Play What You Want to Hear (It’s not as hard as you think)

I know a lot of amazing musicians and what I love most about them is not their ability to play a lot of notes in a short amount of time or their knowledge of scales.

It’s their ability to play what they want to hear.

I’ve noticed that if you play for your own enjoyment without stopping, you’ll eventually stumble upon something that sounds good to you.

It might take 30 seconds or 30 minutes to get there, but if you keep going without judging, anyone can get there…regardless of how much knowledge they have.

In fact, a lot of my favorite musicians have no knowledge of music theory at all. What they have is the desire to play what they hear and the self-trust to know when they’re playing it.

There’s no right or wrong in music. 

You don’t need to practice more.

You need to discovering the conditions that allow music to fall out of you.

You don’t need to learn scales.

You need to learn how to be regulated when you’re playing.

You don’t need new gear.

You need to find a physical where you can feel safe and comfortable while playing.

Playing what you want to hear is the goal but getting there isn’t a matter of effort. It’s a matter of letting go of expectations and judgements that get in the way of your pure expression.