Ep. 29: How NEW Licks Can Screw Up your Playing, the Use of Consciousness, & Gaps!
Sometimes, learning something NEW can actually make you play WORSE!
Our guitar playing, like Life itself, is constantly EVOLVING! We introduce a new lick, a different technique, or some clever run we heard another guitarist play… And suddenly, everything gets SCREWED UP! Our fingers don't cooperate, our confidence takes a hit, and the music doesn't quite flow the way it used to. But perhaps this is just part of the natural process of GROWTH! Andrew explores how new skills become integrated into our playing, the remarkable role of SLEEP and altered states of CONSCIOUSNESS in learning, and why sometimes a guitarist's EARLIER, less technically developed playing can actually be MORE MUSICAL! More notes, more technique, more knowledge… Does that necessarily mean BETTER music?
In this reflective Sunday morning session, Andrew connects the evolution of guitar playing to the much larger mysteries of Life, CHANGE, and our own CONSCIOUSNESS. Drawing on his work with the Monroe Institute and soundwave technologies, he considers the extraordinary things that can happen in those GAPS between sleeping and waking—when ideas, solutions, and creative impulses seem to appear almost magically! Along the way, he shares his fascination with vintage Carvin guitars, reflects on how his own songwriting has changed over the decades, and explores why our attempts to preserve the past are ultimately in VAIN. Nature, our great Teacher, reminds us that EVERYTHING is in motion! And perhaps the greatest adventure is recognizing that we don't really KNOW ourselves—or the infinite world around us—as completely as we imagine. Andrew closes with his interpretation of James Taylor's Secret of Life, a fitting reminder to appreciate the passage of TIME and find joy in the ordinary moments of living!
Chapter Markers
00:00
Introduction: Sunday Morning and the Importance of Gaps
Introduction: Sunday Morning and the Importance of Gaps
00:39
The Connection Between Guitar Playing and Life
The Connection Between Guitar Playing and Life
01:15
How Our Guitar Playing Evolves
How Our Guitar Playing Evolves
01:37
Why Learning New Licks Can Screw Up Your Playing
Why Learning New Licks Can Screw Up Your Playing
02:15
Confidence, Muscle Memory, and Hearing the Music in Your Mind
Confidence, Muscle Memory, and Hearing the Music in Your Mind
02:50
Why Sometimes You Need to SLEEP on It
Why Sometimes You Need to SLEEP on It
03:52
The Monroe Institute, Soundwaves, and Consciousness
The Monroe Institute, Soundwaves, and Consciousness
04:58
The Mysterious State Between Sleeping and Waking
The Mysterious State Between Sleeping and Waking
05:46
Capturing Creative Ideas Before They Disappear
Capturing Creative Ideas Before They Disappear
06:31
Integrating New Skills into Your Playing
Integrating New Skills into Your Playing
06:40
Why Some Guitarists Sound Better BEFORE They Improve
Why Some Guitarists Sound Better BEFORE They Improve
08:00
The Value of Simplicity and Returning to Your Old Style
The Value of Simplicity and Returning to Your Old Style
08:42
Vintage 1970s Carvins and Stereo Guitar Outputs
Vintage 1970s Carvins and Stereo Guitar Outputs
09:21
Sunday Morning Creativity and Reflection
Sunday Morning Creativity and Reflection
09:49
Nature as the Great Teacher
Nature as the Great Teacher
10:24
How Songs Emerge from Our State of Consciousness
How Songs Emerge from Our State of Consciousness
10:41
Andrew's First Radio Song: In the Back of My Mind
Andrew's First Radio Song: In the Back of My Mind
11:43
How Songwriting and Consciousness Change Over Time
How Songwriting and Consciousness Change Over Time
12:06
The Mystery of Understanding Ourselves
The Mystery of Understanding Ourselves
13:01
The Natural Desire for NEW Experiences
The Natural Desire for NEW Experiences
14:01
Living Without Fear in a World Full of Risk
Living Without Fear in a World Full of Risk
14:43
Accepting CHANGE as a Fundamental Part of Life
Accepting CHANGE as a Fundamental Part of Life
15:34
Recording Music: Preserving a Moment in Time
Recording Music: Preserving a Moment in Time
16:00
The Joy of Shaping SOUND and Sonic Sensations
The Joy of Shaping SOUND and Sonic Sensations
16:39
Learning to Appreciate Silence and Uncomfortable Gaps
Learning to Appreciate Silence and Uncomfortable Gaps
17:30
Why We Can Never Completely Understand Ourselves
Why We Can Never Completely Understand Ourselves
18:05
The Limits of Human Perception and Our Five Senses
The Limits of Human Perception and Our Five Senses
18:44
The INFINITE Nature of the Universe
The INFINITE Nature of the Universe
19:28
Accepting the World as It Is
Accepting the World as It Is
20:09
Andrew Performs James Taylor's Secret of Life
Andrew Performs James Taylor's Secret of Life
Social Media Links
Official Website: www.AndrewReedMusic.com
Facebook: @andrewreedandtheliberation
X: @AndrewReedMusic
Instagram: @AndrewReedMusic
MVI Phone #: (828) 698-5885
Watch out for the next message, every two weeks on Fridays @ 7:01am (EST)!
"But we don't know ourselves. Not really. I think that mystery of life is an incredible thing"