The effects of chi kung on musicianship...

[Tactile]

Interesting topic. As a semi-pro musician and an amateur cultivator, I have thought this a lot.. My musical life started with guitar and nowadays I'm mostly practicing the clarinet. I still have got a lot to do regarding breathing and force with my new instrument, but it's fascinating and I see a clear connection between energy development and music. One really good example of this was John Coltrane, who I see as an archetype of a spiritual musician (who got there!) He always was a really solid musician but also the development during his career is amazing. The musical development also coincides with his personal life. At one point he was drug addicted and found a way out through spirituality. At this point his music changed dramatically. In his early sixties recordings I get a strong feeling of heart chakra and emotion with all his lyricism and melodicism. The later stuff starts to be really out there (kundalini rising) and from some of his later recordings I just get this massive surge of third eye/crown type of energy which is very healing..

[Encephalon]

Interesting topic. As a semi-pro musician and an amateur cultivator, I have thought this a lot.. My musical life started with guitar and nowadays I'm mostly practicing the clarinet. I still have got a lot to do regarding breathing and force with my new instrument, but it's fascinating and I see a clear connection between energy development and music. One really good example of this was John Coltrane, who I see as an archetype of a spiritual musician (who got there!) He always was a really solid musician but also the development during his career is amazing. The musical development also coincides with his personal life. At one point he was drug addicted and found a way out through spirituality. At this point his music changed dramatically. In his early sixties recordings I get a strong feeling of heart chakra and emotion with all his lyricism and melodicism. The later stuff starts to be really out there (kundalini rising) and from some of his later recordings I just get this massive surge of third eye/crown type of energy which is very healing..

 

Coltrane did indeed say that he wanted to become a saint. While that may sound pretentious, I believe his sentiment was about having his identity becoming completely absorbed by his artform.

 

He succeeded, hands down.

[theoddore]

Have you ever heard Billy Childs? He's a pianist/composer who uses a lot of whole tone scales and progressions that seem to fall just within range of musical comprehension. But when the progressions resolve, your ear says, "oh yes, of course."

He's used Scott Henderson on a number of projects, who is also a musical genius of the same order. Can you imagine what these guys could do if they practiced nei kung?

 

Fusion was my musical babyfood back in the 70s. I barely tolerate listening to anything less stimulating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY4TVWXrOhI

 

 

These guys are a lot of fun:

 

 

this vid is just one aspect of their sound though--u may like other stuff they do even more--worth checking out

[Encephalon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1QO3nNs25E...feature=related

 

If you were a brass player and jazz band nerd as a kid in the 70s you listened to Maynard Ferguson. He spent some time in India studying music and breathing exercises. He was a well-respected musician throughout the 50s and 60s and then he started playing the worst pop music you could imagine, like "Star Trek" and "Gonna Fly Now," but as kids we ate that shit up because his upper register was off the charts. You gotta admit, his band attracted the hottest jazz musicians of the day, and they were one seriously f**king tight band.

 

It's all in the breathing, music or chi.