Composing Playing with our Inner Ear

[tea for two]

"An interview with Keith Jarrett for Jazz Times and asked him about the "impossible" things he did...he had a coherent answer: he said that if your inner ear was strong enough then your fingers wouldn't have to be searching and scuffling."

Would you say you have an inner ear.
What would you say is your inner ear. What does your inner ear mean to you, if anything at all.
If you feel you have an inner ear how does it help you.
How is your inner ear different from your outer ear if there is such a thing or is there no separation for you.

::::

When anybody asks me to play something, if I deliberately make an effort to play it's a disaster : I can't to save my life : mistakes everywhere, untold bum slipped notes, not getting the key keys, playing out of time, nothing worthwhile happening.

To me this is my outer ear.

When I noodle with my inner ear which to me is letting go of my active thoughts emptying myself as it were of my active mind
then
Somehow I play error free, not a single bum slipped note, playing in the key keys, in time. Something worthwhile happening.
My fingers somehow find what to do.
I can't explain it.

To me this is because of my inner ear.

The mysteries of our brain central nervous system transferring through our fingers.

I haven't practiced at all in decades. Last thyme I practised was when I was 12. I hardly looked at theory in my decades.

All my instrumental noodles I've made into pieces albums are from my inner ear. At the moment I'm working on a pseudo Classical albuume, after that a pseudo Jazz albuume hopefully.
I'm eternally grateful for my inner ear.
Without my inner ear I'd be up sh*t creek without a musical paddle lol.

[RichardT]

I do most of my composing without thinking about what I'm writing or playing. So I guess that's my inner ear.

But I can't really hear music in my head or see images either. So I lack an inner ear in that sense, though I do know what the notes will sound like before I play them.

So without modern tools that can capture what we play and play it back I wouldn't be able to compose anything complicated.

[amanise]

What you call your inner ear is my improv engine. For it to be any good you first have to get yourself into a flow state, which can be exhausting. So what I do nowadays is reserve that for instrumental sections of songs. I then loop around the section and get a flow going, then settle it for a while, then record it and stop to go and do something else.

For whole song composition and arranging, that's not appropriate for me - so I do that in sections on a keyboard to avoid my guitar habits. I sometimes pick up a guitar to help it along if I want a bit of a complicated bit to add some interest. Sometimes if I'm in the mood I'll do a whole arrangement with a guitar, especially if I'm tired or grumpy.

The two modes are completely separate for me, one's a series of cognisant choices and the other is a sort of dream like state.

[BJG145]

"if your inner ear was strong enough then your fingers wouldn't have to be searching and scuffling"

...also assuming you can instantly and accurately play anything you can hear in your head...

I don't think it's that simple though. The mind, the body, it's all part of the same machine. It doesn't make sense to separate them out. You might still "scuffle" if you had a cut on your finger...and muscle memory is huge in virtuoso performance. Doesn't ring true as a useful observation to me.

[Drew Stephenson]

Hmmm. Mixed bag for me. I do have an inner ear (as I think I understand your description), that I am technically too incompetent to translate to guitar or keyboard to play the melody (chords, no problem, but melody? Nope) but can sing effectively enough - but it's very boring musically - pentatonic scales and chords-in-the-key.
I have to work quite hard to then make something remotely interesting that doesn't sound forced or trying-to-be-clever.

[amanise]

...
I have to work quite hard to then make something remotely interesting that doesn't sound forced or trying-to-be-clever.

Neither of the latter has come across in anything of your's I've listened to - so the hard work must be paying off. Either that or it's a filter in your head which others don't have. Either way I wouldn't worry about the quality of the output.

We all have things we have to work hard at, and others which come more naturally to us. Innit.

[Arpangel]

This "inner ear" you’re talking about, it's quite simple, when we noodle, we aren’t expecting to play something already written without any mistakes, we are making it up as we go along, there isn’t such a thing as a mistake, as we don’t know how it should sound anyway, its easier to play like this as we’re not tense about making a mistake.
I can get a bit edgy if I'm improvising to an audience, but that's easily dealt with by getting extremely drunk in the bar beforehand.

[alexis]

...
I can get a bit edgy if I'm improvising to an audience, but that's easily dealt with by getting extremely drunk in the bar beforehand.

Different but similar - the drinker the audience were, the more they loved us.

[Drew Stephenson]

I knew a pub band in Amsterdam whose catchphrase was, "Remember, the more you drink the better we sound. And the more we drink the better we think we sound."

[amanise]

I learned about that very early on. What I thought was a sudden burst of genius and creativity on stage from my perspective was actually the experience of watching an open mouthed staring moron drool into his pedal board on the part of the audience. I've never benefited from any substances taken before a set, and neither have any audiences.

[Drew Stephenson]

I used to find that one pint, taken slowly during set up and waiting was enough to take the edge off the nerves but not enough to affect the performance.
More than that was strictly for open-mic nights or jam sessions, never a proper gig.

[tea for two]

But I can't really hear music in my head or see images either.

Same. I can't hear it in my head nor see images. The licks phrases somehow happen, then I make them into something.
It's this somehow happening I can't explain.

::

What you call your inner ear is my improv engine. For it to be any good you first have to get yourself into a flow state, which can be exhausting....a sort of dream like state.

I can't say I've been in a flow state or dream like state so I wouldn't know how it feels.
It's just that stuff happens then I wonder how on earth did I do that.

::

"if your inner ear was strong enough then your fingers wouldn't have to be searching and scuffling"

...also assuming you can instantly and accurately play anything you can hear in your head...

I don't think it's that simple though. The mind, the body, it's all part of the same machine. It doesn't make sense to separate them out. You might still "scuffle" if you had a cut on your finger...and muscle memory is huge in virtuoso performance. Doesn't ring true as a useful observation to me.

Keith Jarret said he can sometimes get near to what is in his head. To get to the intricate level of Keith would require so much it's beyond mere mortals as me.
I don't have anything in my head nothing between me ears. I have in mind a vibe which then makes my fingers move they seem to do their own thing to get the vibe across.

::

Hmmm. Mixed bag for me. I do have an inner ear (as I think I understand your description), that I am technically too incompetent to translate to guitar or keyboard to play the melody (chords, no problem, but melody? Nope) but can sing effectively enough - but it's very boring musically - pentatonic scales and chords-in-the-key.
I have to work quite hard to then make something remotely interesting that doesn't sound forced or trying-to-be-clever.

I'm also severely lacking technically.
I don't think I've ever had any complex musical concepts
My inner ear is simple. It just does vibes. Then it's easy for my fingers to do these simple vibes. If I was to think the vibes in my playing then it becomes a mess.

::

This "inner ear" you’re talking about, it's quite simple, when we noodle, we aren’t expecting to play something already written without any mistakes, we are making it up as we go along, there isn’t such a thing as a mistake, as we don’t know how it should sound anyway, its easier to play like this as we’re not tense about making a mistake.

It's fascinating to me when I think about how our fingers dance when we cast aside barriers as expectations, tension.
Within the limits of our abilities.

[tea for two]

This "inner ear" you’re talking about, it's quite simple, when we noodle, we aren’t expecting to play something already written without any mistakes, we are making it up as we go along, there isn’t such a thing as a mistake, as we don’t know how it should sound anyway, its easier to play like this as we’re not tense about making a mistake.

Our Central Nervous System which as we know is responsible for processing sensory information and responding with motor output, science has merely scratched the surface of how it works. We are so accustomed to just going aboot doing things we just take it as granted to be able to do stuff.

There are those rare persons at least I think there are, who without any musical training can hear a complex piece of Piano music once and can play it accurately on the Piano. Similar to Stephen Wiltshire seeing a city scape once thereafter drawing it.

Our Central Nervous System has some types of inhibitors built in which inhibit what we are capable of. Without these inhibitors I'm sure we would become far more than we are.

[amanise]

This "inner ear" you’re talking about, it's quite simple, when we noodle, we aren’t expecting to play something already written without any mistakes...

Our Central Nervous System which as we know is responsible for ...

Our Central Nervous System has some types of inhibitors built in which inhibit what we are capable of. Without these inhibitors I'm sure we would become far more than we are.

Or a pile of twitching bits on the floor. The sort of thing that one really shouldn't mess with unless you really know what you're doing. Inhibitors are just as important as actuators, but from what I could gather they're a bit safer to work with in an experimental capacity.

[tea for two]

This "inner ear" you’re talking about, it's quite simple, when we noodle, we aren’t expecting to play something already written without any mistakes...

Our Central Nervous System which as we know is responsible for ...

Our Central Nervous System has some types of inhibitors built in which inhibit what we are capable of. Without these inhibitors I'm sure we would become far more than we are.

Or a pile of twitching bits on the floor.

Isn't that Break Dancing.

::

Is our inner ear those instrumentals songs or aspects of them we dig which our brain stores by itself, thereafter accordingly with our technical abilities of our fingers, able to transfer transmute to our compositions playing when we somehow acess this storage.

[Arpangel]

Our Central Nervous System has some types of inhibitors built in which inhibit what we are capable of. Without these inhibitors I'm sure we would become far more than we are.

Although I said it tongue in cheek, my preference for a few beverages before I play is more or less what you’re talking about here, some believe in stronger more esoteric options, as we all know, and some try and follow sober doctrines to achieve the same result, as in Fripp, and J G Bennett.
At times like this my inhibitions are lowered, I play things I wouldn’t play normally, things that are a risk, sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, if they don’t I've become very adept at disguising them as intentional, slowly modulating away, or actually repeating the mistakes.
"Mistake" isn’t a good word to use in this context, it’s more like "what I wasn’t expecting" can turn out to be a viable alternative.
I'm talking about playing in a live context, to an audience, not in a studio.

[Sam Spoons]

Yup, if you play a 'wrong' note play it again and (hopefully ) the listeners will think you meant it...

[amanise]

Yup, if you play a 'wrong' note play it again and (hopefully ) the listeners will think you meant it...

With the severest grimace you can muster and a thousand yard stare

[tea for two]

Yup, if you play a 'wrong' note play it again and (hopefully ) the listeners will think you meant it...

For me this then becomes not playing from our inner ear. It becomes just intentionally trying to cover up.

::

I went with a chum to a Piano performance where some of the strings on the Piano harp were detuned by the Pianist infront of the audience.
The Pianist performed some atonal stuff which sounded off key bum notes. After a while chum said to me is he alright I think he might be unwell.

[tea for two]

Our Central Nervous System has some types of inhibitors built in which inhibit what we are capable of. Without these inhibitors I'm sure we would become far more than we are.

Although I said it tongue in cheek, my preference for a few beverages before I play is more or less what you’re talking about here, some believe in stronger more esoteric options, as we all know, and some try and follow sober doctrines to achieve the same result, as in Fripp, and J G Bennett.
At times like this my inhibitions are lowered, I play things I wouldn’t play normally, things that are a risk, sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, if they don’t I've become very adept at disguising them as intentional, slowly modulating away, or actually repeating

For some their inhibitor an inhibitor is removed to an extent whilst inside the womb related to their specific field. Foremost renowned composers virtuosos, scientists, neurosurgeons, inventors, mathematicians, painters, poets, architects, so forth.
They have an advanced inner ear as it were.
This somewhat removal of their particular inhibitor is a reason they grasp understand their specific field are able to perform in their specific field beyond mere mortals as me no matter what we do what we try.

[Sam Spoons]

Yup, if you play a 'wrong' note play it again and (hopefully ) the listeners will think you meant it...

For me this then becomes not playing from our inner ear. It becomes just intentionally trying to cover up.

Of course it is, and if I had a reliable 'inner ear' I wouldn't have made the mistake in the first place so no cover up would be necessary

[tea for two]

Yup, if you play a 'wrong' note play it again and (hopefully ) the listeners will think you meant it...

For me this then becomes not playing from our inner ear. It becomes just intentionally trying to cover up.

Of course it is, and if I had a reliable 'inner ear' I wouldn't have made the mistake in the first place so no cover up would be necessary

This is reason I won't play a gig as then everybody will say I gots no ear.

[tea for two]

To return to be able to play error free from our inner ear : I would say this depends on our technical ability.
My technical ability is basic, so my inner ear suggests simple stuff to me, I am able to play simple licks phrases from my inner ear error free.
Were I technically musically proficient as Keith Jarrett then I would think my inner ear would suggest some technically challenging complex stuff to me.
My inner ear knows as it were If I tried to play complex would lead to plenty of errors as it would be beyond my technical ability.

[Arpangel]

You have to be able to hear what you play, before you play it, I can do that to a degree, but, sometimes I like to be surprised myself, I play with my eyes closed, and look for random groupings of notes, the groupings more often than not sound like a good side road that can then be developed, and blended in, they lead you along roads you would never have gone down intentionally , the "inner ear" is all very well, but, I’m trying to disconnect from it most of the time.

[tea for two]

This "inner ear" you’re talking about, it's quite simple, when we noodle, we aren’t expecting to play something already written without any mistakes, we are making it up as we go along

Just occured to me a few moments ealier, what you are saying is very different from inner ear, for me anyways. My inner ear hasn't anything to do with expectation non expectation, relaxed unrelaxed so forth. My inner ear guides my fingers. I give into it. I can't explain it. I look back and wonder how on Earth did I do that, this is for nearly every piece I've done.

the "inner ear" is all very well, but, I’m trying to disconnect from it most of the time.

Then your concept of inner ear is different from mine. I don't know what you mean by your inner ear. I'm not sure what I mean either lol as I haven't even tried to understand it I just accept it as a gift as and when it appears. Grateful for it.