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Dear Guests, Welcome to my blog which I treat like a creative garden where I regularly plant and change this and that be it poetry, philosophy, an Oboe Brilliance lesson, an essay of some kind, or a journal about composing. Visit every Monday for oboe coaching which is also helpful for many melodic instrumentalists. Musically yours, Kathryn
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"How do you compose?" That is the most commonly asked question I hear.
This blog is a window into my creative process and philosophies as a composer and instrumentalist. At times it may contain music, photos, and poetry as well. May you enjoy, return, and benefit!   My Archives  September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009
beyond objectification
intellectual and creative freedom A rose for Zaynab/ and Sufism to the dance The purpose of art Lamentations - when my armor broke away The 5 step focus About the "In adoration of the earth" music How my life review during a near death experience influences my composing My philosophy about intruments especially the trombone "Celestial Light Ringing" In adoration of the earth Dreams of the White Horse About the music currently on the home page composing as swimming through emotions Emotional vitality through musical medicine learned by giving birth Oboe Suite Inspiration June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 |
Inspiration. To be in the spirit.
So, what brings me in the spirit? What inspires me? What inspires me to live, and what inspires me to compose? How do I find and "become" inspired? What is spirit? The first lecture I heard my first composition teacher, Karel Husa, give was about inspiration. He said, "You must always know what inspires you! Music comes out of inspiration." The gist of the lecture is that our job our work as composers is to turn inspiration into sound and of course know what spirit is. I agree whole heartedly. If so called music does not come out of inspiration then it's noise. Noise is like loveless sex instead of lovemaking as far as I'm concerned and to spend ones time making noise instead of music, or sex instead of love making is a waste of time from my perspective. My dear friend Don Andrew - may he rest in peace - had the motto "Do everything with love." To do anything with out love, is to waste ones life. I feel that inspiration is the creative current and driving force in the universe fueled by magnificent gratitude. It's not just love, it's love in action. It's the door opener of the heart and the joy shining out of eyes. It's what moves the lips into a smile and what pushes us over the edge to make that phone call, take that journey, conceive that child, spend an extra hour or two perfecting a hand made gift, lifting the heart out of furry and into compassionate forgiveness; it's welcoming a new day sincerely. Inspiration is not to be confused with ambition. Ambition as I see it is fueled from a sense of feelings of inadequacy whereas inspiration is bringing forth sublime universal love. To bring forth universal love is the only way to live that isn't a waste of time or the energizing of "evil" - evil being to be outside, rather than coming from inside, of the center of the heart of love and gratitude, the pure wellspring of life. More than anything, I feel that inspiration is appreciation and deeply heart felt gratitude for life which can overcome any negative obstacle or pessimism. How does a person overcome an addiction that cuts one off from feelings and connection with life? I believe it has to be through inspiration, to live for life itself. To live for intrinsic life; the beauty inherent within all life itself, not just for something depicted outside in life. Inspiration is real gratitude for here and now as it is, not ambition to achieve a specific accomplishment. Real inspiration can and does set action in motion when called forth. My understanding of the word "Ishq" is inspiration as I have just defined it. I have named my oboe "Ishq". My intention is that when I play, it is a celebration of the feelings and thoughts and chapters real, imagined, etc in the fabric of my life. I believe it's best to not judge feelings, but rather, to feel them. As a composer, I allow myself to feel and recognize my feelings as purely as possible and with gratitude. I like to think of emotional nuance like colors, shades, flavors, fragrances .... All are gifts of life. I also believe it is best to live life rather than judge it and to allow others to live their life without judgement. My emotions are clay, granite, wood, metal,precious gems etc, for the art of composing my sound sculptures and manuscripts. My skill and training and thoughts are all tools necessary to create my sculptures, but it is the inspiration that gives it all shape, purpose and meaning and transforms clay into music. Vitality creates vitality. To merely arrange objects or to literally translate feelings is journalism - just conveying the facts, but it is inspiration that is what turns mere journalism into poetry. To compose, one needs to have one foot in journalism and the other in the inspired world ie the poetic world, and to dance accordingly. A poet is an inspired dancer, a journalist is walking with both feet in the world of facts. A great composer I believe needs a journalist foot and a poets foot because our job is to bridge the worlds so men and angels can merrily mix and mingle. Music is the elixer to ingesting a great dose of inspiration providing the music is created and performed with inspiration. All the training, practice, and work is to serve inspiration. Inspired and masterful composers that inspire me are: Crumb, Machaut, Stravinski, Bach, Liszt, Piazzola, Schumann and more thankfully. Telemann, Bartok, Ravel, Bryd, Mahler. Inspired and masterful instrumentalists inspire me as well. Yes you cellist Meredith Blecha! Yes you trombonist Heather Buchman, yes you bassist Eliot Wadopian, yes you harpsichordist Gideon Meir. There are more people thankfully but I haven't composed for them yet unlike the above listing. Yes, I am very inspired by virtuosic players. To me a virtuosic player is an instrumentalist who plays so well, the heaven within myself bursts through me when I hear them play because the have learned to play well enough to get out of the way of the walls that keep the purity of inspiration from flowing magnificently. Someone playing out of tune or with bad technique, gets in the way of the waterfall. They might be standing in it, but they aren't dishing it out for others to drink! Big difference and my argument FOR vivacious commitment and study within conservatories and musical traditions. Inspiration is NOT enough in order to dish out an inspired musical experience to others. One must have enough technique to convey the spirit within the created sounds. That said, I must confess one of the most inspired performances I've heard in life was by a 3 year old piano student of mine who had enough understanding and technique to purely convey her understanding - which was magnificent - of the rainbow, in a piano improvisation. I believe her innocence and pure love without ambition embued with her adaquate technique to achieve the assigment, made this possible. She was not in her way, nor was her technique. So the flip side of study, is HOW one studies, to enable freedom, not getting stuck in a box, or trapped in the drawer of tools. Specific instruments inspire me. I believe that the purpose of a musical instrument is to bring forth sacred qualities within the people who play them, hear them and compose for them. - More in a nother blog. Okay, that's enough for today. Musically yours, Kathryn |
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