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Looper's Delight
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hi Matthias, >does anyone know about Holotropic Breathing, Stan >or Rebirthing? Music is important there, isnt it? Could looping help, >or is it used somewhere in this context? I love where your spirit is going with this! You have a remarkable vision of different contexts in which group improvisation and looping can be used. >yes, specifically, as soon as I think "this is great" (specially in >the sense of: "I am great"), its not any more Your voice is among the many who say that we must become empty like a hollow bone. I've felt it, too, that when we have no agenda, no ego, we are innocent like a child, we are totally in it for the Great Mystery of the moment-- that's when we connect with the muse. I totally support you in starting an improvisation group by the people for the people. It is making improvisation into a spiritual discipline, accessible by anyone. This is most emphatically my prayer, because I feel that communities can really be strengthened when we sing and dance together-- and we need to invent our own voice, to find our own path into the whole. >I established a free improvising group here in Salvador since >February. The members keep changing exept me and my partner Danilo, >who is rather into rhythm, while I rather care for tuning. We let it >run. Most participants are not musician. the process even works when >noone ever played music. The result is not pleasent, most of the >time, but its very intense for the participants, and most time its >not chaotic. Its amazing that even if you dont want, some >organization always grows out of chaos! Its just a matter of time, or >patience with the chaos. Once its runing, it goes on for 3 hours or >more, and often though all kinds of styles including animal voices >:-). When there are more educated musicians, sometimes it turns into >barok poliphony and amazing a capella choirs. Very rarely we stop for >a moment or I say something about the process. Recently I had good >experiences when restarting with only voices and body sounds after >the first instrumental part worked out. Kills shame... > >Its a big kick to see some shining eyes in the end of people saying: >I thought I could not play music >I play for many years but never felt this >Its like brain washing >... > >I thought about inviting people of all over the world to participate. >I just dont quite know yet how to organize... Some friends agreed to have me facilitate singing circles in Calgary, and we have been holding Sunday gatherings with pot luck and improv. My experience really echoes what you have felt down in Bahia. I feel a great nostalgia for those days when tribal peoples used voice as a way to gel community, Nature, and Spirit. There is a man, David Hatfield, out of Vancouver, who hosts improvisational singing circles. He has developed some techniques for developing core musicality such as a sense of harmony and rhythm-- from within group improv. Google has cached a beautiful essay he wrote for the Unitarian Church. You might find his tips useful in facilitating your own group. Also, you mentioned Holotropic Breathing and looping. That would be a fantastic experiment. Shamanic drumming, looping, holotropic breathing, pranayama-- all seem to work in rhythmic ways to tune us in to the larger rhythms of Life. I believe we are at a place now where we are breaking out of the production-consumption industrial model of music and about to return to a participation-community model. To me, that is when music becomes a social tool. So I support you in working with people over machines. As a Western man I feel a part of the collective gear fetish-- and how destructive it can be when our boys toys become more important than our friends and neighbours. I really hope that we will continue to learn how to work together and make our music about care taking this beautiful Nature we have inherited. from the Heart, Mercury