Clouds

                        

Clouds come and clouds go, my mind is a clear blue sky ...

Notes come and notes go, but where is my mind?  Am I present with myself, with the guitar, and with music?  What happens in those moments as I bring my hands to the instrument and the mind begins a slight chatter?  Over and over I find myself calm and centered and just as I go to play the opening notes the mind interferes?  Why does the mind begin to wander, imagine, or otherwise obstruct the act of music?

I sit on my stool and come into my body by observing my breath.  Releasing my neck to be free, my back long and wide, my legs free, and my shoulders wide I arrive in an optimum state to play.  Many times I do, but other times the mind interferes. Patience.  Practice.  Discipline.  Love.  Over and over again.  I am grateful for the improvement over the years. 

Photo by Prashant

The Search

Once the search is in progress, something will be found. 

Brian Eno/ Peter Schmidt

So very true.  Once again the Oblique Strategies serves up a gem. So blatantly obvious, yet beginning the search at times is just about impossible for me.  Why is this?

I must be present.  I must be present to my shortcomings and lack of knowledge.  Be willing to struggle with potentially fruitless paths.  Be willing to know that a good idea may arrive that I can not develop fully.  

Today I was going through old stuff in my basement.  Time to let go of my cassette tapes.  Glancing at the tapes I smiled often at the wonderful and diverse music that has informed my life.  I am grateful for all the musicians who have put their hearts and souls onto recordings, frequently receiving very little for a life time of work.  

But musicians play; we share our music in the venues and mediums that are available. And the world is a better place for this act of sharing.  This music I have listened to, continues to inform my searches and many others.  As has the books read, art viewed,  poetry pondered, and long walks and conversations with others.  My search is always in progress, I'm just frequently not aware of this.

Photo by Alan L

 

Tipping the Scales

Balance the consistency principle with the inconsistency principle. 

Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt

As this Oblique Strategy arose in my mind this morning I had a sense something interesting would arrive.  I wondered if I was becoming too consistent of late.  I've been picking up the guitar, making slow progress practicing pieces, but there has been no creative spark.  I'm disciplined enough to remain in the process of practice, but when the juice arrives, my practice is amplified in a sense.  How to investigate the inconsistency principle and restore balance?

One thought was to pick up my electric guitar and see what happens.  Maybe even plug in some effects. Looking at the definition of inconsistency I found this explanation when used as an adjective - "not in agreement or harmony."  I could go for something atonal or I could learn more about harmony.  Playing around with an Eb sus4 and Eb sus2 chords I now had a direction.  Then the Strategy spoke to me when I began playing around in eleven which reversed itself.  The pattern of this was 4/4/3/3/4/4.  Then it switched to 4/3/4.  More inconsistency arrived when the rhythm changed to ten, then to seven and eventually mellowing out in six.

My playing was energized and challenging.  I was alive again.  I made some notes and will investigate this more tomorrow as the scale tips toward balance.

Photo by elycefeliz

Voyage of Discovery

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Marcel Proust

 

Play without expectation

explore the sounds 

 probe the edges

  daily 

patiently

Wake up

Listen

Play

listen

play

listen

with

your heart

Vibrate the feelings

Feel the sound

change direction

release the sound

remember

listen

imagine
look inside

             

Photo by Gareth Thompson

Tuning

Music creates the Musician. 

Guitar Craft Aphorism

Those four words encapsulate my experience to date.  Music also heals this Musician and for that I am grateful.  May a listener find something of value in what I play and find the juice to carry on another day.  Some days life is hard; I feel off track.  Though I may not feel like practicing, the pull of Music is there; calling me gently, surely.  Sitting still, I tune and then caress her strings.  As the vibrations swell my heart expands and the path clears.  Slowly the musician is tuned, ever so slowly; doing nothing but playing. 


Photo by Skeletelmess

Something From Nothing

Before we do something, we do nothing.  

Guitar Craft Aphorism

Learning and applying the practice of doing nothing changed my life.  Just sitting, inviting in relaxation to my body gave me a space within which I can begin my day.  Taken further, just sitting continues to evolve and transform my being.  When I remember to pause and do nothing before moving onto doing something, life is changed for the better.  May I remember more and more.

Photo by Peter James

Cultivate Curiosity

Be curious, not judgmental.
Walt Whitman 

 I've always been intrigued by processes and how things work.  One of the reasons that I went to an Engineering High School, studied Nutrition in college, and then all manner of working to get to know myself and why I do what I do.  Our home is full of books, many of which I have yet to read; and quite a few I've read more than once.  A diversity of albums, cassettes, and CD's line other shelves.  I nurture this thirst for knowledge and appreciate those who share this yearning.

Driving home this afternoon, I thought about an idea for a piece, Grey Mist, that arose earlier this month.  How might I vary what I already have in a way that is outside my norm.  A thought arose about a bass line.  Arriving home, I was hungry so I had lunch.  Doing a bit of research for a writing project I have undertaken I came across an old blog post Stay Curious.  Remembering my idea for Grey Mist, I went to the guitar.


Playing around with the idea, it seems to have merit. Using these bass variations in the introduction I found my way to the main idea.  Now I need to listen to recordings made when I began working with Grey Mist to hear where the piece wanted to go next and hear if this fits the current flow.  Curiosity yields connections that otherwise would not be made.  Even when the idea does not work, it just may take me to the place where I find what does.  I continue to learn to just remain open and explore.  Like the poet said Be Curious ...

Photo by Olin Gilbert