Entries in craft (5)
Inner Hearing, Micro-twitches and the Breath
This is a longish story. It includes some muso-materials that may be unfamiliar territory for the non-musician. But the pay-off is well worth it, I believe. So, thanks for bearing with me here.
I have begun working with a new system of ear training and the repercussions of it are mind/body/ear boggling. As of three weeks ago I was not prepared to go out on a limb and recommend it. But now I am. I'll even put this in the strong recommend category.
Background:
Ear training is a big part of my musical work. It is also something that I believe leads up into the depths. The doorway to something well beyond us. For the non-musician reader, ear training is the work of being able to recognize what is happening in the music. And recognize it by hearing alone. An almost preposterous thing for some to consider – how could a musician work in any other way? Well, the answer is we can cheat not using our ears all over the place. Buy looking at sheet music or focussing on our fretboards or on our fingerings. We can easily make sound without connecting to, and hearing, that sound.
The Creative Life & Identity -- a conversation with Sonya Lea
My friend Sonya Lea and I regularly get together to tear apart our creative lives and compare notes. She recently recorded a conversation/interview with me about identity and I ended up delving into the particulars of my musical life. Much deeper than I thought. Which is what happens with Sonya. This is part of the work she is pursuing for her book about identity shifts.
David "Fuze" Fiuczynski & the Musical Toolbox
A friend of mine passed this over to me and I send it out to one or two people. But seeing part two now, I think everyone should check it out:
Part one:
Mastery and Innocence (SF Aikido Project)
Beyond a certain point there is no return. This point has to be reached.”
- - Franz Kafka
I am coming to this entry much later than I thought. However, Life has pulled me forward more diligently than my typing fingers could keep up. So I am now taking this moment to return to June 27th, when my son and I left San Francisco after spending several days at the San Francisco Aikido Project.