Creating Community thru Music Making
"Grooving embodies the duality of community: individuality made stronger through group participation, and vice-versa." (21) "No other art can inspire and sweeten the personality like music. The lover of music attains sooner or later to the must sublime field of thought." (11, p 52)
"As global communication and urban isolation increase and tight cultural communities wither, musical events draw many different people together and unite them on intimate levels. Entering states of unity through grooving, people are (re)united in ways that television and other media can not recreate (Mander 1978)." (21)
Jenny's Story
"Being someone that has been an active participant as well as someone that has sat witnessing what occurs, I've seen beautiful things come together thru music making that are difficult to put into words. I guess it's something that needs to be felt as a personal experience. What I do know and can say is that in the moment music making brings out a precious and mysterious quality and essence that nothing else does. I wonder if I might be a mess if I didn't have the music, dancing, drumming outlet available on a consistent basis for myself. And for me just being able to 'get out of my head' has been such a relief & necessary part of keeping my balance & peace in times of stress & responsibilities on so many levels. There is no need for head thinking here. It is all a free flowing in the moment space. Never quite knowing what to expect and what will show up, there have been times that I have been in awe. I am happy to have my expectations blown apart.
"Just when I think it's the best, I've come to see that it can get even better. I enjoy the in the moment playfulness that happens. Everyone is there, in their own space but in the space together too. And they are not anywhere else in their minds, just right there together to create, to play, to express, to be creative and without any effort. This sort of energy seems to transcend all the other stuff, and quite quickly. What I've realized being in The Muse, is how amazingly profound the opportunity is when an individual or community is in a space of safety, love, support, creativity, spirituality and nurturance... it allows like a launch pad for sweet things to open up and come forth. It is of innocent, healing & inspirational quality. Making music together in this innocence feels very essential, especially in our current times. It is something that I wish I could experience in my everyday life. Once you have felt it, you will know what I mean, and to those that have, I'm sure they would agree. Being in-sync, in-the moment, in-tune in some unspoken way, is so very powerful.
