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Hey everyone,

Time once again for me to pick your collective brains:

Have you ever had any realization, as a player, listener, or just generally as a human being, that has had a serious effect on your musicianship or enjoyment of music?

I don't by any means think that one's growth can be simply put down to a string of these 'realizations', but I know that the one's I've had have always been super inspiring. I return to them again and again for artistic sustenance.

Here's one from my guitar playing: once in a while, for example, I'll just try to play with my fingers as close to a 90 degree angle as I can get them from them finger board, and I make little note-to-note corrections in the way I hold my (left) hand, to try to make this possible. Then I try to go as light as I possibly can with the touch, while still getting a good clean tone.

I find, too, that if I sit as close to straight as my crooked, spongey body will let me, and breathe right down into my stomach, like the wind instrument people do, everything seems to get better: technique, ideas, musicality, enjoyment, everything.

I remember the first times I took these ideas very seriously, they really seemed to make a strong difference. Even if I don't always manage to remember to play this way, I feel that something about these ideas has influenced all my playing. Perhaps I'm only telling myself this though!

As I think of other such tidbits, I'll post them here. A running catalogue of this type of idea, from the community at large, could form a great and useful "Chicken Soup for the Jazz Musician's Soul."