OCTOBER, 1998 RECORDING
ENGINEER'S QUARTERLY
DRUMMING FROM YOUR CENTER
BY MURUGA
When I first started drumming it was
spontaneous I would close my eyes go into my inner space and just let the rhythms come out
of me even though I didn't know what I was doing it sure felt good. Not knowing how
to play yet made me rely on intuition and imagination. Led by my true feelings and
emotions, I found myself doing 1 to 2 hour trance drum solos . At first I noticed that the
body was tense and I had a lot on my mind that was disruptive to my concentration on
playing the drums.
I found myself bashing the drums and playing loud and that caused me to us my body and
breath more in a way releasing my pent-up, un-channeled energy I saw this was a way to
release my tension and it was a creative and constrictive way to do it , much better than
the uncreative and destructive things I was starting to do, like holding on my emotions in
until I exploded into anger and argument or fights as many kids were also doing. I saw
that the first 10 to 15 minutes of hard playing released that
Un-channeled excess energy and got me flowing in the music. With my eyes closed I found
myself relaxed, my breathing still and calm, my nerves were relaxed and I found that I had
a inner center where I was being and the music was just happening. I wasn't in the way
with thoughts I found the more I played from that inner center the more my body relaxed.
The more my body relaxed, the faster my mind would become still and relaxed. When
that happened, my energy flow would relax and that made my center stronger. I found myself
grounded in my center and it was empty . That opened the doors to my intuition and
improvisation and the music was just happening and my Spirit was free making my body and
mind its instrument united with the drum.
Practicing body stretches breathing exercises prayer and
meditation deepened my center even more. Before I thought the music was coming from the
mind now I saw that when I went to the center I was empty and the music was coming from
spirit. CREATIVE POWER beyond the empty. It was coming from that which was giving me
life and that was God's through his grace. I saw my center was my soul and the life energy
was spirit. That's what makes gospel music, when the Spirit plays your
SOUL. You can apply it to all music and actions.
This practice extended to about 10 hours a day. For the first
5 years of playing drums: I played about 1 hour on the pad
before school, two study hall classes gave me another 2 hours on the pad, and ate lunch
while in the music room practicing on the drums, which gave me 4 hours collectively. One
music class brought it to 5 hours. I'd stay after school and in music room practice
another hour bring it to 6 hours. I would then go home and practice 4 hours on drums and
pad. I was learning the
rudiments: time concepts basic reading etc. and adding that in to my marathon trance
drumming sessions.
The jazz guys would say learn it then forget it. This concept
was going along with what was naturally happening to me .Being centered open me up and let
the music come through. As you practice, you will just keep getting better and better as
you develop chops or technique your spontaneity will also be played with better
technique.. The main thing aside from what your
learning about music, is to develop your center. From your center you will develop a
better sense of time, you will be freer in the music , your playing will have better
balance and full awareness while playing in communion with the other musicians your
playing with. As they say you'll have more soul and your music spirit felt, you will
develop your own unique music stile and
will become an originator instead of a copier, as happened to me.
I even got the invention of the Nada drum while in deep
prayer and meditation. new ideas will come to you as did to me .you will realize
inventions for new instruments and the new ways to play them . For me developing the
center was a life changing event. I strongly advise you developing it. I could even go as
far as saying "Its your birth right to know the core of your being in communion with
your Creator and its Spirit Power." This experience gives one the feeling of being
thankful for our life and to be able to co-create with the Creator of us and all creation.
We are meant to live in a heaven on earth in peace love thanks and creativity. Were meant
to be conscious of all who we are ,who the creator is and be in the bliss of the now. A
strong centered soul stops the kayos and random thinking of the mined. You lead it
rather than it leads you . A peace and well being
will fill your life, thus putting greater order and flow to you your life if you don't
already have it Those who have experience this will agree with me. To do this one has to
trust or have faith in your imagination and intuitive inspiration.
Relating this to drumming, let go of past thought patterns
and concepts of music and write something new and have faith in your center rather than
the mind mimicking others. When one surrenders to this your own music and stile will
develop I would
like to share with you the writings of a great Orthodox Christian Saint Theophan the
Recluse ,on the topic of the center which in another way upon reading this myself,
verified my own experience of the center that developed in my life. This is a life long
Process a way of living in spirit. HE SAYS inner revelation begins when you choose the
side of grace, and make the ways of life in the spirit of grace the inviolable rule of
your life; from that moment, as the decision is forming inside you, a center will also
form within you, a powerful center, which will begin more and more forcefully to draw you
towards itself. In this center will be grace, which has taken hold of your consciousness
and free will or, your consciousness and free will, combined with grace . This is the same
thing which was previously called the resurrection or restoration of the spirit. Then the
grace of God will begin to draw towards this center all of the other forces of your
nature, both intellectual and spiritual, and govern their entire action, retaining within
them that which is good , and destroying that which is bad. This drawing of everything to
one center and directing of all to one goal is the inner rebirth. Once this rebirth has
been accomplished, then everything both great and small will proceed from this one center,
and within you will be established the most perfect harmony and peace of God. hear we can
see tuning to God the Creative power bring RESURRECTION REBIRTH, PEACE, AND HARMONY and
that’s what music is HARMONY.
When the body mind soul and spirit are in harmony your body becomes an instrument to the
DIVINE CREATIVE SPIRIT POWER OF ALL CREATION. MAY THIS EXPERIENCE BE GIVEN THROUGH GRACE
TO ALL OF THOSE IN NEED AND INSPIRE INVENTION NEW FORMS OF CREATIVITY PEACE HEALTH AND
ENLIGHTENMENT AND MAYBE A HIT SONG OR TWO. AMEN
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