One Hand
Clapping:
The Taoe of Music
WholeArts and
The Psychic Internet is proud to present the
"Preface" and "Part One" of this
remarkable book by Daniel d'Quincy. "One Hand
Clapping: The Tao of Music," originally published by
WholeArts in 1991, is a book-length essay on the
performance of music from the perspective of Eastern
philosophy and religion. Mr. d'Quincy is a noted
composer, musician, author, inventor, educator, speaker,
and photographer. Please visit his unique music sites at WholeArts: syNThony, and the WholeArts Online Music Conservatory.
Page 7
This
reminiscence points to the prevalent, if unnecessary,
dichotomy between the critical focus of the controlling
intellect, and the spontaneous inspiration of the spirit,
which manifests itself in the free and natural expression
of the individual personality. Moreover, its implications
reach far beyond the realm of music, or even the arts in
toto. For the free and natural expression of the
individual personality is the essential condition of any
form of spiritual enlightenment. The repressed soul
cannot know itself. Enlightenment, whether or not
achieved through the arts, is synonymous with liberation.
We believe that the truth shall set us free, and that
freedom brings us to the truth. The history of humankind
through recorded time is at its core the elaboration of
this faith. For this reason, we hold the common good to
be the product of the free choice of enlightened
individuals. If the arts participate in this endeavor, it
is because, in an absolutely unique way, they
simultaneously enlighten us about ourselves and make us
free.
It may be that
the western musical environment, bound so forcefully by
tradition, is not conducive in its very structure to the
realization of enlightened and free individuals. Those
who decry the fascination with despotism in eastern
civilizations, should consider the traditional symphony
orchestra of the west. No orchestral musician can have
totally escaped the feeling of alienation that comes of
being employed to play somebody else's piece (the
composer) according to somebody else's interpretation
(the conductor). The emphasis on technique in western
musical pedagogy is perfectly consistent with the defacto
definition of the vast majority of musicians as the
disposable cogs in somebody else's musical machine.
Musical training, first and foremost, is a matter of
learning to submit not only to one's own ego, but also to
the power of some other and more overwhelmingly
dominating ego. This is the hallmark of a superior
technique toward which all successful musicians strive.
It may also be
said that, in this respect, the musical arts in no way
differ from certain other areas of social production.
Scientists and engineers, for example, are trained to be
expert in technique, while they are not asked to be
expert in deciding why, where, and how, to apply that
technique.
"The
missiles go up,
The missiles come down.
`That's not my department,'
Says, Werner von Braun." (Next Page)
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