Cocaine Stimulants and Making Music

[bryan21]

I dont want anyone to get the wrong idea with this one, im just curious. Ive never done anything like coke or speed before, the things that are said to speed things up, and i was wondering if taking any sort of stimulant would increase your ability to play an instrument at high speeds.

Just so you people dont get the wrong idea, i do not intend to make a habit of playing high, nor do i need drugs to be proficient at my instrument, im just curious.

You see people like Charlie Parker who was known to do alot of different drugs in his days and still be a killer sax player, i know he had alot of talent, but im just wondering if drugs have ever played a factor in someone like that's ability to play. (Charlie Parker is probably a bad example, because i think he did more heroin than anything else, but you get the idea).

 

[blackjesus]

Drugs, especially stimulants, make musicians more creative. Its a known fact, and hardly disputed. Listen to a record of the New kids on the block, then go listen to hendrix or the doors. dig?

Anyways stimulants may not necessarily make you a "faster" player. In the beginning, it might in crease or enhance certain abilities like dexterity, rate of breath if your playing a wind instrument things like that. But prolonged use will lead to things like nervous tick like movements, muscle twitches, something you definitely dont want to subject yourself to long term.

Stimulants and other drugs, subjectively, expand your creative avenues. The book on the road by Jack Kerouac chronologs a decade of his life spent travelling around the United States and Mexico with the likes of Ken Keasey and the rest of the beatniks, Burroughs, Ginsberg, and was written in 20 days or less under the infinite wisdom and power of the great roto. (speed)

 

[DrugOmen]

Well from personal experience, ive been playing the guitar intently for 7 years and have been doing drugs for 3 and drugs definitely affect my playing/improvisations/writings and anything else, good or bad depending on the drug. For me, weed makes me super creative and great and writing music, stimulants make me amazing and playing/technique and some creative side with the ability to play for hours on end. I can never seem too play on psyches unless a low dose (then its amazing) because my body doesn't feel like mine so i... just cant play lol.

But yeah im high and ill tell you something. The best mindset for me to be the best musician at my peak performance is when i have combined lots of weed/adderall and was by myself.

Oh yeah and benzos/alchohol etc. make me suck more, and opiates can make me more creative/flowing if at the right dose or else im probably not as good.

 

[jamesBrown]

Hendrix and Garcia had there LSD, Johnny Cash used Amphetamines, Louis Armstrong loved his marijuana and openly praised its benefits, and many great jazz(and other genres) musicians were prone to falling into the blissfull depths of a heroin induced euphoria(i.e. Sid Viscious, Kurt Cobain, Miles Davis, Jerry Garcia(again), Janis Joplin....Not to mention the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley's addiction to amphetamines which ultimately led to his somewhat "embarassing" and untimely death)......all of which had ENORMOUS impact on the music they produced, not to mention the culture in which the music was produced....

Some products of the drug use were quite positive and helped expand the music to something it couldn't have been before(sometimes even giving birth to a completely new type/genre of music)....while sometimes the drugs slowly took charge of a musicians personality, consequently having a negative impact on the his/her life, work, live performances, and sometimes even resulting in death.

As a human being and as a musician you have a choice to make....whether or not to use psychoactive substances to possibly "enhance" your music in different ways....whether it's by opening your mind to greater compositional possibilities(psychadelics), increasing your stamina and work ethic(amphetamines/stimulants), or maybe even setting a mellow mood for the "music to be created" in(heroin/opiates).....

Whatever choice you make I hope you do it wisely because the consequences of your decisions, whether they be good or bad, will be considerable, and may last long after you are gone, leaving a legacy of who you were.

 

[Billy Pilgrim]

The book on the road by Jack Kerouac chronologs a decade of his life spent travelling around the United States and Mexico with the likes of Ken Keasey and the rest of the beatniks, Burroughs, Ginsberg, and was written in 20 days or less under the infinite wisdom and power of the great roto. (speed)

A lot of myth follows that book

From one of the essays at the start of "On the Road: The Original Scroll"

As to the myth that his work was fueled by Benzedrine, we have what Kerouac told Cassady: "I wrote that book on COFFEE ... remember said rule. Benny, tea, anything I KNOW none as good as coffee for real mental power kicks."


Still a stimulant but not quite as strong

 

[Keif' Richards]

I play guitar, and I find that a little speed can really open up my playing. Trying new chord shapes (weird jazzy ones), my picking is more streamlined, and my accuracy as far as time goes is greatly improved. There is a limit though, a little bit of speed is great for playing, but you need to hit a sweet spot with your dose.

If you take too much you'll just spend hours reworking smoke on the water into a big band jazz odyssey. But yea, I would say as a musician speed has its virtues. If you're just trying to compose something onto paper that's in your head, or trying to nail that solo or whatever. Creativity though is better fueled by marijuana, or psychedelics hands down

 

[bryan21]

Thank you for your replies. I appreciate your insight.

 

[jamesBrown]

No problemo....sry....I got kinda deep with my response, a little outta hand.....all apologies

 

[jamesBrown]

Yea amphetamines definitely would have an advantage over something like cocaine or something short acting like that. They last soooo much longer and provide the stimulation you need to concentrate on the music and "perfecting" it....atleast thats how it will feel at the time when your all hopped up on amphetamines.

BTW....I recommend adderall or maybe even ritalin before methamphetamine.....that stuff is just too strong, unhealthy, and overwhelming....
Adderall is a good happy medium.

 

[krautpout]

Interesting thread!

I make house/Techno/Tech house and also have an accoustic project but 90% is dance

Mephedrone, before it got banned, was, for me, the best music making drug. It made me very creative, focused for extended periods and i created some great complex arrangements. i pulled more all nighters than ever before when that substance came along which was quite destructive and detrimental to my relationship. i miss it but am glad its banned

low dose acid i find great for hearing details and, for some reason, for doing automation on tracks, i found on acid i could hear the subtle effects of changes in the compressor thresholds, for example, much more easily than sober. I did tend to focus too much on one thing with acid and getting lost in it before swanning off on other adventures

coke + k =bad music combo. short term memory goes to pieces and the coke makes your brain think so fast that the dulling and slow down of the K fragments all those thoughts, probably why ive noticed people really stuttering and struggling to get their words out on that combo

k alone is hit and miss. on a low dose i can be creative

coke alone made me sometimes think that a song was great, the next day it sounded shit

mdma - a bit too fluffy. ended up going on facebook and sending messages to long lost friends and then arranging "soft lighting" in my room. oh dear

weed / skunk/hash - i prefer buzzy stuff but this has always been a staple favourite for making music with and i do think it opens my mind up a bit

thats my bit..would be good to hear more people's views

 

[change-jug]

I enjoy doing amphetamines before I go to band practice when I can, as I have more stamina and creativity to rock out. However when ever it`s just me and the guitarist(who happens to be my best friend) getting together to jam a bit (on speed) we just end up talking a shit ton.
Back when I used to smoke weed I would get really creative but then forget everything I just came up with,which is a pretty big down side. And I used to love doing opiates when ever I played music as I was more relaxed if I was playing in front of people and I felt more creative while under the influence.
Playing "music" while tripping balls seemed awesome while I was lost in the moment but the majority of the time I was too high. I remember once when I was around 19-21 and living at home I was high on lsd and thought I was making a master piece. Until my Dad came in and asked me to stop playing the same 3 notes over and over. Apparently,I had been playing the same thing for about 45 minutes. All I remember is that I thought I had discovered the musical equivalent of a panther`s heart beat.
If i were you I`d stick with amphetamines or opiates.