Meditation in Music
The first thought that comes to mind when we hear the word meditation is clearing our minds. The second: peaceful silence. The third: how does this helps us in our life. I had these exact thoughts when I first began meditation. In the two years I’ve done meditation, I find myself thinking with more clarity and presence.
Meditation smoothens and refines all the roads in our lives. As musicians, we identify music as one of those vital roads. Imagine how a refined road in music would be. We could learn how to accept ourselves better. If we do that, we could accept our music skills for what they are—not anything more or less.
What happens when we deny our musical abilities? The answer: arrogance or perfectionism.
Arrogance emerges when we see ourselves as superior to another musician. We try to prove that we are more than someone else. In truth, our strengths and weaknesses differ from other musicians. That diversity creates the best of orchestras, bands, or ensembles. Without complementation, the connection with other musicians dies down fast.
The other end of the spectrum lies perfectionism. Perfectionism crops up when we think we are inferior to another musician. As per our human nature, we want to do everything another musician can do. In a school setting, the need to match up to the teacher’s expectation ranks everything else. When we don’t, that feeling of inferiority latches on to our brain. However, let’s come back to the uniqueness every musician offers. Every person has a unique way of seeing the music world. Neither perspective is right or wrong.
Overcoming arrogance and perfectionism happens through meditation—a time when our consciousness has time to relax and reflect. For me, I fell into the category of perfectionism. However, meditation helped put the scattered pieces lying around together. I had a clearer picture of what I wanted from music, rehearsals, and performances. The more I did meditation in a fixed schedule, the more I felt a positive shift in my thoughts. I’ve gradually learned to accept myself for who I am, for what I’m capable of. After every meditation session, that bar shifted up one more notch on the scale.
The concept of meditation is an abstract one to explain. Meditation is something you have to experience in order to understand the full benefits. Plus, the experience would be different for everyone. Emotions, thoughts, ideas, and revelations differ from person to person.
A beneficial meditation sequence utilizes our breath. Breathing is a direct link to our emotions. Our emotions guide us in music every second. So we want our emotions to guide us in a positive, healthy way. We want them to be in sync with the music instead of giving the audience a jambalaya of emotions.
I learned meditation from the Art of Living Foundation. I found that having someone teach and interact with me helped me understand and appreciate the process of meditation—the process of utilizing breath. After all, isn’t breathing the only action we do 24/7? So why not use breathing to our advantage?
