Effortless Mastery

by Kenny Werner

But, you have to discover a reason for living that is more important than playing! You need a sense of self that is stable, durable and not attached to your last solo. And, paradoxically, that makes you play better! It removes the consequences and puts everything in perspective. The pressure is gone ... and you play better.

Reason for living

Stephen Nachmanovich, in his book, Free Play, writes of five fears that the Buddhists speak of that block our liberation: fear of loss of life; fear of loss of livelihood; fear of loss of reputation; fear of unusual states of mind; and fear of speaking before an assembly. He points out that fear of speaking before an assembly may seem light compared with the others, but we may take that to mean speaking up, or performing. Our fear of performing is "profoundly related to fear of foolishness, which has two parts: fear of being thought a fool (loss of reputation) and fear of actually being a fool (fear of unusual states of mind)."1

Five fundamental fears

Tyrannized by our egos, we live in a state the Hindus call maya, or delusion. Engrossed in maya, we can’t see the magnificence of who we really are. We think we need so much. Desires multiply, and we know nothing of real inner happiness. "The clouds of emotion obscure the clear sight of the soul."4 We seek safety in "job security" and obsess about our level of play. Fear sabotages us at every turn.

Maya or delusion obscures our views

Conversely, all the great improvisers say that when you take a chance, leave fear behind and go with the flow, so to speak; you’ll usually land on your feet. Fear either doesn’t allow you to take a chance, or if you do, it makes you falter. I am not a skier, but I imagine that when Olympic skiers make those huge jumps, they’d better not flinch, or else we might see two upside-down feet with skis on them sticking up out of the snow!

Take a chance & leave fear behind

Just before I play, I like to feel that no one has ever played the piano before, that I’m in complete virgin territory, and that every note I play is the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. In fear, we expect; with love, we accept.

In fear we wxpect, with love we accept

believe that educators should rethink this approach. Burying the student in assignments will often sink him. Sometimes it is necessary to discontinue lessons until the student regains his bearings. But since many were taught this way, as a result, they teach this way. Fear and anxiety are passed on from generation to generation. Also there are those who occupy positions of authority, but are incompetent - and that too causes fear.

Incompeteng posiktkons of authority causes fear

I experienced the transition between fear-based listening and listening with love when, as mentioned earlier, I was listening to Horowitz with my teacher in Brazil. I suddenly noticed how twisted and tense my body was. Being released from my ego at that moment allowed me to experience the joy in his playing. You should listen the same way that you play, practice or teach: with love and openness. In this way, you become absorbed in the moment and lose yourself in the music. You may find that your playing has changed through osmosis. This point has been proven to me many times. There is a radio station in New York City that celebrates the birthdays of various musicians by playing their music all day, or sometimes all week. One time they were playing Art Blakey for several days. I had the radio on that station all weekend. Day and night, listening or not, Art Blakey was drifting through my ears. Sometimes I would sit and listen, other times I would be busy. It occurred to me that I had never listened to so much continuous Blakey before. Monday night, on my way to the Village Vanguard for my regular gig with the Mel Lewis Orchestra, I was still listening to him on the car radio. When we started to play, I noticed that everything felt different. I had automatically absorbed Blakey’s groove, and I was playing things with a different gait. Others in the band acknowledged the change in feeling. Effortless listening is like breathing. It nourishes you without your even knowing it.

Transition from fearful to love

The taming of the mind, the dissolution of the ego and the letting go of all fears can only evolve through patient practice. There is nothing worth attaining on this or any other planet that doesn’t take practice. As you do this, you become aware of another "space."

Taming of mind , dissolution of ego and fears

One of the attractions of art is the possibility it affords of opening the heart, of being exposed to a level of inspiration not usually experienced. It excites and delights. People all over the world have sought this experience in many ways. Some seek it by sailing or climbing mountains, and others by shooting heroin or eating sugar. If you look at videos of artists such as Vladimir Horowitz, Miles Davis, Count Basie, Itzhak Perlman and others, you will see how they play from this space. After considering the material in this book, you’ll view what they are doing in a new light. When Miles Davis approached the microphone, he focused himself into that space before playing the first note. There would frequently be long silences between his phrases. In that time, you could see and feel him re-centering himself. That is very rare in jazz musicians today. That practice has the paradoxical effect of heightening people’s awareness and increasing the intensity of the moment. Miles Davis had the audience transfixed before he played the first note! Likewise, when Vladimir Horowitz played, you could see absolute stillness and concentration as he ”watches his hands” play the piece.

Example of milea dvid

The first time Charlie Parker did heroin must have been exquisite! But the one great sin of all drugs is ... the feeling doesn’t last! You always have to do more, getting less and less out of it. As you increase the dosage of whatever you’re addicted to, be it violence or chocolate cheesecake - the result is always sad or even tragic. Early in his life, John Coltrane found heroin. A bit later, he used LSD. The psychedelic drugs of the sixties and seventies gave the user a different kind of experience. You got the buzz, but a window would also open that allowed you to go beyond physical reality and explore other realms of consciousness (similar to the ”buzz” illustrated on those cereal commercials). In this state, the musician could see and hear on other levels. With heightened senses, it was possible to milk the ecstasy of each note. But after the effects of the drug wore off, the window always closed, making the natural state feel dry and intolerable. Eventually, for John Coltrane, the search led to no drugs. Toward the end of his life, his path had evolved into meditation, diet and spirituality. He ran the gamut, but was always searching for the same state. Finally he found what he was looking for within himself. The folly of human history is the search for this state in things outside us. This explains all wars, all quests for money, power, sex and other sensory experiences. The ultimate security one seeks can only be found within.

En resUlt of any external addiction is sad or tragic

When a madman comes along to whom violence is consonant, his attitude may convince people that violence is beautiful. Followers go temporarily insane in his presence, falling prey to his complete self-acceptance! Later on, they might wonder how they could have fallen under that spell. Charles Manson had that mad man’s conviction. His relationship to violence was like Monk’s relationship to dissonance. Manson had such a love for violence that the people under his influence accepted his insanity. The same thing was certainly true of Hitler. People were so ”inspired” by his message that they followed his lead. It’s the inspiration itself we crave. When a person acts with complete confidence, even for insane purposes, it fills a void in us. Charismatic individuals make their followers do insane things by the force of their personalities. It proves the point that the force of a person’s will, of his self-acceptance, can be so strong that he can change the view of the masses.

Force of a person's will can change masses consciousness

Unrestrained by your prejudgments, your taste for consonance and dissonance shifts back and forth like the desire for hot and cold. What feels better after playing in the snow all day than a warm fire and some hot chocolate? But after sweating awhile and removing more and more clothes, doesn’t going out into the cold air sound appealing? In the same way you would fluctuate between consonance and dissonance. After a period of playing ”inside” the changes or chords of a tune, my ears delight in the sound of playing ”outside” the changes. But as soon as I feel the responsibility to ”play out,” that becomes dull and boring, and I find playing the simplest, sweetest melody absolutely delicious. I never call myself modern or traditional, in or out, new or used, because I prefer not to be hemmed in by rigid definitions.

Shift btw consonance & dissonance

As you play, there must be no intellectual interference. Intellect is good for picking out an instrument, teaching or getting to the gig on time. It’s good for academia, it’s good for practicing scales, reading books and studying. But it is not good for creating. Intellect has to surrender to instinct when it’s time to play.

Intellect has to surrender to instinct

It’s as though there is a cosmic bank somewhere in the universe where the great ones have their accounts. The currency is unlimited creativity and ideas. The rest of us are always trying to borrow from their accounts. I don’t wish to borrow I want to open my own account! I don’t want to play the way Monk played, I want to feel the way Monk felt when he played. I like to feel that no one has ever played this instrument before me;

Bank for creatives

Unfamiliar, Not Difficult It is good to view things as familiar or unfamiliar, rather than as difficult or easy. If you give yourself the message, "This is difficult," the piece may discourage you, and it will still be difficult to play even after you’ve learned it. However, if you believe that all music is easy, then you’ll assume that you are unfamiliar with the piece because "it hasn’t become easy yet." Sometimes you hear yourself botching things up that you’ve practiced, and you don’t even question it. That’s because the mistakes actually agree with your belief that "I am not a master," or "music is hard." In fact, the material has not been practiced to the proper level of ease. Music has to become easy. That’s the secret!

Project has to become easy

If you have an exercise that reminds you daily how easy it is to play, you will see dramatic improvement from that alone. From the concert stage to the sports arena, the people who really excel are those for whom the activity is easier than for others. For some, it is so easy! When I began this process myself, all I had was this first step. It was enough to change my playing and, eventually, my life.

It should be easy to play

ability to detach from controlled playing so that creation may manifest itself, using you as the vehicle, yet unimpeded by you. Step Two allows you to appreciate what’s coming out as if you were the listener, not the player. As I’ve stated many times, this level of consciousness is the goal. It is the true goal of art and music disciplines. In Zen In The Art Of Archery, the master explains to his student the value of detachment: "The right art - is purposeless, aimless! The more obstinately

"purposelessness" and "aimlessness" can be practiced right here in Step Two. It is a means of establishing ourselves as the channel. Just let your hands move, slowly or quickly. You can see that some of the fruits of the first step are already required here: 1. The ability to detach and observe; 2. Imagining that your body is working by itself while you rest in the space; 3. The space itself. There are absolutely no requirements with regard to tempo, key, or anything else. All you do is to allow whatever wants to happen. It is not as easy as it sounds, however, for as soon as your hands start to move, you’ll feel your mind on the move again. Because of all its previous programming, the mind will try to lure you into "picking and choosing," in its programmatic search for "acceptable music." When the mind does this, take your hands off the instrument! In the case of portable instruments, put them down. Release the instrument and go back to the space ... Take a deep breath and just settle back into the stillness of nondoership ... Get out of the swirl of the hurricane and back into the eye ... where everything is peaceful ... Detach ...

Purposelessness & aimlessness

lovingly descended into the sweetest concentration I’ve ever