Yes, he has. I once had a course called Applied Technique where we did nothing but play over sets of chord progressions over and over again. We had to play only 8th notes in the scale of the chord. Eventually we'd play 8th note triplets, in the appropriate scale, over the progression for a few minutes. Then we'd bump up to 16th notes of the same thing. Gradually the chord progressions got "crazier" and the tempo got faster but all we were doing was making sure we played the right notes in the chords.
Later, when it was time to improvise, I never worried about playing the right note for the chord because it became instinct. I was freed up to think about playing those notes with different rhythms, feel and musicality because I wasn't worried about playing wrong ones anymore. That's the way that I was "prepared to improvise". Not everybody does it like that but...
Putting all my nerdiness aside now :). While I live for wrestling, it didn't end up being my path in life. But like many, I'm greatful for the work ethic and mental toughness that it gave me to push myself as a musician.
Maybe Ben Askren is a great example of how you can train to improvise on the mat. I read that he was always setting himself up in strange scramble positions during practice. Then on the mat he'd put otherwise great wrestlers in weird positions and he would know what to do in them more than the other guy.
Rocker Will,
its a little bit more subtle than that. Jazz music and wrestling are actually way more similar; even though jazz is improvisational, you still practice and practice and play licks and riffs that you have practiced. A lot of time, you're never 'purely' improvising (at least not in performance), just sort of re-jigging, re-working, re-playing similar themes you have worked 100000s of times. Moreover, practice makes perfect, even when it's totally made up; think of John Smith discussing the low single. Totally innovative and out of nowhere and instinctive, but also honed in the practice room for hours and hours. ELEW is actually doing some very interesting things with rock, jazz, and their intersection, and moreover his percussive, intense style is very different than things I've heard before. But, he has spent hours and hours working this stuff out while practicing, figuring out what works, what doesn't, what goes well together, etc.
Well, some musicians are great sight-readers. Many of them get the jobs as session musicians because you gotta record something correctly, in a short period of time, and you need a guy who can learn the music fast. Others are great writers and composers with brilliant, planned out ideas. And some are good at improvisation. They hear the music and instinctively play things that sound awesome over it. Musical ability in general is a talent, and some possess additional "sub-talents" in the other three areas I mentioned.
Craig the wrestling guru said that he always knew what moves his favorite wrestlers were gonna hit, except for Adam Satiev. Even though there are very uncertain moments in wrestling matches, many wrestlers have a gameplan of some sort. Some scout opponents and watch film. Others, like Doug Blubaugh, don't even want to know who they're gonna wrestle at all. Doug's mind was free wrestle however he wanted and he upset a great wrestler to win a gold medal that way. But I'm sure Brandon Slay probably watched a bit of film on Bouvisar (sp?) Satiev because he wanted a good strategy to beat him. That method also worked.
Some great musicians perform with lots of preparation and planning, while others improvise. Either way is cool. Some wrestlers really wanna know everything about their opponent and others just get out there and do their thing. Whatever your craft or sport, it's good to take the approach that works best for you.
Great interview martin! Music and wrestling, love the parallels, creativity in both is a must. Only the extremely talented musicians can improvise, off the cuff. Same in wrestling, only talented devoted wrestlers can improvise successfully. *How about a list of the top ten most creative wrestlers!! would like to see that.
I am totally down with ELEW, he was talking about Psycho cybernetics, he controls his mind to free his creativity. Have you ever seen a wrestler hit a move and then walk off the mat and ask him - where did that come from? and he has no idea, his inner servo-mechanism took over and created something from nothing - also called 'being in the zone'. Is ELEW deeper than Ray Brinzer?........Naw
Also, check out his website @ ericlewisgroove.com
There are some 'songs you've definitely heard' played very differently, but still awesome...a lot of cool youtube clips too....that is so cool that Eric Lewis was playing Beat the Streets, the best of jazz and wrestling, together!
Martin, I'm thinking you start up a FloJazz site? :)
Chess, wrestling, piano performance.....all require showmanship. I like this guy and really like his quest for originality and surprise variation. Would really enjoy hearing him live......how about it Martin??? Thanks for the great interview.
The athletic part of being a pianist is where the rubber meets the road. Elew has to compete against machines as if he were man vs the terminator. May 4, 2009
Controlling your mind and Body
Later, when it was time to improvise, I never worried about playing the right note for the chord because it became instinct. I was freed up to think about playing those notes with different rhythms, feel and musicality because I wasn't worried about playing wrong ones anymore. That's the way that I was "prepared to improvise". Not everybody does it like that but...
Putting all my nerdiness aside now :). While I live for wrestling, it didn't end up being my path in life. But like many, I'm greatful for the work ethic and mental toughness that it gave me to push myself as a musician.
Maybe Ben Askren is a great example of how you can train to improvise on the mat. I read that he was always setting himself up in strange scramble positions during practice. Then on the mat he'd put otherwise great wrestlers in weird positions and he would know what to do in them more than the other guy.
its a little bit more subtle than that. Jazz music and wrestling are actually way more similar; even though jazz is improvisational, you still practice and practice and play licks and riffs that you have practiced. A lot of time, you're never 'purely' improvising (at least not in performance), just sort of re-jigging, re-working, re-playing similar themes you have worked 100000s of times. Moreover, practice makes perfect, even when it's totally made up; think of John Smith discussing the low single. Totally innovative and out of nowhere and instinctive, but also honed in the practice room for hours and hours. ELEW is actually doing some very interesting things with rock, jazz, and their intersection, and moreover his percussive, intense style is very different than things I've heard before. But, he has spent hours and hours working this stuff out while practicing, figuring out what works, what doesn't, what goes well together, etc.
Craig the wrestling guru said that he always knew what moves his favorite wrestlers were gonna hit, except for Adam Satiev. Even though there are very uncertain moments in wrestling matches, many wrestlers have a gameplan of some sort. Some scout opponents and watch film. Others, like Doug Blubaugh, don't even want to know who they're gonna wrestle at all. Doug's mind was free wrestle however he wanted and he upset a great wrestler to win a gold medal that way. But I'm sure Brandon Slay probably watched a bit of film on Bouvisar (sp?) Satiev because he wanted a good strategy to beat him. That method also worked.
Some great musicians perform with lots of preparation and planning, while others improvise. Either way is cool. Some wrestlers really wanna know everything about their opponent and others just get out there and do their thing. Whatever your craft or sport, it's good to take the approach that works best for you.
There are some 'songs you've definitely heard' played very differently, but still awesome...a lot of cool youtube clips too....that is so cool that Eric Lewis was playing Beat the Streets, the best of jazz and wrestling, together!
Martin, I'm thinking you start up a FloJazz site? :)