KulturCreations
supporting creativity and well-being through arts-based practices
Life as a flutist
Classically trained as a professional flutist in the USA I have performed in small and large ensembles since the 1980s. From the symphonic orchestra to Broadway musicals and baroque ensembles, my love for music is inspired by expressions of the soul. Over the years, my focus has expanded beyond traditional classical music to more exploratory forms combining multi-media, dance and improvisation. Today I perform on both the Western flute and the Native American flute which is wonderful for opening the soul and mind to improvisations and resonance with one’s surroundings.
Music
Creativity & Well-being
Sonic Awareness
As humans, we are in constant motion with our environment influenced by vibrations and sounds which contain melodies, harmony, rhythm, and structure. When there is a clear rhythm, melody, harmony, and structure in a sound it is easy to receive, regardless of if it suits our taste. If the sound lacks clarity, we perceive it as noise. Over time, the noise can adversely affect our body at the hormonal level, causing stress and sickness. By learning the language of music we can become active agents in sound creation, changing noise into music.
Sound as medicine
Sound as medicine is about identifying objects, people, situations, sounds that resonate with us as individuals. If you passively choose to stay in an environment with vibration that does not resonate with your own frequency, you risk negatively affecting your nervous system. Therefore, we have a choice: changing our surroundings or changing our approach to our surroundings by understanding more about vibrations and sounds around us. In our communication with others vibration and sound have an important role. When our rhythm and vibration resonate with each other, we have easy understanding of each other. When they do not match, conflict can occur or just non-communication. With the help of Sonic Awareness, we can learn to understand what happens to us in communicating with others. We can listen curiously to the rhythm, tone, emphasis and frequency of others and be open to better understand what they say, how they feel and how our own rhythm and vibration can affect others.
Listening
Listening is associated with the ear, yet it is more complex than this: it is a whole-body experience that affects how we perceive information, how we react to situations, and how we engage in communication. Barriers to listening can include both external noises, as well as internal distractors that impact our sensory systems. Turning to sound theory we can explore the somatic aspects that lie beneath the cognitive act of listening to inform how we listen. Musicians and dancers have a language and capacity to listen with the whole body that can enhance listening in dialogue to develop understanding and appreciation for others.