I wanted to share this with you for one reason. Sometimes when we make music together, it's really hard to wait. It's hard to walk in the room prepared enough to be able to listen to each other so we can play in context with each other. We get caught just trying to play all the chords on the chart, to strum the right rhythm, to beat the normal beat.

Some of the most important things we play are rests. Some of the best stuff we do, is not play, or play less. So that the little we do can really say something, be meaningful, communicate. A great way to practice this is to play along with the recording so you have to produce yourself into what's already there. (you can thank Jeremy Graeff for that one!)

So here's my challenge to you. Would you experiment with waiting? Would you experiment with being the Baboon? Saying "I'm going to wait. I could play right now, but I'm going to wait so I can listen. What else is happening, what's already going on in the music? What can I add to that? How can I defer to my other monkey friends, so I can be the Baboon that waits?"

And sometimes calling myself a Baboon helps me wait. Otherwise, I get antsy. And really, would that "ting" have had "zing" if the Baboon would've been "tinging" all song long? I doubt it. Be the Baboon!