I love simplicity. Because it’s powerful.
Music = 1/Ego
I think this elegant equation sums it up perfectly: the more ego we have when we are playing, the less music there’s going to be. On the other hand, the less ego, the more music. It’s that easy.
The implications are fascinating. As we learn from maths, 1 divided by a large number equals a very small number. And 1 divided by an infinitely big number equals to ZERO… which means that infinite ego produces zero music. The other side of the coin is that 1 divided by zero is equal to infinity.
That’s what we want. That’s where beautiful, uncorrupted music comes from.
So basically:
Infinite ego, zero music. And zero ego, infinite music.
Another way to look at this is that any time you have a thought, that’s your ego, and we know that thought is the enemy of flow and creativity.
Because creativity happens in the absence of thought. That’s why you can’t force yourself to be creative. This means that the more we think, the more ego we have, the less creativity, the less music.
And, on the other hand, the less thought, the less ego, the more creativity and spontaneity and therefore the more real music.
Keep this in mind the next time you grab a pair of sticks. But of course, don’t think too much about it 😉
Also, this is true not only for drumming and music, but for all significant things in life. Replace Music with Art, Love, Life, Happiness, Friendship, whatever, and see for yourself what the conclusions are.
Related resources:
Instagram Inspirational Quotes
‘Art & Musicianship’ – Altitude Drumming – Volume 10
‘Actualized Drummer – Paths To Reach Your Full Potential’
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