Okay, so my plan was to go out on a limb and describe my theory of why devotees fall into the trap of “playing (or singing) at the same time” instead of “making music together.”
A very interesting theory it was, too. Except that something didn’t feel quite right. In fact, it felt sufficiently “off” that I asked Ramesha to read it over and tell me what he thought; basically, he really didn’t resonate with it at all. It made for a thought-provoking discussion, but now it’s 10:30 pm and…back to the drawing board!
I guess part of the problem is that my theory was a little too heady and, well, theoretical! If I distill it down to the essence, what I’m trying to understand is, to what degree do the following points impact this question of “playing (or singing) at the same time” versus “making music together.”
- The average Ananda devotee doesn’t arrive with a ton of musical training and experience.
- Devotees in general work hard to develop inner awareness and self-control.
- We seek to both raise and increase our energy (and magnetism), but also learn to keep our energies to ourselves.
My hunch is that the combination of these factors might (to some degree) limit the subtle interplay and interaction between devotee members of a musical ensemble.
I’ll be perfectly honest: when I listen to some of our small groups, it sometimes feels to me that each person is an island, and the ensemble is an archipelago. In other words, they’re side by side but identifying as separate entities — like the cake ingredients in plastic baggies.
What do YOU all think?!? 🤔
Such a good question! I’ve certainly noticed this myself. It seems that many people are having a hard time balancing this focused activity with the required receptivity. It’s kind of like meditation in that if you don’t give it energy you’ll go subconscious, but if you aren’t receptive you’ll miss the boat. This balance is not something that comes naturally, but unfortunately, many who don’t immediately experience it give up before even giving it adequate effort. They need to understand that musicians who appear to do this naturally have already put in many, many hours to develop this skill.
Probably also they don’t know what they are missing because of the fact that from the outside they *appear* to be fully participating. But it’s an aspect of the inner experience that needs to be somehow communicated before it can even be encouraged.
I think you are onto something with your theory. When I spent time at Ananda, I never felt that I could connect with anyone (except you, of course.) I attributed it to devotees being on their own singular path.