A few months ago I talked about Tina S., the YouTube guitarist who, while technically proficient, never smiled, never seemed to connect with the music she was playing, and how different that was from my own experience, particularly following the path of Zen Guitar.
Today a friend pointed me to 21-year-old Marta Altesa, a London bassist who has not only impeccable taste in gear but proves herself to be the emotional opposite of Tina S. Watch her body language as she crushes “Master Blaster”:
The little smiles, the head nods, the way her whole body bounces to the beat– she’s no less technically proficient than Tina, but she feels everything. She starts out serious in her video of “Get on the Floor,” but can’t make it 15 seconds before breaking into a grin.
Even on the hardest parts, she’s clearly concentrating, but she loves the challenge. It’s evident. And while “Forget Me Nots” has a bit more “guitar face” in it than her other videos, her lock on the groove and connection to the joy of playing music is not only real but undeniable:
This is what is to play music. This is why any of us do it, why we work and learn and fail and try. It’s to have what Marta has in these videos.
It inspires me to see her so inspired.