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by Gary Diggins
Leave a child alone with a piano and soon you’ll hear strains of that classic improvisation: The Storm. Upper notes are tinkled to simulate falling rain. Lower notes are pounded to mimic booming thunder. Middle notes are crashed to imitate bolts of lightening.
Making impressionistic sound- scapes began when early musicians blew into reeds to evoke bird images. Now full orchestras can induce a cinematic spectacle in our heads. Sound, for the human species, kindles and stokes our imaginative fires. Author Robert Jourdain, in Music, The Brain, and Ecstasy, suggests that "composers are thinkers in sound, and their stock in trade is auditory imagery." The hallucinogenic potential of sound isn’t reliant upon drugs. Under the right conditions, most of us can envision scenes through sound.
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by Dennis Gaumond
Introduction
For thousands of years, in a wide range of cultural traditions, people have been using sounds in a variety of ways to contribute to health and well-being. There are traditional songs, chants and music to accompany many social activities. In some indigenous tribes, virtually every activity is preceded by a ceremonial chant, whether it is hunting, gathering or preparing food, going to war, marriage or any type of celebration. These chants help to prepare the participants mentally, physically and spiritually, for the coming event. In this article we will focus on one aspect of this common practice, the use of certain vocalized ‘power sounds’ that we will call ‘mantras.’ We will look at information about mantras and discuss some of the ways that they can affect human consciousness.
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by Gary Diggins
Blame it on the trickster in me. We were 30 strangers circulating in a seminar space, getting to know one another before the formal process started. The stock question, "So what do you do, Gary?" was starting to irritate me as much as my pat answer. When a rather conservative looking woman trotted out the "what do you do" line for the umpteenth time, I couldn't resist. Out came the trickster. "I listen." "Pardon me?" "What I DO is listen."
A sprightly smile crossed her face and, within seconds, we were enjoying an animated conversation about the multi-leveled nature of listening, from the verbal to the vibrational. Soon I was giving her the name of a friend of mine in Scotland who helps resolve conflicts, mediate radical change, or facilitate visioning sessions under the title "Listening Convener".
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by Gary Diggins
"What would you say is the distinction between a singer and an artist?" asked the radio host. I turned up my attention as well as the volume. CBC FM had just showcased several promising opera singers from across Canada and one of the judges, while praising the musicianship of each singer, stated that an artist radiates something more than technique. His comment prompted the question.
"I listen for three things," said the judge. "Truth, beauty, and love." I have thought about the judge’s answer for months now – during a trumpet practice, before a performance, after attending a concert, even while making an omelette. In my opinion, the palpable expression of truth, beauty, and love are no more determined by talent or training than artistry is determined by glamour.
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