Intention

in·ten·tion /inˈten(t)SH(ə)n/ noun 1. a thing intended; an aim or plan.

This week has brought me to intention. As creative individuals we strive to put intention behind each move. The passing of brush over canvas, the pluck of a single string, the touch of pen to paper and the flow of lines and curves which becomes script. In the action we release, then pouring forth from the medium comes this thing we call self. A unique lens through which art, music and expression are focused and inevitably cast upon the waking world. This genesis is why I started practicing, to achieve the prerequisite toolkit of techniques with which I express my self. Music was the first art to capture my attention and focus as a child. I yearned to play and get better not yet knowing ego’s dark rapture and fueled only by curiosity, wonder and music’s viscous ether. Painting, drawing and dancing soon followed as I learned the practice of practicing. It gave a sense of order and structure to the moment. Clear and defined purpose, it imposed intention.

When I am fully present in my notes, whether sung, plucked, tapped or otherwise, there is true intention. I am nowhere else. This moment most sacred is, in the next instant, lost over the edge of the waterfall of time. When the last reverberations escape our hearing and the moment concedes to the next, all that is left is the aftertaste of what that note made us as listeners feel. It is the birth of a galaxy and the collapsing of a star, a volcanic eruption and colliding tectonic plates, instantaneous and simultaneous creation and destruction. I have never considered myself a destructivist however releasing a note only for it to be lost, echoing then in memory, is as close as I’ve come.

Before the modern age and recording technology I can only imagine how much more coveted those moments must have been to non musicians. No one really knows what a Beethoven symphony sounds like. All we have are phantoms, giving rise from the page, to albeit brilliant and beautiful modern interpretations of his manuscripts. What is lost in temporal translation? We can speculate and reason but no one knows Beethoven’s intention as only he could deliver it, (unless someone discovers a long lost bootleg vinyl: “Beethoven Live in Vienna ’97”). As an instantaneous artist in the modern era I feel like the builder of some intricate sandcastle. With meticulous and arduous attention to detail, form and composition, I create something that will unavoidably return to the sea. Can a performance ever truly be reproduced? Should it ever be?

In Zen Guitar, Philip Toshio Sudo writes, ‘Speak directly from your heart to the heart of your listener, as if passing the flame of a candle’. Set your intention and the listener will hear you. Without it there is only the empty, hollow shell of the mechanics, no real connection. Practice technique to become as fluent as you need to in order to fully frame and articulate yourself. Practice setting an intention in all you do. How present can we be? Can we with each step find intention and purpose? Each word? How often do we hustle and bustle from here to there, worrying over some distant past or anticipating some unknown future?

Be present.

This week I’m recommending Snarky Puppy’s The World Is Getting Smaller. It’s a bold and crisp exploration of space, rhythm and melody. The title track provides a driving latin backdrop for curious horns while tracks like Intelligent Design ask whimsical questions over a tight and precise groove. Enjoy!

#intention #snarkypuppy #practice