Transendence and Music
Posted on March 11, 2010 with 0 comments "Lying beyond the bounds of all possible human knowledge, essentially unknowable". That is our working definition for transcendence. I will try to expound that definition in my following words.
Musical improvisation is one of those things that I have never, ever tried to explain. One of the most common types of improvisation occurs in jazz. It is naturally inherent and because of the typical simplistic chordal structure it is easy to formulate a melody or harmony. However, it is possible to improvise in any musical style if you really understand the basic "texture" of the music. Music is like fabric. It has texture, weave, pattern, warp and woof, color and weight. It is possible to create all of these aspects at a keyboard. Lots of folks believe it is a gift. I agree to an extent. The human brain is nothing more than electrical impulses. All information enters the brain through hearing , seeing, tasting, touch and smell. It ALL enters through one side of the brain or the other. The central connecting cortex connects the two left and right sections of the brain. There are four patterns to brain activity. Left, left to right, right and right to left. The Chinese define this pattern, as Left- Yin, Right - Yang, Left to Right - Negative Yin, Right to Left - Negative Yang. These patterns occur in 12 year cycles and are given specific names for each. If you are a total left brain person - all information enters and exits your left brain. If you are negative yin, all information enters your left brain, passes through the central cortex and exits the right side. Simple. Think about it - everything you hear enters the left side of your brain if you are LEFT BRAIN/YIN. Everything enters your left brain and exits the RIGHT BRAIN if you are negative yin.
These are powerful concepts that have been studied and processed in chinese astrology for over 6000 years. It is also pure physics.
I was born in a Tiger year ( incidentally, this is a Tiger year, the last one was 1998 - twelve years ago.) Tigers are total right brain ( as are horses and dragons) and I used to think that I was crazy until I discovered how my brain worked. I have a sensory system that drives me crazy when I am around left brain/literal minded individuals. Right brain people reason through everything - we do not assume anything or take anything at face value. And here is the important part - we are receptors.
I cannot explain what happens inside my head when a melody or music thought comes to mind. It just happens. It is the most wonderful feeling in all the world. Those thoughts are translated out of my head through my fingers and on to the keys of the organ. It is one of the most exhilarating experiences one can imagine. If my technique is good, I can create some of the most completely astounding music imaginable. I just sit back and let it happen. It is like a spirit takes hold of you and sweeps you away. Naturally, left brain people wonder at all this - why it happens. I do not know what they hear when they listen. I just know what I don't hear. I don't hear anything - it just takes control of my brain and out through my fingers. I believe that I receive musical messages from the spiritual dimension that surrounds our physical dimension.
How do you explain something that you cannot control?
Back in 1996 I met one of the most famous spiritual mediums in the world, Dr. George Anderson. This encounter alone would take a book to recount. I now know that my family and friends on the other side are communicating to me through my music. They are sending messages to us in the form of music. When I improvise at certain times I know that those musical messages are for someone listening to me play. It is the most beautiful feeling imaginable. I have had people come up to me after one of these "musical instances" and exclaim how it affected them. They often cannot find words and may exclaim how much it affected their inner spirits. That is how it should be.
Improvisation is a hidden language,unknowable. It speaks on a level that we desperately need these days - to sense something profound outside the cacophony of a literal and confounded world.