Learning music is traditionally about three T:s, tradition, technique and theory. Tradition, the old songs, the symphonies and the latest hits are always there to be used and listened to. The technique, how to make your voice sound at its best or how to treat your instrument is of course essential for your music making. And theory, of course it is a good and useful thing to know what an octave, a chord or a sonata is, to understand the music around you and make your own. These three T:s are natural ingredients in music making, and to learn more about these is of course useful and good. But some people get stuck there. And this is sad and of course not everything what music is about.
Because in the middle of the music is the actual musical experience, probably different for everyone, but it still is what it is all about. It is about concentration and focusing in two “directions”, inwards and outwards. When these function together, beautiful things happen ….
Listening inwards is much about experience your own presence in your body, to open up more and more to the sounds of the music, allow them to touch you and penetrate you, and to say in the flow of the sounds. Most fundamental is often to get hold of the pulse of the music, the regular, even movement around most music is built. To play very simply and practice to join and get attuned with the pulse is a way to practice the inward listening. Examples of simple pulse plays can be found among th examples in the site. Here is a video where Anders E discusses the pulse with some five year olds (in Swedish).
On the other hand, focusing outwards, is instead about letting out, freely express yourself musically in the moment, letting your impulses flow out and mix with the sounds of fellow musicians or the environment. And to react to them without pondering or hesitation. A way to exercise musical expression is to join someone else in a conversation with sounds, where you make music together with the only rule to keep a flow of exchanging sounds, making up and answering/reacting to what the other is doing. An example of a sound conversation is also among the sound examples. Here you can se two five year olds having a sound conversation.
We arrange various courses and event to try out these methods and others to get closer to the grounds of music. Get in contact if you want to participate! (You may want to translate this page about our events and workshops, with the Google translate feature at the bottom of the right column.