Re: [Harp-L] martial arts, music theory, pop music, and harmonica.
I have a limited experience in martial arts, having studied Tai Chi (internal and martial applications) for only two years. This was a development in my study of meditation which has been a part fo my life since 1989. I've played harp for almost 30 years and drums for 20 years. I'm also a visual artist and have a BFA as well a a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I mention all this because I look for similarities in all areas of creativity and thought they might be of interest regrading this thread.
Muscle memory, as Jimmy mentioned, is key. We pratice the basics to absorb, and bury, the rudimentary functions in our subconscious, not to totally "remove" them from our minds. Whether it is practicing the movements in a martial arts form, knowing the mechanincs of playing of a harp, or the manipulation of a paintbrush, they become secondary considerations as we develop our knowledge into an art form. The idea is to develop a fluid method of expression, to go beyond rudimentary mechanical expression of the art. The goal is to develop an advanced state of consciousness (a "zen" state if you would) which allows expression drawn from the subconscious level (which is blocked by our conscious mind) to the point of freeing our instincts/feelings over our knowledge.
I would expand my agreement with Jimmy's comment to say that at that level of artistic expression, where the conscious mind acts only as a conduit for the subconscious mind to freely express itself, there is no difference between Bach, the B-52s, Yip Man (a master of Wing Chun self defense), Leonardo Davinci, preparing a good meal, and living a good life. None of this is limited to the artist. Feeling at a level where it really reaches the soul, is no different for anyone.
Anyone can achieve some level of expression/appreciation which I call, for lack of a better term, "pure". For artists, musicians, etc....it is about passion more than anything else. What drives us? Think about why we play harmonicas. Think about your favorite piece, your favorite player. Think about how it feels when you learn something new on a harp or how it feels when you finally get the sound you want from one. Think about the countless Harp-L posts on "TONE". Great "TONE" is that ability to create the emotional response we strive so hard for. It moves us. It transcends the simple (or not so simple) mechanincs of playing. It puts us one step closer to expressing the emotion we felt when we first heard the harp and hadn't yet learned to play it, and I bet most of us can pinpoint exactly when that happened.
I do not assume to speak for Jimmy, but my own interpretation of his comments is that the goal of martial arts is to create an awareness which allows instinct to flow through the subconscious mind and allow the muscle memory built through years of practice to react without a "gate" of conscious processing.
Sounds like what we want as harp players too ;-).
When it happens it makes us more than harmonica players... it makes us artists.
"Do not think...........Feeeeeeeel".
Bruce Lee
-------------- Original message from rainbowjimmy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx: --------------
> With martial arts and music, you practice to get muscle memory--that's the
> magic. With martial arts you depend on muscle memory because there's no time to
> think.
>
> With martial arts you learn where and how to hit people--that's the physics.
> With music you learn music theory--what notes to play and when.
>
> With martial arts once you have the physics and the muscle memory down, you work
> to improve them. The goal is to move a fast as possible, hit as hard as
> possible, all with no concious thought. You don't care about what you're
> saying. You care about surviving. There's more to music than muscle memory and
> music theory. I want music with good arrangements, good melodies (I do after
> all play a melody instrument) and I want a beat you can dance to. That's why I
> play pop. As far as pop being a legitimate music form, I haven't heard anyone
> write better songs than "Rubber Soul" era Beatles. I don't hear a lot of
> difference between the B52's "Dead Beat Club" and Bach. Nothing wrong with
> modern jazz, but sometimes you want to go out dancing.
>
> Rainbow Jimmy
> http://www.spaceanimals.com
> http://www.soundclick.com/theelectricstarlightspaceanimals.htm
> _______________________________________________
> Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
-------------- Original message from rainbowjimmy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx: --------------
> With martial arts and music, you practice to get muscle memory--that's the
> magic. With martial arts you depend on muscle memory because there's no time to
> think.
>
> With martial arts you learn where and how to hit people--that's the physics.
> With music you learn music theory--what notes to play and when.
>
> With martial arts once you have the physics and the muscle memory down, you work
> to improve them. The goal is to move a fast as possible, hit as hard as
> possible, all with no concious thought. You don't care about what you're
> saying. You care about surviving. There's more to music than muscle memory and
> music theory. I want music with good arrangements, good melodies (I do after
> all play a melody instrument) and I want a beat you can dance to. That's why I
> play pop. As far as pop being a legitimate music form, I haven't heard anyone
> write better songs than "Rubber Soul" era Beatles. I don't hear a lot of
> difference between the B52's "Dead Beat Club" and Bach. Nothing wrong with
> modern jazz, but sometimes you want to go out dancing.
>
> Rainbow Jimmy
> http://www.spaceanimals.com
> http://www.soundclick.com/theelectricstarlightspaceanimals.htm
> _______________________________________________
> Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
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