Re: [Harp-L] martial arts, music theory, pop music, and harmonica.

[Chesper Nevins <chespernevins@xxxxxxxxx>]

Yes. I hear you. I have heard of the concept that the finger has a brain,
and the throat has a brain, that all memory does not come through the head.

 As far as the meditational aspects, I am thinking of the Kenny Werner book
that Richard Hunter mentioned a few weeks ago.

 I can see that the meditation-like aspects you mention does address more
than purely physical concerns. It can get you to a point where the conscious
mind is not hindering the voice of the subconscious.

 I also realize I was mixing two threads here – the martial arts analogy and
the "thinking vs. feeling" debate.

 I see the martial arts analogy as a good one for learning muscle memory.

 I see that the mediation-like frame of mind can lead to accessing what I'm
calling the musical memory (part of the subconcious), unimpeded.

 But the "meditation" or the "feeling instead of thinking" thing doesn't
really talk about *what* you are allowing to "come through unimpeded". Do we
just say "soul"? That's a pretty broad word. I am calling it "musical
memory".

 And I'm just not sure if accessing the subconscious repository of a
lifetime of sounds and associations is really more like "feeling" than it is
like "thinking".

 Why am I "harping" on the "feeling vs thinking" thing? Because the worst
side of that philosophy (and by the way Chris, I am not talking about YOU
and I really admire and enjoy your recordings) leads to "let's get high" and
"it's not cool to discuss music in any depth". And I think that is
detrimental in the long run. There must be a natural way to get results
similar to those that are sought through using drugs. So I like the idea of
evolving the terminology. And Eric, I like your concept of "discipline,
respect, relaxation and dedication". A very useful set of concepts that are
from martial arts. I gather.

 Anyway, it's a great topic and I don't know if I'm adding any clarity to
it. How great that Kenny Werner (for one example) could address such an
elusive topic and come up with something that's useful to a number of
people.