Quiet Saturday, Musing on the Nature of Mastery
I finally upgraded my wordpress blog so that spammers who’d been able to comment without my permission will no longer have access. Whew!
I didn’t lose any posts; I didn’t lose any content from my old version of WordPress. But I sure hated offering any help to folks who sell fake drugs and fake anti-virus software that compromises people’s computers. Ugh! And, the never ending chore of removing these fake users and their fake comments wasted my time. I’d rather be composing, teaching, playing, writing. Heck, writing blog posts!
In the meantime, 2 weeks ago, I had a fun time at the Bazaar Cafe at the invitation of my dear friend, Mokai. Mokai put a show together in honor of his 10 year anniversary with his partner, the amazing CeCe! Included, besides myself, was singer-songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire, Garrin Benfield. The show also included Mia & Jonah, and of course, Mokai’s soulful singing, playing, and writing.
I absolutely adore the way that Garrin performs: his guitar playing is reason enough to see him. But a couple of years ago I noticed that his singing had gone from good to great. Maybe Garrin’s even edging beyond great to diva? (is that “divo” for men?)
Garrin and I met through a mutual friend about 6 or 7 years ago (not sure how long, Garrin?). Garrin was just getting some serious attention a that point, on top of his first solo album. Over the years, from time to time, we run into each other, and I get to hear what he’s doing, what’s changed, what’s new, what’s really settled in Garrin’s work. What a treat to observe the development of mastery.
At the Bazaar, I told Garrin how much I’m enjoying his singing; that I’d noticed a shift a couple of years ago. He responded that, indeed, a couple of years ago, suddenly, he felt “freed” when singing, that it came together in a new way. I believe that he said he was on a gig when he noticed? (please correct if I mis-heard, Garrin)
Someone (I forget who?) turned me on to George Leonard’s book Mastery. In this book, Leonard tries to explain the nature of the process towards mastery – which is never achieved, of course. There’s almost always a long, slow plateau that seems to go endlessly, where one must simply surrender to continual practice, “for its own sake”. The shifts that occur in this part of the process cannot often be felt consciously.
The change comes when all the tiny shifts, all the somatic understanding in the body that has been accumulating, suddenly allow for greater control, greater ability – perhaps there’s a synergy of accumulation that takes place?
At any rate, whatever you’re doing to grow, Garrin – please keep it up. I love what you’re doing!
By the way, catch Mia and Jonah sometime if you live the Bay Area (and they tour, as well). They achieve a consistency of sound that’s pretty interesting, considering their diverse material and instrumentation. I also really enjoyed the carefully crafted lyrics.
And, Mokia! I love your love songs. I wish you’d do more of them in your shows. In fact, Mok’, I would love to help with a recording of your love-oriented song book! Great stuff.
cheers
/brook