The trumpets sounded and with a great shout, it was said, the walls of Jericho came down. The Lyre of Apollo was received by Orpheus to tame wild beasts and soothe the souls of men. The Pied Piper was able to lure both the rats and children out of town with his musical charm. Why? What did they know about the power of music and sound?

Whatever type of healing practice you may have, creating healing environments is  not just about basic sensual aspects or furnishing aesthetics. We must also consider vibrations, sounds and energies impacting upon persons.It is worthwhile for any persons working with music and sound in the healing arts to gain a bit of insight into its potentials and power to help them facilitate with precision and intent according to the client’s needs. We will explore this and more. 
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What affect does different instrumentation have upon persons? Each instrument family has distinct timbres and aspects of instrument  design that lend themselves to affect various body regions. Some of what we understand of such affect is due to how and where we use the instruments to play, others the materials they are crafted from, their resonance and the nature of the sound they produce. Explore this and more at this workshop

Is the ear the only mechanism involved in the perception of sound? How else are we affected?. We will explore experientially. What is consciousness? What is state change? Explorations of the nature of being and experiencing.

What special magic can music bring to our physical emotional mental and spiritual wellbeing? Is there a key to this magic? We will look at the special magics of music opening our mind and heart to it’s true potential and power.

What are the links between ambient environment sounds and health? how do sounds in the world soundscape affect health and wellbeing, not only of ourselves but all species? Included in this workshop is a brief overview of sound and health and interspecies ethics from the perspective of Acoustic Ecology.

How much of the way music affects us is due to individual bias and how much is due to elements of music and greater principles? Explore this and more in this intensive one day workshop

Reference manual  is included. Book soon, maximum numbers 8 due to space restrictions

MUSIC & SOUND IN THE HEALING ARTS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
​TRAINING FOR THE HEALING ARTS PRACTIONER

•        Counsellors  & Psychotherapists
•        Creative Art therapists
•        Dance Movement Therapists
•        Body Workers & Massage therapists
•        Reiki and Spiritual healers
•        Healing Centre managers
•       Chiropractors/ Osteopaths
•       Chinese Medicine Practitioners
•       Voice & Sound healers   etc

ENHANCE YOUR HEALING PRACTICE WITH SPECIAL EXPERIENTIALTRAINING

•     Nature of Sound and it’s behaviour
•     Affects on Body, Emotions, Mind & Spirit
•     Music and the subtle bodies
•     Perception & your personal response
•     Musical elements
•     Consciousness and state change
•     Aspects to consider for healing work

 For training dates see Home page, Whats on tab here 

The trumpets sounded  and with a great shout , it was said, the Walls of Jericho came down. The Lyre of Apollo was received by Orpheus to tame the wild beastsand soothe the souls of men. The Pied Piper of Hamelin led the children and the rats out of Hamelin. Such tales, whether folk lore; myth, or based in actual historical fact, have an element containing the magical nature of music and sound. But is it a magic?

No two souls are affected in the same way  by sound and music. The vast majority of people like and appreciate music as an art form. As a source of pleasure,  some as an outlet for their inner worlds, some as a vehicle to transport their consciousness. We love and appreciate it for many reasons, though we may not be aware of what they are consciously.

Through sound we are carried. Through vibratory resonance we receive sound, it is with our whole being not just our ears. Sound is an energetic phenomena. It is a force phenomena. It is a creator of patterns (Jenny, H1967, 2001 & Hughes, M, 1904) and an evoker of feeling responses. It is processed by more than  just the brain; in fact, the whole subtle body network and the meridian pathways (Wu, Shen, 2001). It is a stimulator of thought and of memory. Sound taps our ancestral memory, reaching back through time into the very dna code itself and the collective layers of planetary resonance and experience. It evokes deity and the gods, wisdom and knowledge. With song we share thought, feeling, message and story. We transmit who we are. We connect to the divine.

Our first songs are our mothers, they are her lullabies and laments, her biological rhythms. We hear in the womb, the ear being one of the 1st fully formed organs. Before we understand language, we understand sound, on a  level of unity consciousness in which we are totally open and connected. Children are born with chakras wide open but immature and take in every vibration around them as a sponge without the ability to self protect (Brennan, B, pp.64-66 1987).Then with birth  and our first utterance; the word is made flesh. The flesh utters the energetic presence and intent of the spirit, Self saying I am here.

We learn early on, our prejudices. We learn early on pleasures associated with sounds. We learn in a totally holistic multi sensory way, kinaesthetically (through the body and feelings), auditory (through the heard), olfactory (through taste) and visually (through our sight). Learning and memory are not localised solely within the mind brain region. It is here we process data, but according to holographic and field theories, information is stored throughout the whole energy field. The brain is merely the c.p.u., the mind is part of the larger evolving energy field. We perceive through our energy field, through our chakras and meridians, through our senses. All that shares the planet with us, is part of a physical and an energetic dimension, with  a corresponding energy field, a vibratory matrix- the great big web of Dependant life ( to quote a lyric in one of my songs- Atmospherica). 

Music and sound interact with this matrix and encode it. Music and sound affect matter, physical, emotional, mental,  and spiritual matter as sound is 'prima materia', a generating creative force. In the beginning was the word, the sound ‘The aum’. Sound and light can be measured as part of the electromagnetic spectrum- the spectrum we use to measure vibrations and emanations of all kinds in hertz and megahertz frequencies. Cosmic rays to earth quakes to x rays and microwaves all are part of this larger field. All energetic phenomena. There are still types of matter/ energy we cannot record and as yet we only have few tools that enable us to record impressions of the human energy field- Kirlian photography. The more our sciences develop,  the more we are able to discern, as our conscious growth is matched by our creative ingenuity and understanding. Consider the ground breaking revelations of Masura Emoto (r.I.P), water crystal photography and consciousness experiments (Emoto, 2004, 2005). We develop more refined methods of perceiving the energy spectrum with the manufacture of new technologies.

I speak of these things because they all impact consciousness and matter. Matter is consciousness at its densest level. Whatever ones theological  or philosophical orientation, there are certain things about the nature of sound and vibration, and it  is one such area where there is relative consensus. We use sound in medicine, ultra sound, in Laser surgery, we use it in military applications and we use it in engineering to clean things dislodging the sludge from fuel injectors.  All cultures have practises related to music & sound, sacred knowledge and healing. We have tales of its use and misuse.

Our spiritual traditions use  sound and music for sacred communion with deity. We use hymns, recite the words of the prophets and messengers, we use mantras and prayer. Our world is a totally sonic environment, getting louder everyday. The Soundscape  is changing , with new sounds emerging constantly as our technologies and populations grow.(Shcaeffer, M 1977).

Our many cultures and music’s, speak of our world, of our history, our concerns  for who we are. We are transported by sound- it affects our consciousness and it does this beyond most of our conscious control. When we take the time to reflect we may find certain music’s relax, stimulate, or agitate etc.. This response patterning  is an area both shared by all, but dependent upon  ones disposition and conditioning. We are all unique in vibratory matrix  and  beingness.

We have music that is instrumental, music of voice, electrified, acoustic, electronic and sound design  types of music and combinations of all of these, there is even room for noise in the compositional domain, and do not forget silence.

Let us now take a snapshot of the  spectrum of consciousness and brain waves and how sound affects us on these levels.

Brain waves

Associated activity states

B.p.m of music

Affect on consciousness

In gymnasiums and fitness centres group exercise classes  feature music with it  very  loud, it is fast paced, often called pump to mobilise the heart and get is beating. This music had moderate to fast B.P.M’s , (beats per minute), the rate of measure which we also use to measure heart rhythm. Standard rock and pop music sits at 120 b.p.m. It can exceed this and dance music’s  such as techno often use b.p.m’s that can exceed 160-180 bpm; and it is claimed up to 300b.p.m,( Wikipedia) at which it has exceeded the maximum rate possible by a healthy athlete. The heart can only beat at a certain rate beyond that we are at risk or cardiac arhythmias, and even heart attack. While we may entrain to sub divisions of metre and beat, I do believe it is most dangerous to the living organism and causes immense stress. This creates a forced resonance, a biological entrainment  in which we are then harmonised through activity  and match it  on a cellular level – we get pumped, pumped by sound and blood. This physical level  activity beginning with increased heart and respiration, changes the brain waves state. Yet this music is not always in harmony with the human organism, there is a type of rhythm called ‘anapaestic’ which runs contrary to the natural heart rhythm (Halpern , 1985p 138). Where we do not wish to be so affected it can cause anxiety,  panic attacks, depression, irritability, anger , fear, and trigger post traumatic stress. In essence it can trigger physical level issues and mental emotional level response/ disturbance. I have recently encountered research where technologies are being  created, sold and potentially employed for crowd control by Security companies Police and  Military which use infrasound, low frequency sound (beyond the range of human audition 20hz) to induce behavioural change by inducing nausea and other unpleasant symptoms. This marks a disturbing use of this knowledge .

There are many variables within the music that affect the rate, the resonance and the resultant brainwave states and heart/ breath rhythms. Amongst these are instrumentation, tempo, rhythm, key, melody, drone, and the nature of the sound the technology that produced it. The consciousness of the creator is also crucial with intent (Goldman, J) transmitted in the music.

By far the most significant of these is rhythm and tempo. Rhythm tends to engage the physiology, the heart and muscles and any tempo matching or exceeding the hearts rate, will increase brain waves to beta range, yet there is also potential to go into trance states at higher levels. Tempos more in alignment with a heart rate at rest and musics with minimal or no marked rhythmic pulse/ beat will relax the human organism and lower brain wave states to alpha rhythms and possibly theta affecting all other biological rhythms. Those affected are the  heart rate, the  breath or respiration and the  brain wave state as measured in hz. Any physiological change will affect the whole being, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

The spectrum of consciousness covers the many and varied states of being from coma, lethargy, to sleep, to relaxation, daydreaming, ecstasy, out of body, revelry, visioning, meditation, trance, peak performance, E.S.P,and all in between, mystical rapture. Randall Mc Clellan (1991) details a thorough table in The Healing Forces of Music which  considers the aspects related to music and healing and states of consciousness detailing where research has been done as at 1991 and 2000, about the effects of different musics on the human being. These studies are continuing by researchers at this time.

This is just a snapshot of the reality of the effects of music on the person and on their consciousness. The use of music for state change is an ancient technology used all around the world by Tribal and Indigenous cultures, with drumming and chant. The Hindi have mantras and ragas, the West has Gregorian Chant, choir and Symphonic, now also electronic music’s and technologies, ancient Egypt and Greece  have the Lyre and Flutes, the middle east Drums and stringed instruments and quarter tones. Asia has  Buddhist chants and mantras, bowls and gongs, trumpets and rattles, all of these are employed in state change. Australia has the uniqueness of the Didgeridoo, chant and rhythm sticks. Ice Age  bone Flutes have been found , dating back 35-40, 000 years which demonstrates how long we have  sought to express ourselves and relate through musical phrasing (Mannes, E 2009). 

Knowing that these sound and music technologies, tools and instruments exist, gives us the ability to select  & play music that supports our desired states.Many authors have written about this in details giving charts of various composers and styles to guide one along. Music is supreme in conjuring imagery. When I compose I go on journeys. From the earliest childhood memories music has conducted this function for me, as transporter of consciousness. I used to experience scenery and visions and be transported to other times and places, I would have movies within my mind. Some may say this was a kind of dislocated O.B.E experience, or voyaging in other consciousness energy bodies, as in shamanic voyages to other realities, or maybe what would fall under the umbrella of a guided imagery type experience. It depends on whether one goes off off, or stays with the body, or enters dream type altered states. It does not really matter how it is defined. I would certainly loosen the shackles of the physical very easily and be off somewhere, listening to the early electronic pioneers such as Jean Michelle Jarre or Tangerine Dream. I would feel things and tap in to archetypal levels and spiritual dimensions from an early age. A whole field of Therapeutic Music was created called Guided Music and Imagery by Helen Bonny, which as far as I understand it, uses mainly classical music to evoke memory and response, this journey is then processed with the help of a facilitator / therapist. such responses and journeys should not be limited to classical. film score brilliantly evokes such responses as does a lot of new age and electronic, instrumental or minimal music.

 So whether through rhythm in tribal cultures, or drones in Hindu and overtones in Buddhism, or the sublime melodies of the west or Middle East; Music is the ship which transports our consciousness. It is vehicle for our journey, it’s power is unlimited, for reaching the far off places, the foreign, often forgotten shores, of recessed memory .

To conclude our  topic, ‘Music and consciousness voyages, facilitating altered states ’-armed with a little fundamental knowledge, we have greater awareness and greater responsibility as to how we use music and sound and an understanding of phenomena from an energetic level, a field effect level, in which nothing is isolated, but all permeates in shared space. We come to know that we are vibratory beings in a vibratory world and there are many tools at our disposal in the form of instruments, voice, tools, techniques, sonic technologies  and compositions that can aid our state of health and alter our state of consciousness at will. This can be a self directed activity though is not to be undertaken lightly. Employing sonic technologies that may change ones brain wave state and state of consciousness’ would be inadvisable whilst driving  or in need of a high level of alertness operating machinery etc. Use common sense, Safety is always paramount and education falls more and more to the self in our ever changing world. To truly heal one needs to become one’s own physician, as the great master Jeshua said. If you are ill however, see a physician and seek out qualified practitioners. We cannot do all things alone, a team effort is often necessary. This is not to be taken as medical advise and no responsibility is accepted in relation to acting on this text. It is educational of nature. You must seek your own way on your own journey.

This is but a brief snapshot of an area where one could write many volumes. Below is a list of references on the matter. I was prompted to write about it because of my personal experience  and what has become an area of fascinating research for me i for the last 18 years, in which I am finding confirmation in every volume I read of my intuitions and theories. Sound Healing research is a growing field, in which scientific confirmation and cross disciplinary studies  is continuing daily, linking up with many ancient cultures areas of sacred knowledge and teachings. Sound Music and Health is an area that I am now starting to run classes about in the community, in relation to the Healing Arts and  Sound Healing practises. Be well. Listen to the body it is both vessel and teacher.

 

Bonny,H 1980, Guided Music and Imagery.

Brennan ,B.A 1987Hands of Light, Bantam Books,  United States Of America.

Brennan, B.A 1993,Light Emerging, Bantam books, New York, U.S.A.

Emoto, M 2004, The Hidden Messages in Water, Beyond Words Publishing, Inc Oregon U.S.A.

Emoto, M 2005,The True power of Water, Beyond Words Publishing, Inc Oregon U.S.A.

Halpern, S &Savary,L 1985,Sound Health The music and sounds that make us whole, Harper and Row Australia.

Hughes,M.W 1904, The Eidephone voice Figures, , Christian Herald Company, Ltd, London

Jenny,H 1967 & 2001, Cymatics,  A study of Wave Phenomena and Vibration, Macromeida Publishing, U.S.A.

Mannes, E 2009,The Music Instinct Science and Song, DVD Mannes Productions Inc, PBS Distribution.

Mc Clellan,R 1991-2000, The Healing Forces Of Music, , toExcell iUniverse.com Inc, U.S.A.

Schaefer, R.M,1977-1994,The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of The world, Destiny Books, Vermont, U.S.A.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_techno

Wu,S 2001, Musical Qi Gong Ancient Chinese Healing Art from a Modern Master, Hona And Sekey books, New Jersey U.S.A.

© Catherine Meeson 2012-2015

Old blog 

We need to move beyond the paradigm of the traditional composer whom in their day and age gave voice to a Sonic Domain via the Orchestra. Expanding our definition of composing to include not only conventional Instrumentation and timbres but that of the global sonic reality, both the human domain and  non human worlds. The world is the nosiest it has ever been ( well maybe  next to the mountain building volcanic past). A multitude of solo sonic seekers stand poised daily, recording sounds and offering them up for Creative Commons usage to be sonically orchestrated.

Not all of us learnt to read or write music.

Before notation was listening and experimentation. Before notation was master and disciple in some cultures.

Before masters  were many voices, and soulful utterance, experimentation and human ingenuity giving rise to early instruments, voice, drums, flutes and the spaces in which the audible was heard which were just as much part of the sound, as the instruments themselves.

Culture and place diversify. Time and tide cross fertilize . The results are a rich sonic array of possibilities for the 21st century in which the “sonic orchestrator” (CM), can represent concepts, themes, ideas, abstractions. We can also embody knowledge and codify universal laws to be transmitted regardless of cultural origin via sound.

A Sonic Orchestrator makes sense out of cacophony and creates order out of chaotic voicing’s. He / she allows their palette to expand purposefully  and  intentionally signalling  a creative adaptation of the old guard; not to replace it, but to synthesize it and with it, to integrate and offer more. To build a bridge between the worlds. The ancient worlds, the European classical world, the modern rock and pop world, and the electronic worlds of sample and  synthesis. The Sonic Orchestrator may also attend to the  model and ethics of the ancients regarding the use of sound, knowing  its effects.

I believe we have sound designers working alongside composers but  not necessarily one and the same,. Maybe they are sometimes in the motion picture world. How fascinating it would be to be part of a team like that. Sounds designers work on special sonic effects and recording simulations of real world things or out of this world sounds producing those mind bending signature sounds that get etched in the collective memory as the “Pod racer of Annakin Skywalker for eg.

Eg of the Master Sonic Orchestrator John Williams at work, one whom has influenced the deepest recesses of my being with his rich dramatic scores; that even if they were not composed and synchronised with moving image would stand alone  creating their own synaesthesia experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSoFTRwkfbA

The Sonic Orchestrator is not limited to score. The tools of trade now are not only instruments, but include all technology, digital synthesis and computing power, giving us second and third brains to fulfill our vision and stretch our sonic boundaries, way out there into the vastness of space. Some level of music theory is advantageous but not even necessary any more. Studies have demonstrated that our neurological wiring process and acculturation occurs  within the first few years, after which time we have absorbed the fundamental sonic, the tonalities if you like, of our cultures, and the rules of its cultural musical expressions. This encodement goes beyond training, it becomes part of our gene pool, literally getting transmitted to the next generation for potential nurturing and awakening.

So the Sonic Orchestrator is not bound only by ones place and culture of origin. He or she is at ones best when adaptable and flexible to allow the influences of other systems to be internalized and comprehended, allowing a greater creative fertilization potential to occur. The ancient mode can be transplanted using contemporary voices, and real world samples, or conceptual abstract synthesis and design to create  a representation, sonically,  audibly and psychologically, of an event space occurrence, or a moment indeed of time and space itself. Sound is an expression of time and space.

Representation is nothing new to the worlds orchestrators, they have always sought to portray story, event, myth, feeling, mood, time, idea, etc. There are no limits in true composition. I really do like the title of a Sonic Orchestrator, it is much more aligned with the times, than just musician, therefore I feel I fit the title well with my playing, but then so do we all.

Some of my favourite Sonic orchestrators over time are John Williams and  Tangerine Dream , but today I leave you with a link to some of my favourite conceptual orchestrations.

Gustav Holst- the Planets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGGlL1wexQk&list=PLB2D2981DD8FC725F

Tangerine Dream- Alpha Centauri 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi2Oj-P70NM

Jean Michell Jarre- Oxygene 2 Live 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8dqzTl0vUI

Maurice Jarre, Jean Michelle's father wrote the Soundtrack to the Epic Laurence of Arabia- Theme piece

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i1mI-P9Z3s

Enigma Live- Gregorian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI0O3-7iPE0

 

WHEN WORDS FAIL INSTRUMENTS SAVE THE SOUL xxx Catherine

NURTURE THE MUSICIAN WITHIN- YOUR AUTHENTIC VOICE AND WRITING STYLE

© Catherine Meeson 2010 & 2015 


There are many ways we come to music. Some receive lessons from childhood, some take up an instrument of their own volition in their teen years, and some others decide in adulthood they always wanted to learn. Some couldn’t leave the pots and pans alone as children. Some cultures have music ingrained as a big part of their community: for  some it is something that everyone partakes in, for others it is for the few. If we are all born with the same potential, one could claim it is a matter of the learning of skill and all training. But are some born with a more natural inclination, a more resonant disposition, a brain more able to synthesize musical pattern and relationships? Who can really say? What if they are more adept, the soul knowing from an early age what it wants to do?

Whether adept, savant, slow learner, sheet music virtuoso, ear oriented learner, experimenter, all have a master musician within them awaiting nurturing. The only difference that makes someone a good musician is time and effort. Someone who knows the essence and form of music from such a deep inner level, who comprehends relationships beyond rational knowledge. One  whom is able to communicate and play from an intuitive level, attuned, resonant, unafraid of making mistakes. One able to know beyond ones instrument, able to write, compose complete pieces whether on sheet , by analogue equipment or electronically with software.

So what is ones Authentic Voice and writing style?

The 20th century saw a proliferation of immense diversity with the electronic age dawning and technologies infiltrating all spheres of creative life. Music has expanded  beyond folk music’s and traditional music’s of the peoples, or of the classical European era. It is in the realm of the everyday. Manufacturing and Industry has led to the masses being armed with instruments of differing quality. This has given birth to the desires of successive generations of youth, feeding the urge to express, with the Age of Mass media and radio and now the internet proliferating. Migrations of people across the globe and the technologies of the 21st century opened the door, to the worlds music, the worlds sounds and the worlds instruments. A cross fertilisation of sounds, of styles, melodies, and  rhythms; ways of using the voice, types of scales, and harmonic patterning. People took up the instruments of other cultures and the medium of money has allowed this. The age of transport and communications means there are no boundaries anymore, and if they do remain it is only within our ear and comprehension.

People learn as they always have- by ear, or from teachers, books and pictures, other from sheet. Now new generations are learning off You tube and online tutorials. The exposure to the sounds of the world, is ever increasing the ear of the listener, ever appreciating this richness and sonic diversity. No one can disclaim the fact that music has become one of the bedrocks of popular culture. We make machines to deliver it in our vehicles, to carry it with us. We like to have choice about our sonic environment in the ever increasing cacophony over which we have little control, called the masses and the machinations of progress. We are presented with sound and music in every shop, for it is used to sell, to entice, amuse and attract . It is a tool par excellence in  arresting attention. With sight we can choose to look away, music to some degree we can turn down or off but not always. Not when it is thrust upon us by others who have little regard for peace and personal space. It booms out of cars, houses, shopping centres, Noise is everywhere. Even when we turn it down it still travels as a wave through the environment, with lesser wattage. Now there is an ever increasing presence within health centres, doctors, dentists etc even some work places, using Muzak to promote a variety of desired consumer/ clientele ends.

However this article is about Nurturing the Voice and methods of the Musician within. Whether trained or not in the formal sense we all have  a master musician within. At birth we utter our first sound. Our pre language sounds are full of musical patterning and potential, they are known to be more archetypal type sounds common to all regardless of culture. Interval patterning is common, pentatonic  pre empting is common world over. If these are sounds we can each make, then this is where the potential lay for each to develop this ability. The mother is a bestower of music, with lullabies and soothing melodies and songs. A Composition in the simplest sense is not much more than a few patterned voices, or sequences of sound, responding in relation to each other. They are accented differently by timbre, rhythm, intensity, dynamics, and placement within the whole score. A master musician learns the basics and then gives Self free reign improvising and exploring. The individual  plays,  the inner ear listens and selects. Each song or tune is a new relationship,  a new discovery,  a new way of relating, integrating organising and arranging the sonic elements that make up the song, score, soundscape or  piece. Whatever we want to call it will depend upon it’s genre or style and it’s intended audience. We have systems and categories for everything, often they get in the way of simple appreciation of what is.

Stylistically certain patterns are represented and adhered to by practitioners of the style and genre. Obvious examples being the distinctions between blues, jazz, classical, rap., and more obscure sounds of Industrial or nerve wrenching Thrash Metal. There are the ‘rules’ of that form, of tempo, of keys, scales, rhythms, lyrical contents and patterning,  that govern the work.

The Master Musician absorbs all this and moves beyond it. For they listen from within, it becomes part of the collective  musical unconscious,  that they have absorbed much throughout their life to now, to be able to output their own stylistic concept of 'a music'.

Everyone works differently- some hear and work it out, some experiment and improvise, some intend specifically, some work randomly chopping up bits and reassembling. Some capture spontaneously then craft, or not. Some seek to recreate or represent the work of another, or use formulas. All methods work, all are ok.

Whatever your methods- the authentic voice and writing style that is yours is what comes to you naturally. Some need a pointer in the right direction when beginning some guideline.. I certainly do every now and then, as my foundation is wonky. Others just begin, confident enough within themselves to learn as they go along. What is natural might not be easy, but often is. It is the voice that develops over time, a certain style with elements that can be heard to be distinctly yours. The way you express rhythms, the melodies, harmonies, the way one sings or plays, the lyrical content, the elements of form, the instrument choices that contribute to the sound. Be yourself, don't mimic others. People respond to authenticity.

Some work on paper, some at a keyboard, some must have a piano, affects, a drummer, a private room, a computer or virtual instruments. Some are pre-madonnas, some are relaxed. Some write alone, some work best with others, with collective input. We are each a master musician  in embryo form awaiting the spark, the fuel to start our own internal creative process. Once it is lit, we must flow, we must follow, we must tend. An authentic voice cannot emerge if neglected, visited only every now and then. The authentic voice thrives on attention. Another aspect  in my opinion, is not about technical proficiency or skill, It is about being real with ones self and what one does. There are musicians and composers who are not technically brilliant, who’s voices were not beautiful yet we love them for 'that unique spark that they are'. They didn’t necessarily have training. It was their style, their voice, we responded to not the coarseness of their voice, For eg Bob Dylan, Folk singer, his voice was not pretty, his playing was simple, it was a communication with us all, from who he was about the things he cared about. He presented passionately what he felt strongly  about. Such is the job of The Musician within us, representing his or her Authentic  voice and writing style. 

For the master musician it is an expression of what is within. It is indeed a job, though not considered such by the culture around one, unless it is easily and successfully financially co-modified. Many do not make money from their skill, but they are Master creators just the same. Hours and weeks and months are spent crafting ones work to completion. But there are times when for whatever reason the Musician within encounters difficulties, blockages, fears, frustrations or anxiety. Loss of passions, or capacity and this loss drastically affects ones musical capacity and level of proficiency. Whatever happens it is the stuff of life, we can only do what we can do with what we have got at the time. Music is a record of the times. Musicians record the times, they represent culture, belief, event, feeling and thought in sonic form. Musicians are the Minstrels of Soul. They must listen first to within, or no music will emerge into the world. It all starts with a desire......an urge to life, a purpose expressed in time.

Having read this article, if you resonate as a Musician but are encountering troubled waters, Creativity Coaching may help you. I encourage you to get help, maybe from me, visit the contact form page and keep going for the world needs art, the world needs authentic voices, real musicians. Congratulations on your authenticity, never ever give up. If you would like to work together there are options, in person, via phone, skype, out and about etc. Ask!

Regards Catherine Meeson 2011 & 2015