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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Who are you chanelling?
Who are you chanelling?
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MindTheGap
892 posts
Dec 20, 2015
2:54 AM
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Music from Beyond the Veil http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ljyn0
"Prof Paul Robertson examines the claims and counter-claims for musical mediumship and asks whether musical inspiration comes from within ourselves or if it could come from somewhere beyond."
Sorry, should have labelled this OT.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Dec 20, 2015 3:01 AM
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cyclodan
130 posts
Dec 21, 2015
5:30 PM
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Mind The Gap Thank you for that link. I listened to the whole thing and found it quite interesting. So do you think that musical inspiration comes primarily from within or from external sources?
So who am I channeling? I've been trying to tune in to George Smith and Carey Bell, but I'm a long way from "channeling" anyone.
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waltertore
2893 posts
Dec 21, 2015
8:40 PM
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I posted a song about channeling today. My whole concept is about channeling. It is addictive and the song is below. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Smiling With Hope Pizza-pizza with a social cause
my videos
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MindTheGap
899 posts
Dec 22, 2015
12:33 AM
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Interesting that, whatever we think, musicologists took this stuff seriously enough to investigate. I don't have a view on whether it is really music from beyond the veil. But I am told than when a good musician is 'in the zone' they aren't making conscious moves - more like observing themselves making music. I don't care where it comes from, I'd like to have some of that. We probably all have from time to time - you know when you really 'get' something.
There's an interesting book called 'The Self-Illusion' (Bruce Hood) which explores the idea that while you think you are 'you' - in control of what you are doing, making conscious choices - there is evidence that this is actually a trick of the mind. In reality it's more like you are observing what you have done automatically, then your mind post-rationalises it as a conscious act.
Walter thank you for the song. Having read about your process, that seems to be in this territory. Automatic.
Also, thanks for this particular song. When I'm practising I rarely reach for an F harp except as a sort of chore, but when I hear someone play it nicely I think it's a great sound and I've been playing along here for fun. Suddenly it sounds like the most harp-y of all harp keys.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Dec 22, 2015 2:25 AM
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Ian
187 posts
Dec 22, 2015
3:38 AM
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The whole concept of 'flow' is very interesting and has specific applications within a musical environment.
You should read 'Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience' by Michael Csikszentmihalyi. I read it for my thesis, it's good.
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JInx
1135 posts
Dec 22, 2015
8:13 AM
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I remember, when I first began messing around with penta tonic scales and modes, I had a strange feeling that peasant "spirits" from olden, sometimes foreign lands where "channeling" through me. Now when I sing this stuff, and I am in tune with my guitar, it's almost as if I hear them singing with me. Lol
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Last Edited by JInx on Dec 22, 2015 8:14 AM
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waltertore
2895 posts
Dec 22, 2015
8:42 AM
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Thanks MindTheGap. I am forever thankful to have found a way to do music that takes me to the greatest audiences, best back up musicians, and best sound system, without any musicians or leaving my house. My music is essential to my mental health and it was an ongoing frustration when I was playing full time to find musicians and clubs that had the right vibe to let the spirits channel through me. I need an interactive audience and an enthusiastic back up band. Finding both of these at the same time is very difficult. Now I got it all with no worries about anything but waiting for the mic preamp tubes to warm up :)
The F harp is one of my favorites. It is only good for a few holes but that is all I need to say what needs to be said. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Smiling With Hope Pizza-pizza with a social cause
my videos
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dougharps
1088 posts
Dec 22, 2015
8:49 AM
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Is it "WHO" or "WHAT" you are channeling?
I think that if you are playing set written or recorded music with deliberate intention and skill, to a great extent you are playing music someone else conceived and recorded, and it is NOT coming from somewhere else, it is your mind at work recreating that music. But even with that previously written music there is a point at which you may leave intention behind and let the music flow, coloring it with emotion in a way that may not be consciously determined and that was not written on the sheet music. An "inspired performance" would be the comment.
With improvisation you may try to think your solo through with intellect and may execute it well, but it is still an endeavor of the intellect, deliberately executed to the best of your ability. But when you are "in the zone" the music just flows and unfolds naturally, and after the fact may be recalled as having come from somewhere else.
Whether the "somewhere else" is your own unconscious, or a Jungian collective unconscious, or some spiritual place, or God, depends on what fits your conceptual framework best, after the fact. I have played with musicians who are convinced that their music comes from God and should be put to use to spread their faith. I can accept their viewpoint as being true for them, but it isn't my way of looking at it.
Analyzing this kind of thing after the fact, when not in the zone, tells us more about ourselves and our own beliefs than where the music came from. We all try to fit non-rational events into our rational cognitive frameworks.
I have conceptualized that music is all around us and all my efforts to become a better musician are to expand my ability to let the music through. The better my skills and ability, the more that music can flow through me. When I am in the zone and it all comes together, I am especially in tune with the music, and let it flow freely.
I don't think this is more true than other ways of thinking about music and improvisation, but it works for me...
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Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Dec 22, 2015 8:57 AM
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Barley Nectar
993 posts
Dec 22, 2015
9:38 AM
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Where does it come from, our minds, prearranged abilities from our genetic makeup. As a fellow who never tried to emulate or study anyone, I often find myself in the zone, there is no pressure this way. S I don't think this zone is dependent on ones technical abilities, depends more on a level of familiarity with ones instrument of choice. Being in the zone is a definite escape, a place where only the music is there. All I know is that if you have the gift, you must share it with others...BN
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