Thoughts on why our music helps you delve deeper into your practice.

 

The simple structure of the mode, the shruti box

 

Think of the sound of a summer night with a symphony of bugs and frogs creating a background of color to the air. There is a simple intensity to the sound. It is a sound you can get lost in. By using a structure, with limited variation, we are allowed melodies that are heard as well as felt. Using the characteristics of the different chakras, and combining it with the musical keys that sympathize with its vibration, your meditation can focus on that point.

 

 Our use of the shruti box is key to this process. The shruti box is a reed based drone instrument from India. The name, “shruti”, translates to single note. It is the orchestra of humming bugs we play melodies over.  By changing the amount of air passing over the reeds, we get the swelling sounds that are heard when the insects start to sing. Many voices, one note!

 

The complex nature of our rhythm

 

Everything is rhythm. If you look at two different colors, you are looking at two different rhythms. Color vibrations are rhythms at such a high rate that we experience them visually instead of hearing them, but they are a rhythm.  We take inspiration from these rhythms.

 

Let’s go back to nature. How does rhythm ground us? Imagine you are sitting around a campfire. How easy is it to get lost in the flames as you watch? There is a constant rippling effect as the flames sway above the wood changing colors from red and yellow to blue and white. Every flame is different yet they are all the same. We take inspiration from these rhythms.

 

Sitting on a beach watching the waves break onto the shore. The crash of water and then its hissing as it returns to the ocean. Watch the birds as they run to the edge and then keep just in front of the water as they retreat. A seagull calls in perfect unison. Here is a conflict of rhythm that blends together. We take inspiration from these rhythms.

 

A creek babbling along has a leaf floating on top. The leaf moves with the current, then stops and spins a little dance before continuing on its journey. Its rhythm has no sound yet plays over the top of the water flowing over the rocks. We take inspiration from these rhythms.

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What is happening when we follow your pace.

 

Live music is best! The Shruti Nadis plays and we hyper-focus on the facilitator and participants, as we follow the heart of the session. We follow you! It allows the participants to become one with the session. We harmonize the vibrations!

 

Why we intersperse percussion sections.

 

After time in a soothing melodic stretch of music, a sudden jaunt of percussion will hurl you to your core. It is a way to come back to ground. Ya gotta come down sometime or you’ll get airsick! It gives you a time to reflect on your meditation without leaving it. We will sometimes flow out a musical section and continue using the beat as a starting point or we could jump right in and really sail if the group is in an ecstatic dance. The rhythm of the moment is where we flow.

 

Bell’s, in pitch and out of pitch.

 

Bells are truly unique. They have an incredible wide frequency range. It starts at one cycle per second and rapidly shoots up to the resonant frequency of the bell. If the sound of a bell was a color, they’d be white, all colors in one! If a bell is in pitch with the music, it can reach from the earth to the sky when it rings out. Having two bells in opposing pitches can cause a tension which can help unblock energy. Very useful tools!

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A symphony of sounds with an orchestra of two

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By synchronizing these approaches, we are able to tailor our performance to the moment. Our skills in achieving this have been honed by over three decades of dedication to the art of improvisation. We write musical sketches and simple melodies which lend themselves to taking the journey to any destination we want. By taking the listening skills of improvisation, and directing them toward following the facilitator, we make a unique experience for the student, as well as the teacher. This is our philosophy.  

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