The Maria Konner Interview Series Part 2 of 3 by Jen Bush

What is the best description of a person who has so much talent in so many areas?  There are actors, performers, entertainers, performance artists, singers, musicians, etc. Maria fits the bill for many of those categories.  

“I would call myself an entertainer.  I’m a performing musician (piano, guitar, singing, song writing, script writing), but I’ve discovered the most important skill in being a good performer is to have a really good time and share that with the audience.  You are there to entertain them.  I found that I could do that by simply doing what I love to do and having a really good time, especially if I can do it with other performers.  I cherish seeing other performers bringing it on and creating a shared experience together.”  

“So in my case, I’m definitely NOT acting.  I’m lucky in that I can play myself as a character (with some exaggeration!) and I have PLENTY of material for that! And I’m an entertainer more than a performer because when I play the piano for example, I’m not focused on precision or consistency, I’m focused on delivering my emotions though the music.  There are plenty of other pianists who are technically much better than me, but I have no desire to be technically great and all the practice that goes along with it.  I only want to learn new things if they can help me write a more novel song.  I very rarely practice, I PLAY.  And I’ll keep playing a song until my body just intuitively feels good and then I know it’s ready for showtime!”

This talented entertainer took some lessons, observed other artists closely but mostly had the ambition to learn on her own.  She made the commitment to acquire the skills that brings joy to her and others whenever she performs. 

“I’m mostly self-taught but took lessons at various points and picked up techniques along the way as I played with and watched other musicians.  I remember Paul McCartney saying that when he was young, he used to stand by the front of the stage on the side and watch guitarists hands to see what they were doing – and then when he was up on stage he saw young folks doing the same thing watching him! I was one of those young folks.”

Maria went on a safari of sound.  She learned how to play multiple instruments both in the traditional manner and purely by feel.  Her amazing analytical mind made connections between instruments and techniques.  Once music was demystified for her, the floodgates opened and Maria was rocking and bluesing and rag timing and everything in between.

“I started playing the piano at around 7 years old because I saw my older sister taking lessons, and I just wanted to know how to read all those notes and make music.  I told my mom I wanted to take lessons.  For just over a year or so, I took lessons where I learned the basics – scales, fingering, how to read music.  I learned to play mostly children’s music, rag time, and a little classical.  But I quit because I got bored.”

“My mother pushed me into taking up a band instrument.  I learned to play the saxophone in one day (but pretty badly) because I already knew how to read music.  But I got bored with school band and quit that too. I was a bit of a geek and loved science, math, and did a lot of reading – so I got bored quickly. But then it all changed when my mother tried one last time and found me a jazz saxophone teacher who introduced me to chords, blues and improvision. He also dazzled me with his creative energy – I had NEVER seen an adult like him before!  I immediately understand what improvision meant…I could play how I felt!  Reading somebody else’s music was just a chore!  Music is supposed to be a joy, even when you’re feeling down when it soothes you.  Since he knew I could play piano he suggested I try some chords out on the piano, but within a few weeks he lost me as a sax student, because I was hitting that piano hard every day.  I would spend hours in that back room rolling my fingers over the keys of that magnificent instrument trying out different chord voices until I liked the way they sounded.  And then I would try different improv licks over it.  And since I could read music, I started going through my dad’s old music books playing all those old songs, and I just loved learning so many ways chords were used to write songs.  I wondered, “Who teaches people how to do this? Is this some kind of secret?”

“I started learning pop music by either listening to it and figuring it out, or buying the sheet music.  I remember my first big purchase was the music to “Stairway to Heaven” – it had a black cover and was a 7+ page fold out.  So exciting to open that up and play that for the first time!!!  OMG, I’m playing “Stairway”….and learning all its secrets! I would pick the parts out the sheet music that made the song unique or that I liked, and then ditch the sheet music and improvise it after that. To me it wasn’t about playing it “right”, I wanted to feel it inside of me, and play it the way that made me feel good and connected to the universe. And soon I was introduced to the piano player Oscar Peterson and the band Steely Dan, which blew my mind of I thought, “who taught them how to do this!!!!!”. I had to try to figure out what they were doing!”

“I was obsessed.”

“In a suburban world which seemed to lack any soul or divinity, music was my ONLY lifeline to it.  Going to Temple certainly wasn’t getting me there.”

“And one day in Junior High School, the music teacher gave us each an acoustic guitar…just for one session.  I fiddled around with it in the back trying to figure out how to play it and when the bell rang, I panicked.  Dammit, I need to figure this thing out.  I asked my mom to PLEASE buy me a guitar, I NEEDED it!  She bought me a cheap $50 guitar at Sam Goody’s at the mall, and after that my grades declined a bit as I spent hours learning how to play the guitar by comparing the guitar to the piano, and figuring out the guitar notation in the sheet music. Now I could play The Beatles Day Tripper properly! And then I discovered Heavy Metal and had to get an electric guitar – I worked a summer as a cabana boy to pay for it.  Then I had to hang out with the kids on the “other side of the tracks” to play rock music.  The rest is Maria history!”

For someone of Maria’s vast acumen, writing music and lyrics was simply a natural progression.  While other people are watching episodes of Law and Order with a glass of wine in their hands, Maria is creating art that is personal and authentic.

“When I was young, I never thought of myself as a writer, but I found myself needing to do it first in school and then for work. So I figured if I’m going to do it, I might as well enjoy expressing myself.  And I found out I was pretty good at it.  People often complained to me about my writing style being too up front and honest, and I used to shrug them off thinking, you don’t understand me.  Expressing myself was just too important.  And then a friend suggested I try writing music with him, and I found I was pretty good at that – I had learned so much by playing so much other music across so many styles.  And then I started writing on my own, including the lyrics. And I really enjoyed writing and recording.  Much more interesting than watching TV or going to a bar to get drunk.  I’d rather be with the divinity of music. I’d rather go to sleep thinking about something I created vs. having an alcohol or TV watching hangover.”

More at https://www.mariakonner.com/

The series concludes in OUTerStage.com