One story that only musicians would appreciate. I once was a guitarist in a serious fusion band--one whose members, including a blind keyboard player, were fully appreciative of the dictum that you can play a solo with just one note, if you play it with enough feeling.

So I'm late to a rehearsal. The band had just started a number which featured a solo by me. To this day I don't know whether the keyboard player knew that I had entered the room until I started playing.

It took me a while to get my rig set up--in fact, until the exact moment when it was time for my solo. I had everything adjusted so that I could get infinite sustain if needed.

Time for my solo. I hit a note and leaned into the speakers. I kept trying to think of the next note to play. Nothing seemed appropriate, so I held it--and held it--and kept holding it--for two choruses. The keyboardist started to smile after a couple of measures. The longer it went, the bigger his smile got. The "solo" ended and we finished the piece, at which point everyone burst out laughing.

And that's the story of my one-note solo.


"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."