A droplet forms
A Fleeting Life – Max Cooper
To perfection, it must be said
Then
A droplet falls
And the swan dive
It has grace
We watch, and breath in
And then we breath out
Awaiting our own turn
For what else can we do?
Some paint pictures of what happens next
Blues, reds, sunshine, happiness
But what would they know, really?
A droplet forms
And a droplet falls
And if we are lucky
We have grace
To perfection, it must be said
Then
A droplet falls
And the swan dive
It has grace
We watch, and breath in
And then we breath out
Awaiting our own turn
For what else can we do?
Some paint pictures of what happens next
Blues, reds, sunshine, happiness
But what would they know, really?
A droplet forms
And a droplet falls
And if we are lucky
We have grace
“There is great musical power in knowing nothing about music.”
Yasmine – Oct-03-2024
I have thought a lot about the idea of creating with your self and all that it holds inside, already learned and earned from having lived in the world.
Learning the "theory", i.e. the structure or pattern realized and recognized by another in order to comprehend, define and utilize something.
Take music theory, and zoom in further, take western music theory; the assignment of frequencies, intervals, letters etc. are all primarily one or few people's attempt at formulizing something abstract.
A musician or music enthusiast would probably at some point be exposed to and/or develop an interest in various theories of music, that is: eastern, western, african and their various branches and subdivisions across the globe.
Now the person is at an interesting and important juncture, whether they are aware of that or not. If this point was the point where a decision is made by the person whether to delve furhter into any theory or not.
Arguably this event started occuring long before the idea of theory was introduced to the person in any tangible form. The wide adaptation of many theories, already primes and prepares the person for further assimilation into the reality built upon that theory.
Going back to the music, I feel that the consumption of any music is likely to introduce boundaries and limitations around the person's expression of their creativity. Consider the associations between tangible or abstract topics that are made inside a person's psyche as they take in sounds and visuals. They may not be consciously taking in all this information, but the body is. The lights, sounds, scents and even the electromagnetic fields of every person, device and vibrations are taken in, the patterns recorded somewhere in the folds of the brain perhaps.
If you go further in, learn about theory, the more you learn, the more trapped in the existing structure you get. Like going deeper and deeper into the rooms of an infinite castle where every door opens to a smaller room.
How many doors before you can't stretch your arms out anymore?
Now I do understand that inspiration is burried deep under layers of adaptation and assimilation into a reality that has driven most living being into a chronic state of depression, anxiety and fatigue. And it also seems to me that the habit of consumption and overconsumption has overtaken the approach to art too, the more the better.
Where is the line where perception of art is no longer a practice of appreciation, admiration and inspiration and instead is a habitual overconsumption?
How is this consumption imposing lines and limitations on the person's creativity and its expression?
Like my friend says, there is great musical power in knowing nothing about music.
********
Why is it about improvisation an unstructured playing of music that draws some to it?
In the structured playing of sound, at some point, one has consumed enough to start recognizing the patterns embedded in the theory and also in the combinations of instruments and sounds. At some point, it becomes boring. There are no surprises, in the absence of disonance.
[keep in mind, boring and disonance are concepts with agreed upon definition. While I do try to elaborate on my reasons for using the word through expanding on the idea itself, it is inevitable that the existing definitions, stigmas and opinions around each word will affect the perception of the general idea.]
Another way in which structured practices in sound making don't have the same effects as improvisation and experimentation is rooted in the sensation of recognition, relatability and seeing. As I listen closely to follow the sonic conversations between musicians who are listening to each other (ideally) as they are speaking, and I hear a moment of dissonance, I'm suddenly pulled out of eavesdropping on a musical conversation and I see, recognize and relate to the persons' having the sonic exchange.
And maybe this is the moment when the listener has a more pronounced and less passive presence in the system (!). Where the vibrations of the listener is most aware of the vibrations of the player, like an invisible vibrational collapse if you will.
The moment of dissonance
is like the moment a droplet
splashes
outside of the water.
Firstly,
the droplet is as water is.
Secondly,
the droplet
transparent and light
reflects the light
with more ease.
Oct-04-2024