"At first it does not seem natural to play an unwavering tone on a
blown or bowed instrument, or to sing one. To fight entropy, you
must engage your mind and your will, moment by moment, be critical
and aware and centered on the inner world of sound. ... If you are
a flutist it means breath control and the perfect placement of your
breath stream. Your whole body is involved in a balance of tension
and relaxation, and your ear is making a continuous comparison to a
standard of nonfluctuating pitch projected in your mind. A long
tone is not a single boring even, but a stream of perfect moments."
- W. A. Mathieu,
*The Musical Life: What it is and How to Live it*
(Shambala Press, 1994).
In practice I constantly bounce between the desire to play better
and the peace that comes with sitting and making sounds.
While my long-tone practice seems a bit far from his "stream of
perfect moments" at times (*most* times :-), I find Mathieu's
characterization of the zen aspects of such work useful and
centering.
$0.02 before heading home,
bj
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