music as worship.
My longtime friend Adam once wrote of art as the worship of experience. His words have stuck with me for a long time, and I appreciate their profundity now no less than I had then.
I would like to build upon this idea. Fiddle around with it.
Music is a subset of Art; it follows that music should, likewise, be the worship of experience.
Specifically, I would like to think that of the act of music-making. Consciously or otherwise, a true musician approaches his art quasi-religiously.
Practice is but a form of prayer. A musician practises so that he may become more adept with his instrument and at his art; he continually seeks new levels of enlightenment. A musician embarks on a neverending quest for how best to aurally stimulate our imaginations and emotions.
Rehearsals and jams are no different from study groups (I have always found them perversely named) and scholarly discussions. They are where insights are shared, and interpretations formed, built upon, or taken apart; they are where one develops a breadth of mind to accept and view ideas from different perspectives.
All of this may start off or culminate with a performance. This is when the performer spreads the word and sermonises; he invokes the deities of his inner being, so that the crowd before him may do so with theirs in turn. Proselytisation is desired, but never sought for; if a performer can touch souls and open hearts, it is simply the natural consequence that follows. It is not an end to which infidels should be coerced into. Not by true musicians.
Importantly, the musician himself may seek solace in music. Meditation, if you will. When technique ceases to be a concern and fluency of musical thought runs true through the trained mind, a musician may raise the floodgates of emotion and unburden his soul. Some play to remember, others play to forget. Oneness is transcient; its moment, fleeting - but the musician, nonetheless, is free. If but for a while.
Music as worship. Isn't that a beautiful thought?
----
*I am not religious, so understand that the language above is in no way indicative of any adherence of mine to religious faith. I would be displeased if you thought otherwise. It simply carries my analogy.
I would like to build upon this idea. Fiddle around with it.
Music is a subset of Art; it follows that music should, likewise, be the worship of experience.
Specifically, I would like to think that of the act of music-making. Consciously or otherwise, a true musician approaches his art quasi-religiously.
Practice is but a form of prayer. A musician practises so that he may become more adept with his instrument and at his art; he continually seeks new levels of enlightenment. A musician embarks on a neverending quest for how best to aurally stimulate our imaginations and emotions.
Rehearsals and jams are no different from study groups (I have always found them perversely named) and scholarly discussions. They are where insights are shared, and interpretations formed, built upon, or taken apart; they are where one develops a breadth of mind to accept and view ideas from different perspectives.
All of this may start off or culminate with a performance. This is when the performer spreads the word and sermonises; he invokes the deities of his inner being, so that the crowd before him may do so with theirs in turn. Proselytisation is desired, but never sought for; if a performer can touch souls and open hearts, it is simply the natural consequence that follows. It is not an end to which infidels should be coerced into. Not by true musicians.
Importantly, the musician himself may seek solace in music. Meditation, if you will. When technique ceases to be a concern and fluency of musical thought runs true through the trained mind, a musician may raise the floodgates of emotion and unburden his soul. Some play to remember, others play to forget. Oneness is transcient; its moment, fleeting - but the musician, nonetheless, is free. If but for a while.
Music as worship. Isn't that a beautiful thought?
----
*I am not religious, so understand that the language above is in no way indicative of any adherence of mine to religious faith. I would be displeased if you thought otherwise. It simply carries my analogy.
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