The road of feeling is something that is difficult to show
someone who is learning to play an instrument. It can be alluded to, hinted at,
demonstrated but not given as a defined map reference for someone to find. The
road is unique to everyone; the elements required are the same for all but
ordnance reference will be different, because we all have differing maps.
The problem with something that lies in the unconscious world of feeling, emotion and imagination is that being hard to
teach we reach for the things that are easy, statistical, measureable and mark
able and that is sadly not helping people grow either musically or emotionally.
The statistical world helps only the accountants and leads
to people to suffering emotionally. Imagine that you are told by a doctor that
you have a 50% chance of survival from a prognosis, that is cold and unemotional
and you might say good that the facts are delivered in this way but wait until
you are in that position then you will feel that icy touch of statistics from
the learned professionals and experts in their field. We are not Vulcans and Mr
Spock may have been able to deal with that statement but humans do not deal
well with this because it is devoid of feeling. In Garner Thompson’s excellent
book ‘Magic in Practice’ which is about the use of language in health care the importance
of choice of words that engages the patient in their healing is very important
but is sadly lacking today. The old idea of ‘bedside manor’ has been lost in
the pursuit of targets and the magic bullet of Big Pharma. The evidence is that
in a world where we are being told that things are better than ever, there are
increased rates of mental illness and not just in the elderly but increasingly
in the young. The word disease shows us in its epistemology exactly what we
experience, dis- ease.
This is just part of the picture it is also true of arts and
music, sound devoid of feeling is just sound not music at all however it has
been processed through Pro Tools. So in playing or teaching we need to connect
to the feeling that is the music, make the sounds connect to your emotions let
it mean something and allow the music to set you free.
Vic
