Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's getting on for midnight, so we can proceed with a new Magic Monday. Ask me anything about occultism and I'll do my best to answer it. Any question received by midnight Monday Eastern time will get an answer. (Any question received after then will not get an answer, and will likely just be deleted.) If you're in a hurry, or suspect you may be the 143,916th person to ask a question, please check out the very rough version 1.0 of The Magic Monday FAQ here

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With that said, have at it!

***This Magic Monday is now closed. See you next week!***

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Woodwind player here: I think there’s another component - people who do well with woodwinds might have a baseline stronger etheric body, but there is almost certainly an astral and mental component as well. Because I struggled for the first three years until I learned to visualize and feel the music at the same time, at a new school where I felt connected with both my teachers and the environment. I experienced an immediate breakthrough. Nobody taught me how to visualize and feel at the same time - it sparked in me intuitively, as a result of being in a supportive and interesting environment. So, while I’d not have used this language then, I would say I probably had a stronger astral body and mental sheath at that point than etheric. And then once I was able to work with both of them together, building up the etheric was far easier. Or it could also have been that there was a disconnect between the astral/mental and etheric at that time, and that learning my instruments healed me.

I do strongly suspect that the ability to excel with woodwinds and then to continue excelling probably requires at least the ability to build a strong etheric body - I’ve not been able to play for any length for a few years since I developed a post infection syndrome. Though now that I think of it, probably from a music therapy perspective - when one looks at healing the various bodies with intention, it is probably worth introducing a minute of playing three times a week and then raising it as the weeks go / I tolerate it. And as my etheric body grows stronger through what amounts to PT, then - if my hypotheses are correct - it should start to also clear up the underlying condition.

Thanks for your above thoughts, they have sparked in me a possible solution to a very vexing problem.

[(Anonymous)]

Beginning musician here: Could you explain what you mean with visualizing the music? Do you visualize the bars while playing?

[(Anonymous)]

I visualized the patterns and saw and felt the shape of the patterns. I felt the rhythm and the ‘feeling of the music’ in my body as it came out of me. The only way I can break this down in language right now is that I was able to sort of project my knowing-feeling into the music, and feel it into my fingers, my breath, and my sense of being with the other musicians, if I was playing with any at the time.

Visualizing and feeling into the patterns is simpler with folk music that is in the form of jigs, reels, polkas, etc. But if you know a classical piece well - for instance - if you listen to it, and play around with your senses, it should be possible to break it down into chunks.

I don’t know if any of this makes sense to people other than me - I am strongly visual and kinesthetic, so feeling and visualizing into things became instinctive for me.

If you have other strengths, my suggestion would be to certainly try this (carefully and gently at first, as if you were starting to learn discursive meditation), but to also think about how your own strengths might help you feel into the music and your body’s building muscle memory.

Here is a bit of lesson that might provide you with a place to start.

If you learn by ear, then listen to the piece you want to learn, and internalize it (by this, I mean to know it so well that you can, if this is a strength, ‘play’ it in your head). Then feel into it as you try to work it out with your fingers (and breath or bowing or whatever) and try to start picking up phrases, and find whatever visual imagery makes sense to you.

If you learn by notation or letters, you can try listening to the piece and follow along while looking at your music as a first step before the rest. I did both methods and found them helpful in different circumstances.

All that said, I have no idea whether this will be actually helpful to you in learning as a beginning musician. When I used to teach beginners, I started with technique and the notes - this sort of stuff never came up because it was something I just did, and not anything that I’d thought anyone might want to hear about at the time. So please don’t frustrate yourself trying this.

If it were me, I’d certainly explore this, but also listen very carefully to what your teacher has to say to guide you. Follow that advice. And then practice, practice, practice.

[mollari]

I've done a fair amount of percussion and woodwind, and I find that both percussion and woodwinds require a fairly heavy amount of astral/mental involvement; at this point I'd say music as a whole probably has a majaor involvement on those planes, although I haven't yet done the proper research to say for sure. (It's something I'd like to get to, but my list is rapidly growing).

I'd say the difference is that woodwinds require a lot more etheric work than percussion; however, I haven't done much drumming since I got into the occult, so I'm not in a good position to say much for sure.

[(Anonymous)]

Woodwind player again - could be. Worth exploring!

[weilong]

An interesting point for comparison is free reed instruments like accordions. I played brass instruments when I was younger, and now have picked up concertinas and accordions. It is a very different experience. With brass (trombone, etc.) the player's mouth/throat/lungs are very much a part of the instrument; along with the breath, that makes for a strong etheric component to playing. I don't feel that so much with my concertina until I bring singing into the mix, when I start to feel resonance between the instrument and my body. I think that the use (or not) of breath is a major factor.

[mollari]

Also, I'm really glad I may have helped you with your problem.

[(Anonymous)]

It has given me a feeling of hope with this that I have lacked. It was and has been a major wound.

I know it wasn’t intentional to help to this degree, but I think it is a very good example - we sometimes don’t know in life how we might sooth and energize others toward good things, through simply the act of being ourselves. And engaging with the world in a polite and thoughtful manner.

Good job, you!