Gary Peacock

Gary Peacock has long been one of my favorite jazz bassists.  I was recently listening to an interview with him, and he discussed that when beginning a practice session, he'll spend some time just standing with the bass in playing position, and feel and sense the bass without playing a single note.  

In an interview from 2007, Gary states:

"I follow a practice that I've done for about ten years. I go through an actual daily practice of greeting the instrument, positioning myself with the instrument, paying attention to my posture, my breathing, the texture, the feeling of the instrument... Sometimes that takes seconds, sometimes it takes five minutes. Just getting a physical-sensory connection. The next thing is when I actually start playing, I don't lose that physical connection. To be completely aware of the sound that I'm playing and also what my feelings are about the sound of the instrument. Just paying attention. I don't try to do anything about it necessarily, but I just play, letting it be there. I might be playing an arpeggio or a melody, but basically the attention is on the sensory-emotional aspect of my playing. And then I let it go."

I've been trying that lately, and I think he was on to something.  The first thing I notice is that it brings focus.  Moreso with me, as not all my instruments are the same size or shape.  

I'll report back as I spend more time with this concept.  So far, I like it.

-kk