’t seem to have the patience, or the right skill-set, or the long-term relationship with a student to bring about any consistent improvement. I have taught one-on-one at Kingston University here in the UK for a semester or two, but it was a miserable hour every week confined in a small airless box with some not very enthusiastic beginner who probably wanted to be there less than I did. And if you requested that the student practice in the vacations? Forget about it.
But it gnaws away at me; people like me who’ve been more than fortunate, it is said, should give something back. Pass on the knowledge. Hence the idea of passing on something beyond the acquisition of technical capacity, or on-instrument skills; something more in the line of off-instrument skills. And that I do by writing and showing, specifically in this KZread Channel.
Teaching by showing will also involve a demonstration of where things could have been better in my own work. Today’s lesson - pay attention at the back - involves a track called ‘Song’, a poor title choice from the composer for an otherwise brilliant small tune. The writer is the pianist Gwilym Simcock, one of Britain’s best. He’s performing it here with Earthworks, alongside his stellar colleagues Tim Garland (tenor saxophone), and Laurie Cottle (bass) in Paderborn, Germany. I’m the drummer. Thing is, we hadn’t played it before. Big mistake - and cameras are running.
So, what’s wrong with it? It’s too hesitant and too long; outstaying its welcome. The piano introduction wanders. An early rendition of the main melody from the bass sounds like a first time reading. An early mistake by Garland (who never makes a mistake) with a split note in a critical spot (at 2’25”) seems to prick the delicate fabric of confidence that is already beginning to ebb away - or it did for me, anyway. Dynamically, it’s too flat. The form has no shape, or, rather the wrong shape. The saxophone gamely tries to bring muscle to something that’s too flabby, but that only highlights the problem. The drums are definitely thoughtless. Given a second go at it, and knowing what I know now, I would have approached the piece in far more responsive, less backbeat kind of way.
This might be too harsh and assessment, you might say. Yours, Bill, is only one opinion. Indeed, but it’s the opinion that counts because it was my actions that, in part, allowed this less than perfect rendition to escape.
It’s a band-leader thing. I should have seen what was about to happen, insisted on a run-through on the day of performance or dropped the piece altogether until we had had an opportunity to play it through in rehearsal. We’d become too self-confident. We thought we could breeze through a delicate ballad sight-unseen; we could make anything work, couldn’t we?
So, here’s the lesson: music stuff can spin out of control quite quickly in the hustle and bustle of touring. Pay attention at all times when you have an instrument, or a whole band, in your hands. This performance of this song on this night was a moment of hubris; a moment of realisation that music isn’t that easily tamed. You can’t take its appearance for granted, or be too casual about it. We never had the opportunity to play ‘Song’ again, which is a shame. This lovely tune didn’t quite get the performance it deserved.
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