One of the most basic concepts in Buddhism is that nothing lasts forever. In fact everything changes: whether arguing the certainty of change lasts forever is valid I don't know. I've never asked, and personally I'm not a Buddhist. I like some of the more entertainingly mind-boggling concepts, but Buddhism is not for me.
So anyway, nothing lasts forever. There's a Japanese saying, 一期一会 (Ichi go ichi e), meaning roughly "one place one meeting". It means that a particularly moment will not be repeated. You can do the same activity a thousand times, but each time will not be the same.
So what am I talking about here? Improvisational music, actually. An improvisational piece will last only as long as it's played, and then it's gone. It won't be heard ever again, unless someone recorded it. Sure you can say the same about any music: the live performance is going to be subtly different each time after all, but improvisational surely more so than others. I've been writing an improvisational piece lately. Aside from a few bars it's almost entirely off the cuff, and as a result can be entirely different two different performances. This is nothing new, it's been done many times before. But a thought occurred to me, yaknow? Nothing lasts forever. An entirely improvised piece is in a very real way an embodiment of this philosophy. It's a little slice of reality delivered aurally. And there's something really really cool about that.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Tag'd! For great justice!
So believe it or not, I’m not such a cynical bastard as I sometimes make out, and I actually like this idea.
Once you have been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird random things, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them. Don’t forget to leave a comment "you’re tagged" and to read your blog. You can’t tag the person who tagged you. Since you can’t tag me back let me know when you have posted your blog so I can see your answers.
1. When I was in P7 I wrote an article for the school newspaper about threatened "striking" by pupils over a ban on football, and how ridiculous it all was. My peers loved it, the headmistress shouted at me and instigated a rule that she got to read everything before we went to print. That was the last article I wrote for the paper. The "angry rant" style of that article would later go on to form the basis of most of my columns.
2. I’m a keen mahjong player. I prefer classic shanghai rules, altho I’m not averse to hong-kong style.
3. The reason I tend to grow my fringe as long as I can get away with? I have two scars on my forehead: one from when I had chicken pox and one from when I split my head open, and I’m quite self-concious about them.
4. I have very strange thumbs: they can bend backwards slightly further than is normal. It’s not like "double-jointedness" or anything, but I’ve had folk think they’re disocated before.
5. I can’t stand team sports, both watching and taking part in. I prefer solo stuff if it’s competitive.
6. I first started listening to metal cos all the folk at school did. I asked my dad, and he introduced me to The Who. Turns out the other folk where more into grunge and nu-metal, which I decided pretty quickly that I cna’t stand. oops.
7. One of the reasons I tend to lose in fights is I’m scared of hurting folk: while I don’t mind bleeding personally, seeing other people bleed makes me feel ill. And things been broken etc make me feel faint.
8. For the last 60 days I have been reading a few bible chapters per day. Currently I’m up to Numbers 6,7/psalms 26,27/Acts 15.
9. My main ambition in life is to do something that’ll be remembered. I can’t stand the idea of being forgotten.
10. Despite being both a bassist and a metal fan, I can’t listen to dance music, which shares the same basic rhythm structure. As in literally can’t listen to - it makes me physically ill to the point that I vomit if I’m exposed to it for long enough.
Now who am I going to tag?
1. Lauren - because I know Skylar already tagged her, and she probably won’t respond either way.
2. Tarinaky - for being stupid enough to add me as a friend today.
3. Laurence - becasue should he decide to respond, it’ll probably be hilarious.
4. Tornis - For being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
5. Yams - Becasue I don’t think she even has a blog. I just want to annoy her!
6. Kaoru - for similar reasons.
7. Ash - Becasue I’m grasping at sticks now
8. Sarah - because I can.
9. Jim - because I lack the sense not to?
10. Aksel - because he’s annoying me right now
Once you have been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird random things, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them. Don’t forget to leave a comment "you’re tagged" and to read your blog. You can’t tag the person who tagged you. Since you can’t tag me back let me know when you have posted your blog so I can see your answers.
1. When I was in P7 I wrote an article for the school newspaper about threatened "striking" by pupils over a ban on football, and how ridiculous it all was. My peers loved it, the headmistress shouted at me and instigated a rule that she got to read everything before we went to print. That was the last article I wrote for the paper. The "angry rant" style of that article would later go on to form the basis of most of my columns.
2. I’m a keen mahjong player. I prefer classic shanghai rules, altho I’m not averse to hong-kong style.
3. The reason I tend to grow my fringe as long as I can get away with? I have two scars on my forehead: one from when I had chicken pox and one from when I split my head open, and I’m quite self-concious about them.
4. I have very strange thumbs: they can bend backwards slightly further than is normal. It’s not like "double-jointedness" or anything, but I’ve had folk think they’re disocated before.
5. I can’t stand team sports, both watching and taking part in. I prefer solo stuff if it’s competitive.
6. I first started listening to metal cos all the folk at school did. I asked my dad, and he introduced me to The Who. Turns out the other folk where more into grunge and nu-metal, which I decided pretty quickly that I cna’t stand. oops.
7. One of the reasons I tend to lose in fights is I’m scared of hurting folk: while I don’t mind bleeding personally, seeing other people bleed makes me feel ill. And things been broken etc make me feel faint.
8. For the last 60 days I have been reading a few bible chapters per day. Currently I’m up to Numbers 6,7/psalms 26,27/Acts 15.
9. My main ambition in life is to do something that’ll be remembered. I can’t stand the idea of being forgotten.
10. Despite being both a bassist and a metal fan, I can’t listen to dance music, which shares the same basic rhythm structure. As in literally can’t listen to - it makes me physically ill to the point that I vomit if I’m exposed to it for long enough.
Now who am I going to tag?
1. Lauren - because I know Skylar already tagged her, and she probably won’t respond either way.
2. Tarinaky - for being stupid enough to add me as a friend today.
3. Laurence - becasue should he decide to respond, it’ll probably be hilarious.
4. Tornis - For being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
5. Yams - Becasue I don’t think she even has a blog. I just want to annoy her!
6. Kaoru - for similar reasons.
7. Ash - Becasue I’m grasping at sticks now
8. Sarah - because I can.
9. Jim - because I lack the sense not to?
10. Aksel - because he’s annoying me right now
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