We have learnt much over that time and each year brings new
challenges and thoughts about how we can improve and adapt.
Due to returners we have to rethink the structure so that
the ones who have been before do not know what is coming next as stepping outside
the comfort zone is what we need to truly learn.
Over the year I have spent time listening to players that
you could call ‘world musicians’ I have trained with dancers, spoken and
listened to philosophers, scientists, peace campaigners and ecologists all in
an attempt to view life (and to me that is music through a different lens of
experience) in a different way.
I have often found great ideas from spinning someone’s way
of thinking into my own musical thinking by using various lateral thinking
tools. For instance using the concept of opposites that I picked up from Tai
Chi I have explored the jazz concept of playing ‘outside’ from the NLP I have
created speed learning techniques for scales, licks etc. and from ecology the
idea of reusing and recycling for songwriting.
Everything that we do comes through the mind and body therefore
the way we think and ‘are’ permeates everything that we do, therefore it
underlies ways of thinking and acting in every discipline so something that you
do in mathematics can be expressed in music and something that you do in music
can be expressed in politics.
I was drawn to this by a quote attributed to the Chinese
philosopher Lao Tzu that the way to govern people is the same as cooking a
small fish, lightly. I thought that this humorous but deeply profound statement
which is as true today but equally as unobserved in this surveillance micromanaged
age had at its heart cookery as the philosopher’s touchstone.
So if you want to come and join the fun there are two places
left but it is next weekend…………
Vic
