Being in direct contact with Nature means being in direct contact with reality.
The opposite means operating under assumptions, probabilistic reasoning, external expectations, foreign constructs that set you up at a most often disadvantaged position, because the goal of comunicating between people and managing relationships between people is, and always was, driven by a sole objective: to achieve advantage of the individual over the circumstances and that includes over other people.
«All of these processes are designed to erase reality.»
These are excerpts from the 2006 Globe surf movie “The Secret Machine” dir by Joe Guglielmino.
In music, a masterclass is a session in which an interpreter performs while a teacher discusses the performance. The teacher can motivate the performer and highlight areas of improvement. Those who watch get to benefit from both the performance and the instructor’s expertise.
Maestro CT Fletcher presents us his masterclass. Featuring virtuoso Dana Lynn Bailey.
Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.
Back when I was learning how to read a score, meaning to play each written note in the violin, I made a small windows app that displays a random sequence of notes in the 1st and 2nd positions. You can make it quicker or slower, and it also shows you after a few seconds the name of the note and the string in which it should be played in the given position. The goal is to keep playing the notes until you can do it quickly enough to play a musical piece at its correct tempo. It aides you in memorizing the basic behaviors of playing in the violin.
Download and unzip from here (for Windows only). No need to install, just run the executable keeping the folder structure.
I saw you dancin’ out the ocean Runnin’ fast along the sand A spirit born of earth and water Fire flyin’ from your hands (…) For each man, in his time, is Cain Until he walks along the beach And sees his future in the water A long, lost heart within his reach (…)
The most interesting feature in this music is how Elton John builds the tension at the points cited above (at the start and middle of the composition). He does this not by elaborate or powerful lyrics, but by musical means alone (piano and voice). In my musical education, it is these details that are on top of the pyramid — the small changes and efforts that produce the greater impact.
Coincidentally, those lyrics are about the ocean and the beach, and that is another reason why I like them.
A few days ago I came from a morning surf session and casually took a look at the video below where a young man talks about some interesting matters.
That morning the waves were solid, head high or slightly overhead, but because the period was long they came bulky and due to the sand bar they got fast in the closing stage and caved.
This required a quick, determined approach and takeoff, at least for my 6’3 thruster.
I got frustrated after taking a few on the head, and in that first half an hour or so, I got defensive about taking those waves. I got avoidant. I was internally fighting the prospect of failure, much more than focusing on the shifting wall of water.
After starting to get physically tired, I found myself more relaxed as is usual as a consequence of it (at least for me). I get a bit more careless just because I am tired.
And then a good wave approached and I distincly remember making a semiconscious decision of not caring about the consequences. I felt like I accepted whatever it was to become of that wave, of my effort. I then got much less distracted and more in tune with the wave, doing everything at the right time in perfect blending with the wave. It was a textbook takeoff and drop. It felt like a marriage with the wave.
This got me thinking because I want to reproduce the effect. I want to understand better how this worked. I was thinking about it and when I saw this video it resonated with me. The acceptance, the shift from the binary succeed/fail to an acceptance of possibilities, the getting rid of tresholds of expectations, it all made sense.
Never EVER mess with the President of Portugal. You’ll regret it for life.
Well, if you are a pregnant woman you might get some “special” attention. Much needed in times of understaffed public hospital pediatric emergency care units.
I’ll have you know that, as the anti-abortionist that I am, I unwavering support the Chief of State at this.
This transcription was made after Elliot Goldenthal’s piece which is part of the Enterview With the Vampire OST (1994).
Images from the city of Lisbon, Portugal, at night.
____________ This recording is kept for historical reasons since it is not recent and I am practising & improving everyday. It is about the development process, not the actual technique.
I crossed paths with a lady one of these days. She was working and there was a baby carrier near. I spotted inside a pair of bright blue little eyes under some blonde hair. It was a boy, around 3 year old.
I asked the woman if that was her child. She stopped what she was doing and while she answered me with a calm & confident ‘Yes he’s my son’, she assumed a different posture. She looked pleased, proud & tall suddenly, as if adding a ‘And I am quite proud of that fact’.
It got me thinking about her posture.
As a man I will never know exactly how it feels (I would naturally just be acquainted with its male version one way or the other). However, perhaps music can uncover that.
Rumour has it this music is about a mother who lost her son. I would also add that George Michael here showed he had amazing lower tones, which I don’ recall ever having heard in his performances. And that is a shame — for us, that is.
Compliments of the Author 