Marina
Oud Junkie
Posts: 615
Registered: 9-1-2005
Location: Bosnia
Member Is Offline
Mood: Enthusiastic
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Text about achiving music mastery by Jamie Andreas (Guitar Principles)
Hi there,
here is beautiful text about making progress in music, I got it as a news letter form Jamie Andreas site. She talks about the guitar - but I think
it's good for oud players - it's much the same when it comes to thoughts about music.
The Inner Master"*
<http://www.guitarprinciples.com/phplist/lists/lt.php?id=bB8GBAUEB1xbBB4DVwcZBlUCAQw%3D>
. We must understand what Mastery is, and why it is possible to be,
in essence, a Master right from the beginning of our relationship to
music and the guitar. And that is because Mastery is an inner
attitude and disposition. It is /the inner position in which there is
no obstruction from the outside to the inside, and no obstruction from
the inside to the outside./
Sure, people who are called "Masters" hit plateaus, but they have
learned not to react in ways that will prevent eventual transcendence
of the limitations of that level of ability. They have learned that
all negative reactions will prevent moving beyond the plateau. The
only possible exception to this is the person who has learned the
wonderful art of turning anger into an ally, using frustration as a
fuel for determination; even in this case, the anger is handled with
mastery, and not allowed to become an obstacle, but that is another
essay!
The Master has realized the wisdom expressed so eloquently in the
New Testament / "resist not evil"/. The meaning of this is simply
this: the way to overcome that which we do not like is not to resist
and resent it, because that only strengthens it, and weakens us. It
is to "remain in place" inwardly, to study it, to understand it, and
then to act. Then, we achieve power, which is the ability to create
change.
And so, knowing this, what does the Master do when they find
themselves on a plateau? Why, they build a château on the plateau,
and take up residence there! They say, "Hmmm, something is going on
here that I don't understand, so I am going to stay here and study
the landscape. I will focus my attention so strongly on what I CAN
see that I will begin to see more." The master knows the reason for
being stuck is because there is something sitting there, at that
level, that needs to be known. So the Master sits, and studies, and
if there is one thing a Master has, it's patience!
For someone who has not discovered the inner position of mastery,
the reaction to being “stuck on a plateau” is quite different.
For such a person, there ARE obstructions from the inside to the
outside, and the outside to the inside, and the obstructions arise
quickly-- anger, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy appear and
intensify. If these feelings were examined, the road to mastery would
begin to become visible. If these feelings were examined, we would
find that it is not really the natural frustration of not getting
what we want that is the biggest problem, but rather, it is the fact
that we are, underneath that, feeling inferior and inadequate.
Like children watching their parents divorce, we conclude
immediately “there must be something wrong with me, that is why
this bad thing is happening”. In both these cases, this conclusion
may appear to be justified, given our level of understanding, but it
is not the truth. The Master may feel these feelings too, but unlike
the novice, the Master does not run from these feelings, they simply
become part of the scenery to be surveyed.
The novice feels such emotional pain from these feelings that they
are helpless to do anything but try to avoid them. The novice shuts
his eyes, and covers his feelings. In fact, the novice wishes to
leave the plateau more out of a desire to avoid feelings of
inferiority than by the desire to really enjoy a higher level of
ability.
Unlike the novice, the master does not identity with these feelings;
they may arise, but the Master does not give these feelings the power
to define who he or she is, or can become.
Just because I feel like I am inferior, or unable, is no reason to
assume I actually am; that would be a very dangerous belief to adopt
on such dubious evidence. And so, the Master sets aside these
feelings, and sits, and studies. The Master becomes so involved in
the process of communing with the conditions of the plateau that the
desire to leave it becomes secondary to the interest and adventure of
learning all of what is there. And so, problems become more
interesting than frustrating.
Because of this, over time the depth of understanding of the Master
increases, and the rising to a new level of ability appears
automatically.
To be a master from the beginning, to have the power to transcend
your plateaus, is not about knowing how to go somewhere else. It is a
matter of knowing how to look and see where you are right now. Insight
into where we are now involves two things: understanding how we got
here, and more importantly, knowing what is keeping us here. Often,
the two answers are the same. In any case, it is the second answer
that is most useful to us. Therein lies our power.
As I said, negative emotional reactions, the habit they become, and
sometimes even the need for them, painful though they be, prevent us
from leaving our plateaus. But there is a little more to the story.
Underneath every reactive feeling there is a belief. If you want true
insight into yourself you must uncover the unconscious beliefs that
underlie your feelings. And I will tell you this most truly: if the
above described feelings are a chronic obstruction to you during
practice, then you have the most toxic belief a guitar player can
have: you really believe you will never be able to do it, you believe
you just don't have it, and worse, you can't get it. Your frustration
draws its power from your deep down belief that you are innately
inadequate. And so all your negative feelings actually resolve down
to despair, and despair is living death.
The opposite of despair is hope. And guess what! There is good news,
help and hope are here! They are here for those who really want it and
are willing to act like they do. That hope is a complete conversion of
your practice according to The Principles. Anyone who does this
realizes that their belief in their innate inadequacy was simply
wrong. They simply were not going about things in the right way, and
no one ever told them.
Mastery is not about where you are, but how you look at where you
are. The Principles will give you the framework within which you can
look at where you are with understanding, not despair. What most
people think of as "mastery" is simply the accumulated power and
abilities from much time spent in the position of mastery. They look
at the result of mastery, and think it is the thing itself.
All of what you see in The Principles is the result of my time
spent, often many years, on my own plateaus. Or, it is from the study
of the plateaus upon which my students have found themselves.
Essentially, I have done the work for you, or at least all of the
work except the work only you can do for yourself. I have figured out
every detail of why people have trouble learning guitar and why they
get stuck at some level of ability beyond which they cannot move. I
have never seen a plateau from which I or my students could not
eventually rise, but only if we sit upon the plateau as a Master.
Sitting upon the plateau as a Master, with dedication,
understanding, and patience, we do not allow frustration and despair
to obstruct the flow from the inside to the outside. Everything is
seen, known, and understood, and we are led to relate in the best and
most appropriate way to the level of awareness called "the plateau".
The "plateau" becomes the teacher, and instructs the Master/Student
in the wisdom that is necessary to rise higher
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Masel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 367
Registered: 6-18-2006
Member Is Offline
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Not an easy thing to do, but it's true! I feel like a master alot of the time, even though I am not "there" yet, I am positive I will be.
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