When I first started playing over ten years ago, I vividly remember one jam at our music club that stuck out in my mind. We all sat in a circle and played a song as the turn came around to us. I was sitting next to a guy that clearly had been playing for some time and I was fascinated as I watched him play and sing his song. His eyes were closed, he was in some state of ecstasy / delight as he played and it mesmerized me.
At that stage, I had to severely concentrate to be able to lead a song and the idea of closing my eyes was completely foreign.
Recently, Iāve had a few moments where Iāve been what I call āin the zoneā. Really just lost in the song, all sense of time disappears and itās a blissful feeling. It seems to be something that one canāt deliberately turn on / off.
I discussed it in detail with a friend whoās been playing for many years and he was able to relate immediately. He said it used to happen to him but hasnāt in a while. When I questioned him as to why, he said he no longer plays from memory and has to pay attention to his song sheets on his iPad to play (he does a regular coffee shop gig).
That made me think about anything thatās changed that might be contributing to me being able to get in the zone. Besides the fact that I play all my songs completely from memory, I know recently Iāve started playing a lot more without looking at the fretboard, at least for a number of my songs.
Itās been a neat experience discovering this āzoneā and it comes and goes as if on a whim. Itās not something I can turn on or off deliberately.
For any beginners reading this, Iāve posted it so you know there are various nuances that come the longer you play, so stick at it as itās all fun fun fun.