Musical Performance and Emotional Connection

tenalpgnorw · Hummingbird Joined: May 15, 2008 Posts: 24

It may seem overly obvious, but as an AS, I have never really felt a "connection" to people, never "fitting in", or "sharing the same emotional vibe".

The one exception is when I am performing music. Over the years I have played lead guitar in several bands. My last gig was the most emotionally rewarding. It was a very barebones blues outfit consisting of three people: 1. A leader who sang and played the keys/harp 2. A drummer 3. Me on guitar

Even though we performed professionally in front of crowds from a few dozen to few hundred I never played the same line twice. I had the freedom to completely improvise on the fly. It was totally by ear and totally wonderful. Even though I was never into the blues and never owned a blues CD and fell in love with it. (My friends still get a chuckle out of the wizened old black bluesman saying that "I've got soul" when I am the most boring straight-laced wasp you'll ever meet.)

Please note that I'm not trying to brag. I'm not all that good. I kinda stink at guitar. But this is the intent --> When I play guitar for a crowd I feel a kind of direct organic emotional connection that has never existed anywhere else in my life. It is liberated and exhilirating.

I would never be able to describe what it is really like be "Tore Down" "At the Crossroads" or sitting in a "Rainy Night in Georgia", but I can play it, and that is a very rewarding feeling to me.

I imagine my experience is not unique. I'd like to hear from other musicians about what goes on in their head on stage.

Here is a link to a song I have been working on lately via online collaboration http://www.mediafire.com/?nvb1shm0mmg