Walking the Path Further
The Myth of the Two Week Master - Part 5 - Walking the Path Further
Remember, the path you walk is your own, and each one of us walks a different path. You may borrow ideas or inspiration from others, but ultimately, you will do it in your own way. While I can write about my path here, yours will be your own.
I'm fortunate, in that besides being a percussionist for over 40 years, I've also had a 30+ year career as a music journalist. So I've been able to interview some of the greatest drummers & percussionists of that time span. Many of them use Gongs, Bells, and other metal percussion in an expanded set up. I've had the good fortune to interview almost all of my percussive heroes & influences. Rather than ask, "What kind of drums do you play," I've focused more on finding out how they think, what drives them, why they worked on certain projects or bands, etc. Anyone can buy the same gear as someone else, but you can't get the same sort of knowledge and understanding.
My journey with the Gong began 40 years ago. At first it was in a completely musical context. But over time, I noticed the subtle, but underlying affect of the vibrations. This lead me to seek out different information and find out what was happening. My own path lead me to various Mystery Schools and to find out about energy healing. For a time, I felt that I was walking 2 different paths: one of percussion performance, the other of sound therapy. Later, I realized that for me, they are essentially the same path, as they are tightly intertwined. So now I walk one, unified path.
I think it's easy to get stuck in a bubble where you become hyper-focused on 1 or 2 ideas. This can lead to a very narrow point of view. I've always thought that it's important to look at a much wider field of information, even some things that may not seem to be related. Thus, besides reading many books & magazines on drums, I also read a lot of materials on guitar, bass, keyboards, strings, string theory, quantum physics, various spiritual schools/styles, art, artists, painters, dancers, composers, philosophers, writers, history, poets, biographies, autobiographies, collections of letters, etc, etc, etc…
If you look around you, everything has knowledge that you can use. You might not see the connection right away, but down the path you may have an a-ha moment and realize how things are all interconnected.
Stay connected…
Remember, the path you walk is your own, and each one of us walks a different path. You may borrow ideas or inspiration from others, but ultimately, you will do it in your own way. While I can write about my path here, yours will be your own.
I'm fortunate, in that besides being a percussionist for over 40 years, I've also had a 30+ year career as a music journalist. So I've been able to interview some of the greatest drummers & percussionists of that time span. Many of them use Gongs, Bells, and other metal percussion in an expanded set up. I've had the good fortune to interview almost all of my percussive heroes & influences. Rather than ask, "What kind of drums do you play," I've focused more on finding out how they think, what drives them, why they worked on certain projects or bands, etc. Anyone can buy the same gear as someone else, but you can't get the same sort of knowledge and understanding.
Walking the Path…
My journey with the Gong began 40 years ago. At first it was in a completely musical context. But over time, I noticed the subtle, but underlying affect of the vibrations. This lead me to seek out different information and find out what was happening. My own path lead me to various Mystery Schools and to find out about energy healing. For a time, I felt that I was walking 2 different paths: one of percussion performance, the other of sound therapy. Later, I realized that for me, they are essentially the same path, as they are tightly intertwined. So now I walk one, unified path.
I think it's easy to get stuck in a bubble where you become hyper-focused on 1 or 2 ideas. This can lead to a very narrow point of view. I've always thought that it's important to look at a much wider field of information, even some things that may not seem to be related. Thus, besides reading many books & magazines on drums, I also read a lot of materials on guitar, bass, keyboards, strings, string theory, quantum physics, various spiritual schools/styles, art, artists, painters, dancers, composers, philosophers, writers, history, poets, biographies, autobiographies, collections of letters, etc, etc, etc…
If you look around you, everything has knowledge that you can use. You might not see the connection right away, but down the path you may have an a-ha moment and realize how things are all interconnected.
Stay connected…
~ MB
Chop Wood | Carry Water | Play Gongs
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