It's All In Your Head

Before you even touch mallet to Gong/Bowl/Bell, the sound already exists inside you. This is especially true if you've spent a great deal of time working with your instruments. 

 After having spent years working with my instruments, I know what sounds they can produce. I know what mallets/strikers will produce which sounds. I know how much force is needed to bring out certain notes or harmonics. I also know how different sounds will combine when played together.
Choices & Possibilities…

 When I'm playing, I don't have to stop and think about what I need to do next. I know what to do. I instinctively reach for a mallet and/or instrument to bring in the next sound. It is never an accident, yet it is never preplanned. This may seem like a contradiction, but it isn't, as I carry all the sounds I have made in the past—plus the knowledge of how I made them—with me. I can hear everything in my mind as I am doing it. But this takes time and practice to reach this point.
There are no shortcuts.
Even if you use only one Gong, or one Bowl, there is an infinite Universe of sound possibilities contained within. It is up to you to discover them through hours of practice.

 Do your work.
Do your practice.
Expand your horizons.

~ MB


Chop Wood | Carry Water | Play Gongs




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