If you’ve never loved classical music before, give Ben Zander twenty-one minutes to change your heart. If you’ve loved it already, share this with someone who could use a little healing. Ben conducts the Boston Philharmonic and speaks about his transformative experience with Landmark Education–a beautiful combination. This is Benjamin Zander’s TED talk.
Benjamin Zander at TED: Music with Shining Eyes
______________________
Text © Gwyn Nichols 2011
Image YouTube screenshot
Listening to Krista Tippetts’ interview with musician Bobby McFerrin, it first surprised me that he ever considered joining a monastic order, and that the main attraction was the silence! He also loved the scheduled cycles of each day, the listening for God. Then it made sense.
He describes himself as a “conveyer of song. I think of myself as a catcher of songs . . . . to grab it, and pull it down, and have it come out of my mouth.” He distinguishes this process from an attitude of performing, which he recommends avoiding, even if you’re “catching song” from a stage.
He’s known for his improvisational freedom, but did you know he practices it? He recommends setting a timer for ten minutes. Then open your mouth and sing, and don’t stop, even when your body screams to stop.
That works for writing, too. Set a timer for a little longer than usual, and keep going even when everything in you screams to stop. You can work up to longer sessions and greater improvisational freedom.
(I watched the unedited version, and I plan to listen to the edited version as well–not to miss the things that will be trimmed for radio length, but for the music they’ll add. There’s another great way to look at revision!)
___________________________________
Text © Gwyn Nichols 2011. All Rights Reserved.
©Anyka, iStockphoto® #8072944
What is it about a torn fingernail that demands to be torn, bitten, or sanded smooth? Why can’t a loose tooth or burned palate be ignored?
We seem to have an instinct to worry imperfections to death. Sometimes I awaken fussing with the previous day’s tricky punctuation or second-guessing an awkward phrase. I sleep-edit. Or I’m driving when the plot lines intersect, listening to something unrelated when my answer calls to me, showering as the logical solution precipitates.
If you’re worked something and struggled over it, and now you’re stuck, it’s time to make like Bo Peep and her sheep: “Leave them alone and they’ll come home.”
Do some Brain Gym®–of course. Prayer, always. Then let go. Just try to leave that ragged nail alone. If the problem needs solving, and you’re the one for the job, it won’t leave you alone.
___________________________________
Text © Gwyn Nichols 2011, All Rights Reserved.
Photo © Anyka, iStockphoto® #8072944.
