Playing. Together.
by Canadian singer – songwriter, Eve Goldberg
Once upon a time, in every society in which you can trace cultural history, music was a collective activity that was part of the life of a community -- pretty much everyone sang and danced, and there were special songs and dances for life events like birth, reaching adulthood, celebrating the harvest, the turn of the seasons, marriage, and death. Music and dance were an important part of the fabric of lifee because they brought people together, passed on information, helped create a feeling of cohesion and social unity, and so on. Sociologists and anthropologists who have studied these things have noted that one of the things that marked this kind of activity in a community is the lack of separation between the singer/dancer and an "audience." In other words, there was no audience. It was a participatory activity that everyone did. The idea of whether you were "good" or "bad" at it didn't even make sense. There are some parts of the world where this is still true.
Today, we in North America live in a very different society. Music is generally not something that is woven into the fabric of most people's lives anymore-- it's something that we purchase, listen to, watch, but it's not something that everyone is expected to participate in on a regular basis. There is a clear separation between performer and audience. And we grow up with the idea that if we aren't brilliant singers (or dancers or players or ...), then we should keep our mouths shut. And many of us do. We get the message that singing is a talent, some people have it, and some don't, and if you don't have it, you are out of luck. I think this is a tragedy. It means many people are alienated from their own musicality and creativity, they never get the chance to try out their voice, or have the transcendent experience of being part of a large group making music together. There are fewer and fewer opportunities for people to participate meaningfully in music and other creative pursuits without being judged in some way.
In that context, it's critical that we create places and spaces where people can make music together without the expectation of perfection, places where people can sing or play purely for the joy of it, rather than for applause or adulation. Places where it doesn't matter what your skill level is. Where, even if the singer needs some work on their musical skills, their contribution to the spirit of the event will be recognized and appreciated. This might be a song circle, a jam session, an open stage, or some other kind of friendly musical exchange. We need these kinds of spaces because we need to bring back music-making as a natural human activity.
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Research Suggests The Importance Of Play In The Evolutionary Success Of The Human Species
A new theory about early human adaptation suggests that our ancestors capitalized on their capacities for play to enable the development of a highly cooperative way of life.
Boston College developmental psychologist Peter Gray suggests that use of play helped early humans to overcome the innate tendencies toward aggression and dominance which would have made a cooperative society impossible.
"Play and humor were not just means of adding fun to their lives," according to Gray. "They were means of maintaining the band's existence - means of promoting actively the egalitarian attitude, intense sharing, and relative peacefulness for which hunter-gatherers are justly famous and upon which they depended for survival."
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"Most of us don't play enough. We're either too "busy," a code word for workaholism, or we're too serious, mistaking earnestness for accomplishment. We're predictable, too, equating free-spiritedness with irresponsibility. The best treatment for these conditions is play. We need to lighten up.
The Basic Practice [<-- Find more on the Spirituality of Play...]
Coyote. Nasrudin. St. Francis and his order of Jesters of the Lord. Zen masters. Taoist sages. Hasidic storytellers. Clowns and performance artists. Such prophets — and all the spiritual traditions have them — encourage us not to take ourselves too seriously. They say that what we know is not worth knowing, and what's worth knowing cannot be known through our ways. To our sensible selves, their actions seem silly, shameless, even shocking. But they have an important role in the spiritual life. They carry the banner for the spiritual practice of play.
Play is the exuberant expression of our being. It is at the heart of our creativity, our sexuality, and our most carefree moments of devotion. It helps us live with absurdity, paradox, and mystery. It feeds our joy and wonder. It keeps our search for meaning down to earth.
Practice play by doing things on the spur of the moment. Take time out to experiment, to try on different parts, to relax. Laugh heartily at jokes, situations, and yourself. Remember, laughter heals body, mind, and soul, and by extension, communities."
Be patient also with life itself. those who love life are tolerant of its ups and downs, its reversals and leaps forward. Those who love life enjoy playing it by ear, engaging life without a printed score, simply flowing with its melody. By keeping our agendas flexible and minimizing our demands, life can be a melodic song. Whenever circumstances interrupt the normal rhythm of life, those who cultivate patience and inner freedom are able to improvise with a life situation like jazz musicians, making up music as they go along. The emphasis in playing it by ear is on playfulness. Those who use that gift of the Holy Spirit make their way gracefully through life.
— Edward Hays in The Great Escape Manual
Playing. Together.
We always talk about playing together.
Playing. Together.
I mean it like that.
Playing all by itself. Playing as opposed to working. Playing because it brings us joy. No stresses of comparison and good enough or is it hard enough or am I able enough. We're playing here. Playing. Like kids play. Have some fun!
Together. It is easy to play alone...
Ahhh. For me, playing my drum alone is practice. I practice. This drumming stuff is like a rabbit hole. You can get pretty deep when you start following the drum paths down roads of world, historic and cultural tradition. Even more if you follow the rhythm path of wellness and healing, spirituality and custom, meditation and call to action.
Together is all of us. It includes everyone. It means you need to listen to other people. It is a dialog. One instrument speaks as a question, another a response; other instruments fill, support, encourage and burst out in joy. We need each other to make the song. We need to play together.
Together includes all ages. My grandson at 8 months has played since he found his hands. I didn't see a handdrum up close until I was 42. [whew! that was a while ago!]
Together includes all abilities. Brand new wide eyed... 85 and playing since your father's father played as a child. Open ears and blind eyes. Feeling the drum's voice with your hearing aid turned off. Dancing on the Spectrum of Autism.
Together includes.
Listen. Your heartbeat is calling.
Come Play!