--Apple-Mail-43-133243323
charset=WINDOWS-1252;
format=flowed
Calm down, everybody. Let's not break up into "camps" over some=20
philosophical give and take.
Sure, there's been a lot of discussion, or even "meta-discussion," but=20=
this IS a discussion group.
I think all of us spend as much time as we can blowing into our bamboo=20=
tubes. I myself have been blowing into mine for hours, weeks, month,=20
years etc.
Sometimes when we are blowing, ideas pop into our heads, and we want to=20=
share them with others who are blowing into their tubes in lonely spots=20=
all over the globe.
It's a dialog, and it is natural to be verbose about what you are=20
passionate about. Let's keep a spirit of good fellowship. I don't think=20=
there is an old-timer chorus or a new-timer chorus. There's just folks=20=
all over the globe who play the shakuhachi, and we all bring our own=20
cultural and personal and philosophical baggage with us when we come=20
together.
If we all spent ALL of our time blowing into our tubes, and kept silent=20=
with our ideas and insights and inspirations, it would be a lonely and=20=
not very lively discussion group. A pretty empty list.
And that's the kind of emptiness I'm not looking to achieve.
In Peace and Solidarity in this New Year,
Nick
On Jan 7, 2005, at 5:12 PM, Phil James wrote:
> Thank you, Peter!!!
>
> Yep, you practice a lot, you get better, playing becomes more and more=20=
> natural, less and less something outside yourself.
> Sometimes breathing into a bamboo tube becomes as natural as breathing=20=
> in the open air, which makes all the right effort worth it.
> Sometimes that's alone in a quiet room with incense going, sometimes=20=
> it's shared with an audience in a concert hall or bar.
> But sometimes it's just work, wood-shedding, perfecting a technique or=20=
> a pitch or a difficult phrase. I don't think the hard work ever goes=20=
> away. Even if you consider honkyoku liturgical music: liturgical=20
> musicians throughout history, from meistersingers to Tibetan monks,=20
> have practiced their techniques arduously and applied their intellect=20=
> to the difficulties of the music itself rather than an endlessly=20
> unfolding origami of meta-discussion.
>
> I join the old-timer chorus in saying I really don't think there's a=20=
> whole lot more (or less) to it. Everyone wants to be cool, but if you=20=
> look from a little bit of distance we're not that different from the=20=
> kid who lugged his accordion to school because he had a lesson right=20=
> afterwards. Maybe as adults we can see that's not really uncool at=20
> all. I think the simple and difficult practice of music is IN ITSELF,=20=
> without the need for any other "spiritual" trappings, a beautiful=20
> balance to this world of greed, violence, and shame.
>
> Peter Ross wrote:
>
>>
>> We just spent hours, weeks, months, years and decades blowing air=20
>> into our flutes. We didn't get hung up about whether the...
>
> _____________________________________________
>
> List subscription information is at:
> http://communication.ucsd.edu/shaku/listsub.html
>
>
What is morally wrong can never be advantageous, even when it enables=20=
you to make some gain that you believe to be to your advantage.
=96 Marcus Tullius Cicero
--Apple-Mail-43-133243323
charset=WINDOWS-1252
Calm down, everybody. Let's not break up into "camps" over some
philosophical give and take.
Sure, there's been a lot of discussion, or even "meta-discussion," but
this IS a discussion group.=20
I think all of us spend as much time as we can blowing into our bamboo
tubes. I myself have been blowing into mine for hours, weeks, month,
years etc.
Sometimes when we are blowing, ideas pop into our heads, and we want
to share them with others who are blowing into their tubes in lonely
spots all over the globe.=20
It's a dialog, and it is natural to be verbose about what you are
passionate about. Let's keep a spirit of good fellowship. I don't
think there is an old-timer chorus or a new-timer chorus. There's just
folks all over the globe who play the shakuhachi, and we all bring our
own cultural and personal and philosophical baggage with us when we
come together.=20
If we all spent ALL of our time blowing into our tubes, and kept
silent with our ideas and insights and inspirations, it would be a
lonely and not very lively discussion group. A pretty empty list.
And that's the kind of emptiness I'm not looking to achieve.
In Peace and Solidarity in this New Year,
Nick
=20
On Jan 7, 2005, at 5:12 PM, Phil James wrote:
<excerpt>Thank you, Peter!!!
Yep, you practice a lot, you get better, playing becomes more and more
natural, less and less something outside yourself.
Sometimes breathing into a bamboo tube becomes as natural as breathing
in the open air, which makes all the right effort worth it.
Sometimes that's alone in a quiet room with incense going, sometimes
it's shared with an audience in a concert hall or bar.
But sometimes it's just work, wood-shedding, perfecting a technique or
a pitch or a difficult phrase. I don't think the hard work ever goes
away. Even if you consider honkyoku liturgical music: liturgical
musicians throughout history, from meistersingers to Tibetan monks,
have practiced their techniques arduously and applied their intellect
to the difficulties of the music itself rather than an endlessly
unfolding origami of meta-discussion.
I join the old-timer chorus in saying I really don't think there's a
whole lot more (or less) to it. Everyone wants to be cool, but if you
look from a little bit of distance we're not that different from the
kid who lugged his accordion to school because he had a lesson right
afterwards. Maybe as adults we can see that's not really uncool at
all. I think the simple and difficult practice of music is IN ITSELF,
without the need for any other "spiritual" trappings, a beautiful
balance to this world of greed, violence, and shame.
Peter Ross wrote:
<excerpt>
We just spent hours, weeks, months, years and decades blowing air into
our flutes. We didn't get hung up about whether the...
</excerpt>
_____________________________________________
List subscription information is at:
http://communication.ucsd.edu/shaku/listsub.html
=
</excerpt><fontfamily><param>CaslonOpenFace</param><bigger><x-tad-bigger>
What is morally wrong can never be advantageous, even when it enables
you to make some gain that you believe to be to your advantage.
=96 Marcus Tullius Cicero</x-tad-bigger></bigger></fontfamily>
--Apple-Mail-43-133243323--
_____________________________________________
List subscription information is at:
http://communication.ucsd.edu/shaku/listsub.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jan 06 2006 - 10:00:41 PST