I am a master of shoe lace tying.

Human beings are sophisticated and confused creatures.

Here in New Zealand, the confused part comes to the fore in our attitudes towards the so called 'creative arts'. Take facility in music for example. It's commonly understood that participation in music requires something mysterious called 'natural talent' and unless one has this 'gift' then well, its just not worth the trouble. But the acquisition of this facility, to play music, is misunderstood.

My belief is that we are inherently sophisticated enough to be exceptional musicians, all of us.

Acquiring the skills to operate an instrument is not too dissimilar to learning how to tie ones shoe laces - an exceptionally sophisticated act if one stops to think about it... I, like you dear reader, am a master of shoe lace tying. I have done it every day, numerous times, since I was a young child. I come from a family of master shoe lace tiers. Both my parents, my grandparents... this tradition goes back many generations in my family, and I witnessed the act many times every day. It is such a common and ordinary thing that it seems a bit ridiculous to apply words like talent and genius to the act of tying shoe laces. With master musicians I bet it's quite a similar picture. And I would suggest that it is society, not the musician, who feels the need to use these labels.

My bone of contention is that our use of the words 'mastery' and 'genius' are too selective, and that the range of activities we are willing to call 'creative' are too narrow. We are all 'masters' of the things we take for granted because of our inherent brilliance (through repetition) in their execution - writing txt messages, driving forklifts, reading braille, tying shoe laces, preparing food... its a long list.

Of course, making music is NOT as common place as say making a good cup of coffee, and so it seems a special thing, but that is more a reflection of an impoverished culture than our innate ability to do this or that.. Of course there are individuals that will outshine others in every field, but why should that mean that others can no longer participate? I meet too many people who would love to be involved in making music and feel they can't because of some perceived lack, and this is a state of confusion i lament greatly.

Rhythm School

Had a great session this morning at Rhythm School. Three students came at three different levels.. Young Bella, all of 10 years old and her first lesson. Stephen Thomas the boy wonder, studying under Ron Samson at AK Uni, and Rich Pharoah, working man and keen drummer, purveyor of solid beats and seeker for more proficiency... We played some rhythm pyramids, some Concertina Hand Teasers, working basic rudiments, each taking it as far as they could comfortably go. It works wonderfully. looking forward to growing this class. I can imagine a room of 15 - 20 folks tapping happily away... My vision is for an open class that anyone interested in learning about rhythm can attend. See YOU there.

My website

I have made a website for myself at long last. There you can see what I've done, what I'm up too, and other bits and bobs... Go check it out: http://musicworkings.weebly.com/