Using eJamming as a tool to strengthen your musical skills // 2007-04-24
The Workout
Much like going to the gym, using eJamming AUDiiO at increased delays can be quite a workout for a new user. And, just like going to the gym, it can be frustrating at first. When you start to do it regularly and start to enjoy it, it will ultimately make you a stronger, better player, and is very likely you’ll have more fun in all kinds of musical situations because of it.
Gabriel
A story comes to mind as I explain this. A few weeks ago, members of the eJamming team and I were in Frankfurt, Germany demoing eJamming AUDiiO at Musik Messe, one of the largest music trade shows in the world. We hired a security guard named Gabriel to oversee our booth at night. Gabriel, an aspiring professional basketball player, explained to me his impressive jumping abilities and how he attained such a skill.
He told me that by playing ball by himself and with others with weights around his ankles his leg muscles became increasingly stronger and therefore, when the weights were taken off, gave him greater agility and specifically jumping power, letting him jump higher than ever before. As you can imagine, and according to Gabriel, this isn't always easy to do, especially at first, playing basketball with weights on your ankles. But as you can see, by challenging himself to play with those weights on his ankles, he is now better at what he loves to do.
I totally related to Gabriel. By adding weight on my ankles -- by delaying the sounding of my own instrument to hear remote players in sync -- I’m truly challenging myself mentally and physically at my craft. Similar to my own eJamming AUDiiO experience, Gabriel wasn’t just playing by himself with weights on his ankles. He played games, and that's how he was able to more fully increase his skills.
He challenged himself personally while playing with others and was able to grow while fully experiencing the sport he loves. Just as a basketball game has personal and communal elements, so does music. You can play music by yourself, but true magic isn't there until you join with others and collaborate in a shared creation.
Take it from me. When I first started using eJamming AUDiiO, testing the software by connecting across the Atlantic Ocean from Orlando to England with our lead programmer, it was quite a challenge.
The Feel
As you will most likely see, the first time you experience the new way your instrument feels when eJamming imposes the slight delay it uses to keep you in sync with other musicians (the sync delay), you’ll have a physical reaction. You'll probably find eJamming physically straining at first, simply because we musicians tend to tense up when we encounter a new and unfamiliar feel. That right there tells us a lot. If you are not relaxed while creating music, it will most likely not be good music, and limit the fun part. So that's the first step I took. I had to relax while using eJamming in order to have a good time. But, there's more.
Singing and playing at the same time
For we musicians who sing and play an instrument at the same time, think of it like this. When you first started singing while playing, it was probably tough, awkward, and downright lousy at first because you had to think and feel two things at once, playing and singing. However, you saw the benefit and were excited at the possibilities of being able to do both at once. I truly encourage you to look at eJamming in the same light.
Lesson Learned
So let's take some advice from Gabriel, and get stronger at our passion, our craft, our source of relaxation and peace, and strap on those proverbial ankle weights, pick up our instrument or microphone and truly challenge ourselves at what we love to do. The results are profound, you'll see!