I want to know what it feels like to play jazz when your high? Easy or harder to play? Any good experiences you've had with it. :]
Depends what jazz. I hate playing bop or heavily involved harmonic shit when stoned, but groove-based stuff is awesome. Odd time signatures and mixed meter rhythms are awesome to play high too. Pretty much, anything you have together is fun to play. I prefer to practice sober though.
i'm a jazz bassist. it's unpredictable for me and it can depend how recently i smoked, how much i smoked, or my mood and energy level before smoking. a lot of times it makes me feel like i listen and interact with the band on a deeper level and i come up with better and more original ideas than usual. occasionally it seems to have a negative influence though, like if the smoking just makes me feel really tired and worn out then sometimes i just can't think or my time feel gets screwed up.
Jazz musician here. It can be fun to play high, but I find playing sober always produces the best results.
I've been playing the alto sax since elementary school and I'm now in several professional jazz bands. I play a lot of Charlie Parker and find it much easier to play while stoned. In fact, most jazz musicians smoke weed. This was especially true in the 50's. Peace
Playing jazz high is great. I've been experimenting with Logic lately and I think I'll bring it to my next jam session so I can record it. The most noticeable effect of playing high for is that my solos become much more creative.
lol why doesnt it surprise me that so many bassists smoke? it seems to fit the personality. I am a mostly amateur (about ten gigs) jazz alto saxophonist, and if you can believe it, i've never played high. i don't know why, i just never have. I smoke only on the weekends, mostly in the evenings so i guess i mostly just chill and listen to music and watch movies. you guys have totally inspired me to try this out, although a) i have just abt zero tolerance so i get really faded, and b) i get crazy cottonmouth so it could be a bad combination with the spit i lose playing my horn. nevertheless im totally giving this a try.
tenor saxophonist here, i prefer to practice solos and perform high, but i never go to rehearsals high anymore, that just didn't work out for me. I didn't caught or anything, it just didn't groove well.
Drummer here I love playing small combo stuff where there's interplay between instruments when I'm high Big band stuff I have to be sober for though because of the timekeeping element that has to be spot-on. I can't get too faded though, or it all goes to shit.
Jazz bassist here, jazz kicks ass whether stoned or sober, but it's just funner to jam in general whilst under ze weed drugs.
Same here, I enjoying jamming and have slightly better improvistations when stoned, but i love it sober or stoned...I prefer stoned though...then again I perfer to do everything stoned.
Im a lot like the above, Im a jazz trombonist and bassist, and if i could, i would smoke and play jazz for the entirety of my remaining life. Jazz is absolutely amazing when stoned. Its also amazing when not. See, when you read about marijuana being consistently involved with the history of jazz, obviously it was (and is) that way for a reason. Jazz and pot are wonderful together, and i can definitely play better (or at least it sounds better) when I'm high.
Much respect for all those who play jazz. That shit's hard! I've played guitar five years, but I still feel like jazz would be way over my head.
Been playing jazz for 4 years, alto and tenor sax for 7. in a quintet, big band, trio, playing a gig with an expected 5000 turnout in a week. I had to quit smoking so my parents would pay for college in colorado (which means ill get to smoke WAY MORE then). I always found that I sounded GREAT in rehearsal stoned. I have, however, sounded really shit because of weed. Basically, if you are confident in yourself and your musical prowess and the setup you're playing on, you can excel at music while high. Any doubts, fatigue, or stress, and you can do really shitty. Still, never had cottonmouth when playing high. The higher the tolerance, the more mild the effect of being high shows over your playing. When I had a high tolerance from smoking 3-4 bowls a day, and sometimes 1-2 before a concert, I'd usually pull off some solos that I was very pleased with. I find it helps to connect with the musical nuances that are the foundation of jazz. Don't kid yourself, though. Weed is great, but it can cause REALLY bad chain reactions. When I quit for a few months and came back to it, my 0 tolerance and urges to fulfill the promises I made to myself of starting up again and getting better connections caused me to lose a lot of money and just end up quitting for the long term anyways. Also, more importantly, it caused me to make really bad decisions because of my newfound inability to act normal while high. If you're gonna smoke and do things that are important, make sure you keep a high enough tolerance to pull it off, and try not to do what I did. Also, remember, developing a jazz vocabulary and learning the theory behind the music you're playing is the basis to making big leaps in your playing. Weed will not do the work for you.
I'm a jazz pianist, but I was originally classically trained Jazz is a really involved art form, I learned that when I stepped out of classical music. I thought playing some Etudes were difficult, but once I found jazz, it was a whole other ball park. Fortunately, I've always been an improviser/composer, so in some aspects, jazz lent itself to me - but, rhythmically and harmonically, I think, it is more complex than classical music. Simply because you have to use every facility you have as a musician to play it - theory knowledge, improvisational skills, rhythm, and listening closely to what the other musicians are doing around you. It definitely sky-rockets your musicianship. As far as smoking while playing jazz - it really depends. I can't smoke too much if I'm playing a gig, or even jamming with other musicians, as cannabis restricts my focus on the other musicians, and the overall music. Basically, anything involving other musicians, I need to be sober, however, if I'm composing music, or improvising by myself, then that's just wonderful Jazz has really taught me a lot about life in general. I taught me to relax, and enjoy life for what it is. It also taught me how to appreciate simplicity in complexity - being a classical musician for so long, I had an addiction of playing really fast and being ultra technical with my playing. Then, I found jazz, and the process fills my soul with so much more joy and happiness, as it's so down to earth and real.