Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Anyone who listens to the Top 10 on Spotify knows all too well just how far music has been dumbed down in recent decades. Key changes, interesting song structures and challenging rhythms have been sacrificed at the altar of easily digestible, mass marketable bubble-gum entertainment. But as usual, we don’t have to passively accept this dumbing down. Instead, we can take steps to expand our musical knowledge, deepen our musical vocabulary, and take advantage of the healing properties of music that the would-be elitists are so desperately trying to detach us from. Today we talk to music educator and trained composer Vinnie Caggiano about what we can do to combat the dumbing down of music with a smartening up of music.
Video player not working? Use these links to watch it somewhere else!
WATCH ON: 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
or DOWNLOAD THE MP4
SHOW NOTES:
Vincognito.com – Vinnie Caggiano’s website and information about his music lessons
Vinnie Caggiano on YouTube / Odysee / Facebook
Email Vinnie at vincognito [at] gmail.com
Power of Pentatonic Scale – Demonstration by Bobby McFerrin
Cymatics – How to Make a Chladni Plate
I’ve been smartening up music for a decade but ain’t many listening 🤷🏻♂️
Big up media monarchy for the support!
Thank you James and Vinnie for an enthralling episode of SW! As a music player, teacher and composer, I found this really heartening. As a father of young kids, juggling demands and trying to do the “right thing” at least some of the time, it’s tempting to be swayed by the propaganda that says, “there are many more important things than music!”. You have given me a welcome dose of sunny feelings about having done my best to stick with it, and reminded me how important & magical it is to share the music: rock on both of you!
That warms my heart to hear. Isn’t it interesting that in public schools, when the funding goes low, the first thing they get rid of is the Music Department and the Art Department. While, in fact, the way I feel is that music studies should be a high priority and not a low one. The study and performance of music, especially when one goes deep into it, sharpens the mind. Thanks for the good word. You too. Rock on!
That’s why it’s the first to go…
Part of the reason why I write my books is to seek deep wisdoms.
“ZERO”?
Is that T-shirt from a Smashing Pumpkin’s concert, James? My, Lord! By the looks of that stretched out collar, I think you’ve had it as long as I’ve had my “Frankie Says Relax” tee! Haha.
Refreshing post, James. Nice to see you covering music again.
Blessings, Dr. Noh
“Bump, bump”
There is a very similar shirt from Zero Skateboards.
Could it be that one?
https://zeroskateboards.com/products/army-tee-black
This bobby mcferrin thing didn’t work on me, felt out of sync and to be honest, it felt rehearsed…i see a conspiracy there 😉
I, too,reckon it was rehearsed.
I liked the idea, though. Maybe I will try it on some people and see roughly how much set up it actually takes to pull it off.
I identify much more with Bobby McFerrin than I do with the bemused stodgy scientismic panel.
Try going to a church where they sing accapella- you will be surprised how people get on the same page with multi part songs they don’t know…..I’ve seen it wiyh my kids (who have a pretty wide range of music they like) doing a song wiyh a single set of lyrics and suddenly doing a 2nd backing voice (is that called counterpoint? Not sure)
Either way wiyh a very little time people do get a hive mind type effect to sync
I recall reading about an experiment where they had a crowd with colored paddles that were counted by a camera, harmonize to control a flight sim projected on a wall. One side of the room (there was no fixed line) did up/down and the other did left /right….. according t what i read they randomly decided to execute a barrel roll.
Here is another fun McFerrin clip, this time he gets a whole stadium going
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81uJZIF9TCs
Dear James, Please join Greg Reese and help expose the plight of the political prisoner Dr. Reiner Fuellmich! https://www.bitchute.com/video/Cd26rmCU72La They come for Reiner, they come for us all.
Definitely a subject worth covering.
Thanks so for your response….I am actively ignoring responders from James’ room due to his toxic troll infestation….so happy to hear from a good fellow traveler!
JVA Rosdorf
Dr. Reiner Fuellmich
AM Groben Sieke 8
37124 Rosdorf
Germany
Pls write to Dr. Fuellmich. (No glitter, stamps, cash) He reads everything and appreciates our correspondences. I feel certain our cards and notes mean even more NOW, since his recent diabolical sentencing. TPTSNB (the bad guys) seek not just to silence Reiner Fuellmich…but to destroy him! (I’m nobody, and this great man has written back to me 3 times!) All the best
Yup1 I’ve written to him and will again. He’s a good man. Educated so many of us during the lockdown era.
maybe reiner is in isolation because he knows about the vote jainism idea!
i sent an email to the corona investigative committee explaining the idea, and how it may have caused the lockdowns.
the gist of the idea is here :-
https://x.com/votejainism2/status/1835471311532876039
correction: i sent a message, not an email.
Thank you- I don’t normally listen to this chap but this was a very interesting talk.
I have seen some pretty wonderful harmony appear semi spontaneously in churches where people sing acappella hymns….i have found the deadest churches have the loudest instrumental accompaniment and hardly anyone singing. Certain hymns just get people to harmonize naturally, even though hardly any individual has a decent voice (or even can hold a tune solo)
I was told a story of a guy in one such church who was told his voice sucked and spent years silent- someone told him the command was to sing- not sing well- and that day he joined in and was crying all the way thru.
Probably the first place people ever used to be introduced to music was singing hymns in school or church. That’s been removed as a formative experience for most today. It’s probably true that the kind of music you listen to shapes the kind of person you become.
EM Jones was in a kick for a bit about folk music and spoke about how normal people got run out of music as a soocial thing when radio put “quality” music everywhere and people compared themselves negatively to professionals. He even did some of his own songs and encouraged people to actually sing their own stuff rather then packaged stuff.
Harmony singing, with many voices, really gets me. Experienced this raw and live is what I am talking about. Spontaneous harmony singing, like in a church or an old-fashioned party, is fascinating to think about. I like the scientific explanations of frequencies reinforcing each other to increase power and volume, without physically hitting the note harder. And the increased richness of secondary harmonics is still more fascinating to me than most of the things scientists are currently researching and publishing.
But they will get around to exploring this magic, in depth. They just need to figure out a way to make big bucks with military applications of this. I reckon they are already working on it, but the big money is always in the enslavement angles.
I’ve been in churches where the singing got bang in tune , and even I (who can’t keep a tune on my own) was right. Your right, harmony singing is wicked cool.
“Harmony singing, with multiple voices, really gets me.”
This may not be your thing at all but after reading that I just had to leave this here:
Bulgarian State TV Choir – Love Song from the Mountains
https://youtu.be/CxRMTOd9Heo?feature=shared
Beautiful.
I clicked this link, next to your suggestion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_CyUFwGi4A
Another favorite, very melodic…
https://youtu.be/jml39FZ4yns?t=52
Where was Polovistan?, you ask.
https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-19798,00.html
I am glad for the recordings, but they don’t capture the subtleties of the real thing. Th difference that makes the difference…
I have to disagree regarding “dance crazes”. There’s a whole TikTok sector of mostly teens who are desperate to find a suitable sound clip and then create a “dance” to it in the hopes of “going viral” and possibly becoming “TikTok famous” which may or may not come with significant financial gain. Ask any teen to do the “Pop Muzik” (yes, the “M” song) dance, which is the current rage, or just say the word “renegade” and watch the mindless body movements which may or may not have replaced normal teenage impetus to be an actual renegade. Programming, maybe?
Struggling for years on the guitar was a drag, going nowhere. Then, elocution came, finally and I was transported . I realized that without transport it’s was not music. Now I play music when I beat rhythmically on the instrument. That intern made it entertaining; Even though I don’t know how to play guitar. That’s how an idiot can make magic .
Now, if only I could apply elocution to word. Guess that proves Rap is not music.
@GBW
Hey brother, I admire your striving to learn an instrument.
I think learning to make art with vibrating strings that send out sonic ripples into our world is good for the brain and nourishing to the soul. Same for drums and wind instruments.
I am working on sending out some worthy vibrations from my handpan drum, but I have a long way to go.
Some day I wanna use my wood carving gear to make some rudimentary instruments too… maybe make a thick elderberry stalk into a flute or something 🙂
RE: “Guess that proves Rap is not music.”
Do you differentiate between “rap” and “hip hop” or mainstream rap vs underground hip hop? Or do you pretty much see them as one in the same and all garbage?
Thanks for the comment man.
Hey James. Thanks so much for having me as your guest! I’m a firm believer that it’s possible for the right music to change the world. Let’s hope it comes along soon!
Vincognito,
I’m sure you are a leader and teacher . Imagine that. That was an interesting, entertaining interaction we just watched and heard. Can you continue here in the trenches with more thoughts on say….
Transport ? Animation and of course dance.
When did you become aware of your ‘ magic’ ability to ( assuming you agree) transport .
For all you music lovers, growing up in Tulsa down at Cains Ballroom I saw and heard 3 generations of music. Enjoy
https://youtube.com/shorts/d-n2BgisZss?si=YsOW5w5uLdzoU-02
Thanks for watching, I assume, all the way through! I assume that by ‘transport’ you mean ‘to transport the human psyche to another place?’ I’ve had multiple experiences in my life where people did indeed seem to be transported. I think the moment I discovered that capability was one time in the 90’s, I was at a very small gathering. Not a party, just a social get together. I happened to notice a guitar nearby so I picked it up. Not wanting to intrude on the ongoing conversation, I played it quietly. Within a minute, people stopped talking, began listening and assumed the facial expression of being in a trance. I was literally taken aback! I was almost afraid of my power to do this.
I’m not sure what you mean be animation but if you can clarify, I’ll be happy to comment back here in the trenches, as you put it.
Dance is always a response to rhythm. Dancing (along with playing music) is one of those human activities that can get a person out of their chattering minds and into a place of *just being.* It’s a sort of Zen moment for people in a way. So, those that cannot play music can still ‘get there’ by dancing to it. Rhythm is attractive to people. Women especially seem to have a natural instinct for dancing to rhythmic music. I see this every weekend when I play.
I see the three main components of music, 1) rhythm, 2) melody and 3) harmony as reflected in the human psyche. Rhythm connects to the body (dancing, tapping your feet, etc.), melody comes from the heart, as in “singing one’s heart out,” and harmony connects to the intellect. In fact, when you hear musicians sounding like physicists when talking about music theory, 90% of the time, they are talking about principles of harmony. Rick Beato recently did a video called ‘the wait-for-it moment.’ He’s talking about the surprise you hear when a sudden chord change comes up that you didn’t expect. And that’s in the realm of harmony.
Vincognito,
I’ve experienced and witnessed music rewrite the laws of physics on several occasions. It is that powerful. Takes a special kind of person to give their life to it.
Thanks for being that kind of artist and a delightful personality.
Absolutely! And thank you as well, my friend!
I get into a trance and on occasion I will have tears. I don’t dance or even move very often. Air guitar if I know the music. Can’t play well enough to follow Di Meola but pretending is a lot of fun too.
This video looks like something you could get more from then I could.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ko3kZr5N61I&pp=ygUiTXVzaWMgbWFjaGluZSByZW5haXNzYW5jZSBjb21wdXRlcg%3D%3D
A guy built the Arca Musarithmica, a music writing device from the 17th century….it was pretty cool in that As far as I can see it’s an AI algorithm where the human does the computation.
You can probably understand what it does better the I can.
@vincognito
Great conversation, thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge on this important topic.
I think real music is a powerful medicine, and like all natural and powerful medicine, certain megalomaniacal interests on earth do not like people to have decentralized access to it (thus the pumping out of all the digitally watered down, lyrically retarded, simplified and digitized/AI generated garbage to dilute/poison the musical material people are accessing).
Big pharma takes natural compounds found in nature, makes synthetic over simplified and adulterated “patented” versions of those compounds, pushes those products onto people and convince them to get away from natural medicine. “Big Music” (corporate multi-billion dollar industry oligarch funded media industry) takes natural frequencies that stimulate the mind, extract synthetic versions, dilute and adulterate them, simplify them and push them on people through MTV and radio etc.
Both are doing that thing that JEP describes so sussinctly by saying “They steal the real and sell you back the fake”.
Regarding your comments about rap music, I agree on the mainstream stuff in how lacking rhythm and meaning it can be. However, I found that there is still some good stuff in the underground scene (at least lyrically speaking). I mainly got into listening to the underground hip hop due to the thought provoking and mind expanding lyrics that some artists I stumbled across were expressing, but I do like the sound of some hip hop as well. I am more into acoustic guitar, piano, flute, banjo, harp and natural drums as far as the sound structure, but I do dig some underground hip hop rhythms as well.
Your comment about the degeneration of the rap music made me think of this track by a Canadian hip hop artist (now relatively popular and music getting more watered down, but was not always that way).
“Shad – I Heard You Had A Voice Like An Angel”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4XrSHK9dp4
Given your advanced knowledge of music theory, I would be interested in getting your opinion on the quality of a few other hip hop tracks I have in my old playlists some time as well.
Thanks for helping educate others to be capable of sharing that sonic medicine we all need so desperately in these challenging times.
Some lyrics from the song linked above:
“..you keep everybody’s eyes on charts and schedules
And the trends, tryna stack gold bars and medals,
They want vessels, void and dark
The space fools wanna make stars
Instead of music that’s smart or special
Because art at a level that’s real can be harder to peddle
Business prefers a market that settles
For second rate, kill the true artist, martyr the rebels
That’s the system and it’s straight from the heart of the devil
See, merchants of dreams sewed the soul’s eyes wide shut
Passing the buck to purchase a pass to buy stuff
Workin’ in the circus, get hired up
To walk over half-knots on a tightrope, tied up..
..If you don′t behave as them
They call you crazy
And if you wont slave for them
They call you lazy..
Well I say…
They wanna take your mind
Turn it into a prison
Lock you inside
Then they call that livin..”
and those lyrics above now just made me think of Lennon’s song about watching the wheels go round and round 🙂
“John Lennon – Watching The Wheels”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG5wEgT8DHw
Lyrically, hip hop is THE MOST intellectual of any genre BY FAR. It’s not even close. Thanks for sharing a track I’ve not heard before.
@CRM114
Yes, if you are listening to some 3MG, CYNE, Binary Star, The Grouch, Gift Of Gab or Substantial 100%, though if you were listening to some 50 cent or lil wayne etc (which I do not consider to be hip hop myself) that is more like intellectual poison.
Glad you enjoyed the track.
Here is a stash of some other gems from that era that you might enjoy
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2F2E4C5D04A24981&si=LvH2qSlh-Qu_veSm
I would be curious to know how many of those artists/tracks you have heard before.
Thanks for the comment.
I really enjoyed that Shad track. Perhaps one reason I’ve never been very partial to hip hop is when I hear, say, a pop song, I’m usually not listening to the words but to what’s going on with the music itself. I’ve had that habit since I was a kid. I loved the backing music to I Heard You Had A Voice Like An Angel. I’m glad you posted the lyrics as well. I’m so focused on music that it’s truly difficult for me to make out what the words are saying. So I’m glad you posted them. There’s some interesting development in the music too. That can be turned into an entire jazz piece. Speaking of Hip Hop and Jazz, I once heard a song by Migos that annoyed the hell out of me. It was called Walk It Talk It but it sounded like F**k It Like A Puppet. I didn’t know who Migos were at the time so I literally used F**k It Like A Puppet as a search term on YouTube and found Migos’ Walk It Talk It. A friend of mine suggested I take the backing track and create a Jazz guitar track out of it. I called my producer and we got on it the next day. I like what happened. I feel like I turned something mediocre into art. But that’s just me. Sorry to the Migos fans out there.
https://youtu.be/LbVoeU-tQdI
@vincognito
Glad you enjoyed the track. My parents raised me on the greats of the 60-s and 70-s and then my introduction to hop hop was on the streets of Van city and Whistler (where various aspiring artists were busking, beat boxing and freestyling). The message they were expressing resonated with that same wisdom I knew from those Zepplin, Floyd, Beetles tracks I was raised on, and I was hooked.
When I heard music on the radio top ten that people described as rap or “hip hop”, I would say “that is not hip hop!”.
I have quite a few other lesser known gems in my collection from that era of my life when I was living out west, apprenticing as a stone mason (while working two other part time jobs on weekends tryna pay crazy Whistler rent) and hanging with some guys that liked to jam out on multiple instruments (and sometimes do freestyle poetry busking sessions).
I would throw down the couple bucks I had in my bank account to buy some brews and bbq goods just to get the guys all together in one place and witness that magic happen. Sitting around the camp fire one guy on the bongo drum, another with a guitar and my rapping buddy (Pascal) doing freestyle poetry.. real medicine.
Sometimes we would go to the high end hotel bars and get some drinks and then they would jam in the lobby where they often had pianos (one guy Patrick, was really good) and people would start throwing down 5s, 10s and 20s as tips! Then they got the idea to go into the busy village streets and throw down beat boxing and freestyles with a hat on the ground. Man they would rake in some serious dough from tips from strangers mesmerized by the spontaneously poetry some nights (more than I made most of the time at my day job)! haha good times.
So ya that was my intro to “hip hop” and those guys shared some great underground artists with me.
Some of it is more about the lyrics and the beat is just some bass and fancy synthesizer looping, but often hop hop artists work with multi-instrumentalists and do live shows with real instruments (not just looped beats). That was back in the day in the early 2000-s so not sure how much that still happens now.
Never heard of Migos till you shared that link (but I have not been looking into new hip hop artists for a decade or so now, just too busy working on my garden and publishing books). I like your cover of their song.
Are they one of those groups that raps about materialistic stuff and tough guy lyrics? I knew some guys that were into that noise, not my cup of tea.
If you like Jazzy Hip Hop vibes I think you would dig instrumental downtempo/hip hop artists like Emancipator, Nujabes, Uyama Hiroto, Michita, Kenmochi Hidefumi, DJ Whitesmith, Bonobo and DJ Okawari.
Have you heard any of their stuff?
Thanks for the thoughtful response (and for sparking the flash back 🙂 ).
As I may have mentioned to you, I’m more about music than lyrics, and that’s probably why a lot of hip-hop hasn’t particularly appealed to me. Given that, the discussions I’ve participated in, and read here, are inspiring me to give the genre a closer look.
I have heard Jazz influenced hip-hop that I have liked. That said, the artists you mention I’ve never heard. I’ll do some YouTube surfing and look them up. I’ll likely land on something I like.
Thank you for sharing your story about the ‘campfire band.’ I read it all the way through. It sounds like you had some very cool experiences with these guys.
And yeah, Migos were all about sex, drugs and bling. Walk It Talk It really irritated me because of that. All this kind of thing is ego adornment and nothing more. Yet, it sold millions of records. Apparently, in the mainstream world, these guys were a big deal.
If you want to get a sense of the original track, here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_xWDAbnBSU&pp=ygUVbWlnb3Mgd2FsayBpdCB0YWxrIGl0
The odd thing about this track is that the music itself is oddly haunting. Playing guitar over the track felt, I felt right at home with it.
Ah yes, music as separate from lyrics, an interesting dichotomy to look at in an of itself (the psychological/emotional implications of one without the other and what adding in meaningful lyrics does for the brain).
I consider instrumental tracks as a different kind of medicine or nourishment for the mind, heart and soul than music with lyrics, (not better or lesser than each other, just different).
As I wrote about in this article that touched on the concept of “Cultural Refugia” ( https://open.substack.com/pub/gavinmounsey/p/designing-bio-cultural-refugia?r=q2yay&selection=4eea8ac7-635b-46b6-b71f-435df01627af&utm_campaign=post-share-selection&utm_medium=web ) my ancestors from the regions now known as “Ireland”, “Scotland” and “Wales” used poetic verse infused with music (harps, drums and flute) as a means for passing on the essence of their culture and resisting cultural genocide.
The ancient knowledge keepers (Breitheamh or “Brehon” judges) of the time saw that the Roman Christian church was attempting to do and so they made sure to infuse their wisdom into verse “wrapped in a thread of poetry” and taught these songs to the bards and townsfolk far and wide to preserve the essence of their culture. Again, they had the foresight to use verse, song and stone to create Cultural Refugia.
This wise covert approach to preserving their cultural wisdom persisted for well over a millennia until it again came under direct threat from statist regimes that sought to erase the past and impose their degenerative involuntary governance structures upon the Celtic tribes.
That is why the statists of the British monarchy (queen Elizabeth) ordered her thugs to “Hang harpers, wherever found, and destroy their instruments”.
Harpers, however, were not the only Gaelic people treated with such hostility. In an attempt to gain control of Ireland, laws were enacted by the English Crown making it illegal for the Gaelic people to speak poetry in their language, own land, become educated and to marry. The penalty was death.
Between 1650 and 1660, Oliver Cromwell ordered the destruction of harps and organs. Harps were burned and harpers were forbidden to congregate.
This is a testament to how music and lyrics infused with truth are perceived as a threat to empire, and I feel it speaks to how important using verse and music together can be for resisting tyranny, propagating truth and sowing the seeds of awareness across multiple generations.
Yes the Jazz and Blues influence in early (and underground Hip Hop) is huge, i`ll dig up some more 2000-s tracks that reflect that strongly and share another time.
I`ll listen to the rap song later when I have a chance, thanks for the link.
Here is an early album from Emancipator:
“Emancipator – Soon It Will Be Cold Enough(Full Album)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXaeQw96Fx4
(if you like his music please support him however you can).
Awesome history lesson! Thank you. I gave at least a cursory listen to Emancipator and yes, I do like it! Thanks for sharing. What you share shows us the power of music and why it has been dumbed down. Very cool.
@vincognito
My pleasure.
Here in Canada (now that the government is trying to portray themselves as “inclusive” and being all about “reconciliation”) there is a fair amount of publicity that highlights the nefarious nature of institutionalized attacks on entire cultures (such as the residential schools here) but many people with Gaelic heritage do not know that a very similar attack on their own ancestors occurred centuries prior (so I like to shine a light on that when I can).
The album that came out after that one I shared above (titled “Safe In The Steep Cliffs”) is just as good (if not better). Lots of guitar riffs, violin and complex progression in the tracks. His more recent albums lean more towards club music dancing vibes, but still very talented music compared to the mainstream.
Well said regarding music being dumbed down, and I think when it comes to instances like I described above (where entire languages,
musical instruments and forms of music came under attack by tyrants) it is another level of dumbing down humanity, as forcing musical expression into a language like English from Gaelic takes away layers of truth and understanding that are simply not able to be expressed in English. It alters not only intelligence, but perceptions of what has value, worth and beauty.
The Gaelic people were (and are) an animistic culture, and their language reflected that. They spoke of the springs, rivers, mountains and trees as living beings, elders and kin in their poems. Censoring that poetic format, not only narrows the bandwidth of the mind, it puts the dim goggles of anthropocentrism on those that accept the forced cultural assimilation, changing their (and their descendants) perception of the world around them for generations.
I listened to the rap song and I agree it is haunting (and not in a good way). The monotonous reputative format feels like behavioral conditioning/subliminal messaging and its shallow lyrics are like junk food for the mind. So much mainstream rap is filled with that garbage, talking about cars, guns, violence, ego, objectifying women and substance abuse. It is a step beyond just dumbing down as well, it is propaganda that distorts people’s minds into glorifying materialism and domination.
The hip hop artists I listened to growing up were expressing the opposite message, they invited the listener to look within to find value and worth, encouraged respecting women, being a good parent and respecting mind altering substances and/or abstaining.
Tracks like this:
Macklemore | Inhale Deep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqzpyO7o6To
@vincognito
You commented on how much modern music is lacking that rhythm that makes you wanna dance so I just wanted to share this instrumental track.
Falliccia – Kenmochi Hidefumi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n6Up82EbfM
The soulful layered progression of multiple instruments I love (and fast rhythm of this one) always makes me want to dance.
@vincognito
and for a more mellow instrumental hip hop beat that features some piano (which I find to be very nourishing and uplifting)
Nebulous – Bona Fat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb0-LNH2-jo
Enjoy! 🙂
————
On a loosely related sidenote, have you ever heard of a pianist from Iceland named Ólafur Arnalds?
Hi Vinnie, I always found ignorance of the lyrics to be an affliction of sort, something that has affected me since I became aware of the way I listen to music. It’s somewhat comforting to hear the same methodologies reported by a professional.
I like me some good “hip hop”, but to enjoy the lyrics I have to separate it from the music part. This is all likely due to having a single track mind.
Exactly. I do have the same hearing affliction that my dad had and also, from years of rock & roll, I’ve lost a lot of high frequencies in my left ear especially. I think my ear blew out when I was fiddling with an amp at high volume. It wasn’t getting sound, I adjusted the cable and, in a stupid moment, to test the amp I hit a loud chord when my ear was right to it. I think that’s what screwed up my ability to hear high frequencies. These days, I sometimes overcompensate by using to much high frequency in my sound. I have to depend on other musicians to tell me whether the sound is too bright.
My dad had an affliction where, if he was in a crowded room and a lot a background conversation was going on, he couldn’t sort what was being spoken to him directly, from the background voices. I have the same thing. Oddly though, if I’m in a crowded room with lots of people conversing at once, I can still clearly hear music. I remember that even as a kid, I had to struggle to hear lyrics but the music always came through. I think my brain is just wired that way. So, as you say, yes, I have a similar ‘one track mind.’
I have too somewhat lost the ability to make out speech in a noisy room. The so called popcorn effect. I definitively had it some decades back. I also likely have mild tinnitus that flares up (increasingly regularly) resulting in a high pitched ringing in the middle ear. My understanding is that this is likely nerve damage or possibly offset levels where a low or no stimulus will get interpreted as something that sounds are ringing.
But I wouldn’t say that I have hearing loss, even though that does run in the family. Under normal circumstances I hear quite well.
My hearing does have a record of making things up somewhere in post processing. I first became aware of this 20+ years back while attending some hearing experiments during the college days. After having some rhythmical sounds provided to get me going, and then in the following runs have particular tones removed from the sequence, my hearing/brain would make up the missing information making me utterly unable in consciously determining which tone is not there. I would “hear” them all, every time.
When listening to a song with less than completely audible lyrics, I won’t be able to understand 90%+ of words. However, give me the same song with written lyrics and, while reading the lyrics, my brain will make me believe that now somehow magically I can understand the words and in fact do hear them.
The entire hearing circuitry is just incredible. These experiences make me better understand how are certain people able to hear what they want. It’s a straight feedback look in the brain, one that is shorting reason.
Full lyrics for the Shad track linked above available here:
https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858765294/
(he really is an excellent lyricist)
Yes. I checked out the lyrics. Definitely ‘conscious’ stuff! This is the kind of thing I was getting at in the podcast. If we had more musicians doing conscious music, no matter what the genre, punk, jazz, reggae, whatever, we ‘might could’ (as they say in the American Deep South), overwhelm the system enough to bypass it and reach others. Speaking of Reggae, in the Seventies and Eighties, that genre often spoke the truth. Like Jimmy Cliff’s ‘The Harder They Come.’
@vincognito
Thanks for making the effort to hunt down the rest of the lyrics. I appreciate your open mindedness with regards to a genre that has been so comprehensively corrupted and diluted (in the mainstream).
Here is another track that I found to be moving back when I was a kid. I saw others around me succumbing to the lure of narcotics and kept going back to cautionary tales eloquently expressed in tracks like this to find strength to resist the peer pressure.
Tom Pepe (Knowmads) – The River Runs Deep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovELiHWVIuc
“Yo I once knew a man
He started off a boy
His whole damn life he never really been employed
He was only 19
Had the chance to go to college
Try out his luck, see if he could gain knowledge
Think about your life, or whatever you call it
Now he’s just a cluck-dead broke alcoholic
Used to keep a picture of his girl in his wallet
Think about your life, or whatever you call it
He walk home late cause the city don’t sleep
He was only 19 but the river runs deep
Wrote raps in his head so he didn’t really speak
About the crushed up pills that he took in one week
One week turned to two, two weeks turned to four
Now long term addiction, knocking at his door
Starting losing weight, coming late, looking drunk and
His family and friends said “He was up to something!”
Got to the point where he couldn’t even function
Calling up his dealer begging “Please give me something!”
“I just got evicted I ain’t got nothin’!”
The dealer was a prick, his reply was reluctant
“I can get you high off this shit nobody fuck with! ”
“Even all the fiends know better than to touch it!”
He was 19 begging: “Please give me something!”
Said to the kid: “I don’t know if you can trust it”
“But I got a lot so, push it to the public”
“Watch out for the cops and the rats on some thug shit.”
“Here’s for your protection, I’m lending you this pistol”
“Pretending it was pure but he knew that it was crystal”
Looked like shards of glass and “I hope this ain’t a issue”
“Plus if you snitch, well your mother gonna miss you.”
Now he’s lost his path, school and direction
Kicked out his pad after land lord inspection
All he ever had was his rhymes and a dream
Now he’s living on the streets at the age of 19
Feel the meth in his lungs, and the sun starts to tweak
Never saw 21, yo the river runs deep..”
.. (continued in another comment)
.. (continued from comment above)
“..Then one day
The kid came back
To the city of Seattle where he learned how to rap
Said: “Fame is a battle, and the game is a trap”
Back to his neighborhood where he would get dap
Saw this man in the shadows with his head in his lap
Limbs lay lifeless, wasn’t just a nap!
His eyes wasn’t open, holes in his teeth
Pipe on the ground, blood cold on the street!
Tried not to look, tried to listen to the beat
But this man sat dying in the middle of the street!
Reached in his pocket, to pull out his wallet
Like he could save his life, or whatever you would call it
He turned to the man
To offer him his help
Looked him in the eyes and realized it was himself
Torn up cloths, no shoes on his feet!
It was getting late, but the city don’t sleep!
The man started shaking
The sun starts to tweak
Lying in the gutter in the mother fucking street!
He turned to the kid as his body lay weak
And whispered as he died: “Kid the river runs deep”
The story of my life, cause both of them were me
Thinking to myself, yo who I wanna be?
He turned to the kid as his body lay weak
And whispered as he died
“Kid the River Runs Deep.”…”
Thanks. Awesome lyrics!
Seeing this SW episode, i was reminded of a Live Stage Musical I experienced in Las Vegas in the early 2000’s: We Will Rock You – Queen Music – Dystopian Future and its Rebels. A story that speaks to _______… I’m inspired to revisit the story. YT or the like. Fun stuff ;-))
Steven Spielberg is in agreement! (How could you miss an opportunity to reference a forgotten 70s flick?)
James… what a great conversation… As a mostly former player (guitar and kazoo ;), I really enjoyed listening to both of you. Good Stuff, you both just may have inspired me to pick up my guitar again (a Martin D28 circa 1969, bought new for $300.00 in 69). About 4 years ago I developed Trigger Finger, in my left hand and could not for the life of me form chords correctly, this malady has finally, hopefully disappeared.
Vinnie sounds like a fantastic teacher, man I would have loved to have connected with him years ago -as I was, in his words, a Player not a Musician.
P.s, I did regular shows at coffee houses, bars and restaurants back in the day and was liked for my passion, reasonable on key voice and always correctly tuned instrument.
Modern pop music really is in a sad state.
I say this as a music educator and musician myself.
Whether there is a conspiracy going on or not to facilitate/prolong this
is anyone’s guess.
Vinnie said he finds himself personally insulted by much of the music today.
I’m not, because I don’t listen to it.
I listen to and play music that moves me. In my case that happens
to be jazz and classical music for the most part.
I feel you. I live off the Venice Beach Boardwalk. One stroll down to where I perform and I hear three or four tracks of ‘what the kids are listening to today.’ Otherwise, it’d be utterly ignored by me. My choice of active listening for Pop and Rock goes back to the past. And these days, I have less tolerance and, like you, I usually listen to Jazz (especially) and Classical.
Some cool video footage of how sound frequencies effect matter (he even throws in a big Tesla coil shooting an arc of plasma through his chest for fun) 🙂
CYMATICS: Science Vs. Music – Nigel Stanford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3oItpVa9fs
I am more of an acoustic analog music guy myself, but still a cool video
You just happened to pick out my very favorite Cymatics video! Funny, I was just thinking of that one when the subject came up on the podcast. I reminded myself to dig it up out of YouTube. You did the work for me, so thanks!
@vincognito
Nice! 🙂
Ya the way sound organizes matter, it speaks to how some of the most powerful technologies in the realm of medicine, propulsion and energy generation have been (and will be) directly derived from harmonic resonance.
Have you ever looked into acoustic levitation tech and/or harmonic resonance based levitation experiments?
Apparently, bumblebees offer some helpful pointers for those aspiring to apply biomimicry in that regard ( for more info: https://open.substack.com/pub/gavinmounsey/p/25-reasons-you-should-start-a-garden?r=q2yay&selection=11dc857b-919f-4abb-af9a-901eca535b21&utm_campaign=post-share-selection&utm_medium=web )
Thank you for the link. Fascinating stuff, indeed.
One big reason for dumbing down popular music is to make it easier for the PTSB to insert their useful idiots into the culture. When music had to be actually good in order to be popular, or at least to have influence, they had to find someone with at least some talent to do their bidding. Now they don’t even need a pretty face, they can put whoever it is easiest for them to control out there and create both the sound and the image on a machine.
“….ne big reason for dumbing down popular music is to make it easier for the PTSB to insert their useful idiots into the culture. …”
True, but its also a lot easier to control artists that can be replaced because their not all that good. A musician that you can replace easily has less leverage.
My Wife is convinced, after hearing AI music, that a good chunk of stuff on the radio is AI generated.
The (in)famous Rick Beato claims that his kids can tell whether a song is AI generated or not.
My favorite band is tennis,anyone else like them ? i think trap music and some phonk music may be “stupid” but “fun” to listen but I do see how that can be a problem.
Thank you both James and Vinnie for this inspiring episode of Solutionswatch. The power of music to lift us out of our every day patterns and to experience some joy has immeasurable value. I am an amateur musician and composer and for me Song involving the interweaving of harmony, melody and rhythm with words is the most versatile form of music around. An example of this was Brazilian MPB which came out of Brazil during the military rule of the 1960s, the response to the tyranny was through music. The tyrants cannot suppress the innate liberating power of music to feed the soul.
Your comment reminds me of a famed moment in history. Perhaps James would know whether or not this is urban legend. During, I believe WWI, the Germans and the Brits were going at it on Christmas Eve. Then, one of the soldiers began singing a solemn Christmas song. Before long, the soldiers on either side began singing it. They wound up giving up the fight and shaking hands, wishing one another a Merry Christmas. It’s cited on Wikipedia, so it MUST be true. 😀
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
Music (and playing it) is powerful whether coming from an amateur or a pro. It all depends on the heart of the performer. So, you have as much power to heal others as a pro does, maybe even more, all depending on the force of intention. Thank you for your kind words!
Thank you Vinnie, you are a true healer, as Rudolf Steiner said the Arts are the healers of the Soul.
This is very interesting. I learned invaluable concepts, as usual with content in this site.
I’ve been fortunate to create music. It’s a blessing to be grateful for. Been influenced by many different genres but never tried to imitate any. The music I’ve made has intention but it’s never been about popularity or any type of personal gain, and never will be. Of course, the lyrical messages are of utmost importance to me, yet musical originality is paramount regardless of commercial value.
A song written about 14 years ago with my creative partner became an album, then a concept album, a comic booklet, an animated video episode series culminating in an animated 2D film released last year. All self produced with the invaluable help of several talented friends. Done in English and in Spanish. Gratefully, some people around the world have liked it and it has gathered some awards in the Independent Film circuit
To me, while it is a multimedia experience, it all starts with the music and lyrical content
Now working on a sequel… The first one was about Peace and the obliteration of War… The next one will be about Personal Freedom. The third…? James Corbett and similar journalists constantly feed my creative drive
People Power by No Matter What! can be watched and listened to entirely for free at our website. The booklet also available there. There’s an English and a mirror
Spanish site.
Thanks from my heart to whoever took the time to read this and to those who were kind enough to check the site
http://www.nomatterwhatband.com
Peace and Music
Hector Eduardo
I’m about to get busy but I just want to let you know that I love what you’re doing! I only heard Space Case but I’ll check out the other tunes. Space Case reminds me of the kind of music my generation (Gen Jones) was putting out in the late Seventies, so it had immediate appeal for me! I subscribed to your YouTube channel and I’m gonna look deeper into your website! Great work you’re doing!
Wow! Very unexpected. Grateful for your thoughtful words of encouragement. Styles are very varied in the album. Even an acoustic latin jazz instrumental. Thanks for the YT sub. They have banned several of our videos for violent war content, or so they say. I call it Peace content. Gotta show the consequences of recklessness. Again, thanks from my heart for your words.
I also meant to say that our site offers a page to watch the episodes one at a time and a music player to just listen to the music and read the lyrics. Thanks again man. Much appreciated.
Yep, I’m curious about your video episodes and I look forward to checking them out!
Bill Clinton’s 1996 Telecommunications Act did a lot to help in the consolidation of the music industry allowing the Globalist controlled companies to buy up the independents, stifling diversity.
If money can buy it, they can control it. They Communists are all about monopolies, which is what we have today. When I was a kid, music was so diverse, so many great artists but as we started into the 1990s, you could see the Zionist Communists starting to clamp down on the creativity, especially white rock bands.
The creation of Gangster Rap, was pushed on society, while so much other types of music were purposely censored. Zionists Marxists like Lyor Cohen, carefully funded and promoted the worst or the worst anti-social rappers. You rap about banks/usury, antiwar or corruption, you would not get anywhere, but if you rap about are hating cops, whites, women or gays…you were golden.
Back then it was more subtle, slow and steady, then in 2018, the anti-social Marxism was put on steroids. Now you get commercials that use only rap and often only blacks, or mixed couples to sell products. If you question this hyping of African American over representation in sports, music, TV…you are called a racist. These Globalist Zionists do not give a shit about black people, so called “minorities” or women and gays, they are simply using them to create social discord, divide and conquer is their game, it always has been.
Spot on. Too bad I can’t “like” these comment…
This dumbing down is not limited to music, it is across all aspects of our society. Everything the Zio-Matrix controls is being used to dumb down humanity. The war on nutrition, “vaccines”, fluoride, social media/iPhone, exposition in movies, and on and on, a war on society, especially Western Societies in all encompassing. This is what full spectrum dominance looks like, and we have given full control over to people who wish to destroy us.
When the choice is between Biden/Harris and Trump, your nation is lost. Americans are sleep walking into their genocide.
…..we have given full control over to people who wish to destroy us…”
Not every one has done that. Plenty of people will be ok, I hope to be one of them but even if not plenty of others will get thru this just fine.
No one makes anyone rat crap food or fry their brains with iPhones. It’s a choice people make
But I agree that the dumbing down is in almost all fields
“Not everyone has done that”, again, that you for pointing out the obvious, there is no such thing as a 100% of anything, that is assumed, some have not, most certainly have.
AND while you MAY have avoided that poison, you are not immune to all their poisons, their Christianity poisons one’s soul, and you certainly have drunk deep of that insanity.
I am certainly not opening up a discussion with a dishonest Christian fanatic such as yourself, I am just pointing out, their poisons come in many forms, and MOST of humanity, BUT NOT ALL, consume one of them.
James Corbett often conveys the sad reality, that while people will see the fallacy of 9/11 and Covid, we all still have our blind spots. He said, “Global Warming” was the delusion many push back against when they are told it is a lie, but if he questioned the OBVIOUS scam that is Christianity, he would see real push back. When James started undermining the “Global warming” scam, I was on board instantaneously because his argument made sense, period. The same with Christianity, when I started hearing the flaws in the creation of Jewish Christianity, how it was being used to bring us all under a Jewish world, became obvious to me. I have an open mind, thus I live by logic and reason, not subjective personal bias. Institution after institution have fallen to the waist side as the truth has risen to the surface. All the lies these evil psychopath have created through the centuries has been revealed with those who have eyes to see.
Adam Green does a great job in showing the evil purpose of Jewish Christianity, from their own mouths, not only do they expose the purpose of Christianity, they show how it is playing out EXACTLY as intended. Christians ties themselves into knots making the Jewish myths sound plausible, but at the end of the day, it is effect that determines the true purpose of a thing. Christianity has been the greatest weapon against humanity that ever existed. It IS leading us to genocide and total servitude. https://odysee.com/@KnowMoreNews:1/ian-god-real:6
This is not a debate, just my opinion, I won’t read or respond to you here, history has demonstrated you are not open minded or honest in your responses, cultists are not know for this.
Rexleonum
“…AND while you MAY have avoided that poison, you are not immune to all their poisons, ….”
That is indeed true.
I was pointing out that just because a LOT of people are going to get it NOT ALL people are going to die or be enslaved.
Sorry I was not clearer. It is indeed a CHOICE people make
“….their Christianity poisons one’s soul, and you certainly have drunk deep of that insanity.….”
Here you yourself make the point that everyone has blind spots well. Your attitude to Christianity is just as programmed as 99% of ideologies.
I agree that NO ONE is totally free of the shackles of fake culture…. Though following Green(berg??) as your ideological lode stone is IMO unwise (but you do you) because he is neither right nor even very convincing to anyone who knows anything beyond the modern world.
I still lol thinking about his “debate” with Cory of stone choir podcast…..he said truly that Adam Green argues like a Jew (I’d say Reddit atheist but their kinda the same thing)
I hypocrite had them on here is a spare link
https://odysee.com/@SubversionDiversion:8/I-Hypocrite-Is-Christianity-a-Jewish-Psyop-feat-Adam-Green-and-Corey-J-Mahler-20250207:5
You just can’t help yourself, you are such an idiot, lol.
Rexleonum
Nice rebuttal you have there 😉 but to (quote the once great Stephan Molyneux ) “not an argument”
I can see why you like Adam Green(Berg)s style of debate so much. Lolol.
The senseless wars that are created, all to increase debt, destroy nation outside the Zionist banker system and above all else, murder the masses.
There are many illuminating facts that when seen individually, can be waved off as “incompetence or greed”, but when seen in their entirety, they are surely pure Zionist malevolence.
The pushing of unsaturated fats instead of butter, as well as the demonization of eggs, and now decades later, eggs and butter are seen as healthy again. You don’t think they knew this, all the data pointed to a problem as people moved to unsaturated fats, all to “fight heart disease”, yet the problem only got worse. Then we saw the explosion of obesity and Alzheimer’s. Again, no looking to what had changed in the American diet, just doubling down on their poisonous lies.
There is the whole nano-insectides and herbicides, many products banned in Europe are heavily used in America, regardless of the lack of research or just ignoring the research that is raising alarm bells. Who cares, “it’s all about profits”.
https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews/2012/04/insecticidal-seed-treatments-can-harm-honey-bees
How about lead in the gasoline, America was one of the last countries to mandate the removal of lead in gas, even though it had been proven to effect brain development and its use had spread it throughout the environment. Yet, we still used it.
https://nonprofitnewsfeed.com/resource/the-rise-and-fall-of-leaded-gasoline-an-absurd-true-timeline/
For those in the know, this is no coincidence, Covid demonstrated beyond question the malevolence the system uses against the people. Of course the Black Plague was also informative as to those behind this war on the Goyim, and it is only getting worse.
Again, no “like” button :(. Spot on. Everything “wrong” is NOT by incompetence. A grand majority of it through history is by intention.
Very interesting conversation. Of my five sons, three play guitar like my husband. My talent is limited to listening to music. As far as dumbing down, while some rap may be kinda good and some is liberation music, I believe that much of it has been a terrible influence on the world, as far as glorifying many bad things. Some Blues is pretty bad , too. Music is powerful.
I can not sing. I can not play a single instrument. I have heard I am equally musical as my dad was, whom was told to shut up, or leave the classroom, during music class in school. Despite this, I LOVE listening to music. Music is an integral part of my life. Certain songs take me back in time, or to places I have never been before. So, I really enjoyed this episode!
I assume I spend a lot of time listening to what is categorised as “simple” and “unintelligent” music. However, I like many genres, and dislike some as well.
Since I have logged (or scrobbled) the vast majority of music I have listened to since 2007, I have a good grasp of what “sticks“ with me. Below are some examples. Be aware, GooTube links are coming up.
Pink Floyd is my third most played band, with almost 2000 scrobbles / plays. I LOVE Echoes. What a journey… (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53N99Nim6WE).
But, techno / minimal / electronica is also my thing. So, I enjoy songs like Kollektiv Turmstrasse‘s Uneins (Of Norway Version) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn5KYLC9xZc).
During the Scamdemic I made my own “Freedom” playlist, with songs like SchwrzVyce’s Fake News Media (Propaganda) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjRVLqy0egY) Hi-Rez & Jimmy Levy’s God Over Government (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf_P29EYx6U).
After I visited Cuba, Orishas’ 537 CUBA played on repeat. “Mí herida no cerrará.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2eV20UhkQk)
If I miss home, I might put on Wardruna’s UruR (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS8setjWmRc).
And, I could have gone on. There are so many more songs…
It would be interesting to hear what the Corbeteers listen to. I would love some input on new music to check out. All genres!
I think you may find this to be to your liking.
KAS:ST – Hell On Earth
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwi1qgSaxZY
@mkey – not my cup of tea, but thanks for the tip!
Right now I have this on repeat: Kako’s Boogaloo by Kako Y Su Orquesta:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAihpbzQE7g
And, I came to think of a brilliant movie that listeners of this episode might like:
—
Whiplash (2014)
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/244786-whiplash
—
Since Joseph P. Farrell was mentioned, the related book of his to read would be:
Microcosm and Medium: The Cosmic Implications and Agenda of Mind Control Technologies
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41036460-microcosm-and-medium
Gangnam style was kind of a dance craze, brings it up to 2012.
Yes! I remember that!
The topic catched me, but the show went unfortunately away to a of topic talk for good friends about music.
Heh! What’s the name of the vortex math speaker who discusses the harmonic ratios of 432 tuning? Would love to hear more about this <3
He calls himself, Jain108.
His YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCit05VRn-PLWbvush4sYHcQ
His Website: https://jain108.com/
The thing about 432Hz can be searched out on his YouTube. This may be it:
https://youtu.be/5xOMwPkLIKQ
Thanks @Vin !!
Sure thing!
With regard to playing the blues having a positive effect on “feeling blue,” I think translates to all arts. I’m a painter who may never reach the brass ring I’m aiming for, but the act of painting lifts the spirits, no matter what is happening in the world or whatever personal struggles I may face. It’s frankly a gift which has seen me through some very nightmarish times. But real art, as you were discussing on the panel with Ryan Christian, Whitney Webb and the others, requires effort and dedication–for you practicing daily; for me spending a year doing cast drawing and drawing from live models regularly rather than firing up AI tools. Someone mentioned how the arts are always the first to be cut in schools. That’s not even the larger issue these days. The internet and AI are draining a child’s attention span and desire to put in the work to master any of the arts–or anything else for that matter. I see this every day. In my area high schools are allowing ChatGPT usage. To my mind, the solution in education is homeschooling. For the rest of us, as Kurt Vonnegut said, “to practice any art, no matter how good or badly, is a way to make your soul grow.” Beats the hell out of doom scrolling!
P.S. James, you might enjoy a book by Oliver Sacks called Musicophilia.
“…. To my mind, the solution in education is homeschoolin…..”
Very true!
These days you would have to work to give kids a Worse education then they get in school.
I like to paint, like most things I do I’m not wonderful at it ,but after a year of painting at least one day a week I stopped sucking as bad. I wish more people would just try stuff and not worry about it being rubbish, the process is the point
This lady is pretty fun to paint along to.
https://m.youtube.com/@LetsMakeArt/playlists
playing any part in an improv session hooks you into the blissful connection…even if you’re just keeping the most simple beat… eg playing the deeper conga.
Music doesn’t have to change scales or be non repetitive etc to be worthy… think of mantras, or bhajans…words and tune very repetitive.
someone may be stunned by bach, but i myself have been stunned by beethoven, literally frozen except my heart swelling and tears flowing, very divine.
Fun chat James and Vinnie. I fight fluoride by day at FAN but I’ve been a professional working jazz musician (keys & trumpet) for over 3 decades.
I’ve mastered theory and have high competence on my instruments. When musicians get to a certain level where our technique/form/ability isn’t getting in the way of our expression, we begin to understand that music is much bigger than just notes, scales, and theory – like Vinnie said its spiritual, it’s divine.
As an improviser, what we play is an amalgam of the theory we’ve learned and, arguably more importantly, all of the musical data we’ve downloaded throughout our lives that shape and form the melodies and rhythms we sing in our heads that turn into melodies and harmonies we play on our instruments. Theory helps to sort all that out, but oddly it’s not always a pre-requisite to being a great improviser – it’s rare but I know cats who barely know theory who are top players in my scene (SF Bay Area). Still kids… learn your theory.
On the flow state – it’s what we all strive for. When this happens, it’s like we enter another dimension (beast mode), our instrument fades away and no longer becomes a limiter – effortless execution, we simply become a conduit, a vehicle for some universal expression. It’s beautiful. The more we master our instrument the more often we can get to that sacred place.
A thing I’ve learned with a lot of experience is that while shredding is nice and impresses your friends, a grander purpose of live and recorded music is to make a connection not so much to the mind but to the heart. People can feel it and HEAR it when you’re playing to/from the heart.
Awesome chat guys. If you’re in the mood for some “changes”, check out my music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2te_aaK2h38
https://open.spotify.com/album/2um3G6bQEJeoGfg4k8O7kK?si=m0rIlNf6QHaIKAtb3xzESg
https://linktr.ee/faultlinetrio
I can tell by the tone and substance of what you wrote that you’re what I like to call a ‘fully immersed musician.’ I can only agree entirely with all you’ve said. Music, in and of itself, becomes a spiritual path of sorts. I think that all fully immersed musicians experience what can only be referred to as ‘the Zone.’ Once we reach that Zone, it becomes an all important part of what we seek when performing music. I gave a quick listen to some tunes on your YouTube Channel and I’ve subscribed. Thanks for your enriching comments!
Loved this interview!
I’ve always ‘felt’ music, loved rhythm, loved to dance, don’t really understand Bach yet. Love Pink Floyd and how the notes they produced hit me in various ways, eliciting joy, sadness, anger, depending on the vibration from their instruments or voices. I grew up with the classics, Mozart etc., that did the same, touching cords within that spoke better than words.
Felt that the 60s and 70s gave rise to a renaissance in music, that took us a step ‘higher’. Since then it has gone down hill, and I no longer bother to listen to what is easily available, the commercial stuff which has been bad enough since music first came into our lives via the radio, but has since sunk so low it makes me feel ill to listen.
Rhythm and melody are such important parts of life, which helped me, via dancing the way I wanted to, to express the positive and exorcise a great deal of the negative.
I saw how learning the piano helped my vaccine damaged grand daughter form new neural connections that improved her life greatly.
What I hadn’t mentioned during the interview was that while it seems that music has gone downhill, especially as a unifying force, I believe that music is in a gestation period right now. Something wonderful is happening at the higher levels of musicianship. A sort of hybrid of music is beginning to happen. The great players, especially in Jazz, can’t seem to define themselves as being in one particular genre or the other. I’ve heard this from a few great Jazz musicians, like Hiromi Uehara, my buddy Rob Mullins who is a world class Jazz pianist, and others. What appears to be happening is an amalgam of the Western music styles combining Classical, Jazz, Blues and Rock. I believe that a new kind of music is about to be born, so take heart!
I was moved to hear that your grand daughter’s life has improved through playing piano. That’s absolutely wonderful. If she becomes passionate about it, she would do well to be encouraged by you and her immediate family to keep going! You never know. She may become one of the world’s greats.
I’m so glad you’ve now mentioned that you see a renaissance coming in the not to distant future. My son in law digs up some pretty inspired stuff now and then, so I’m sure you’re right, life and its expressions are endlessly unfolding, nothing remains the same, at least not exactly the same, some things could do with hurrying up, but that probably depends on how quickly us humans realise it is our mindsets and beliefs that create the realities we experience.
My grand daughter didn’t become a musician, she’s become an accomplished mother ;).
I’m looking forwards to coming across, most probably though my son in law, some good jazz/rock/classical and who knows what else fusion. Meanwhile my allotment and other activities call me away from all modern sound equipment. Love that you have bothered to answer so many people who commented.
Blessings to you.
What a fascinating conversation. I could listen to Vinnie all day. The bits about music being a language is so fascinating. I love birds, and I love the song of blackbirds. When I hear them in the evening sometimes, it sounds as if they’re talking to each other. I would love to know what they are discussing – probably worms, territory or weather. Or maybe blackbird philosophy.
Thank you for the kind words. I love bird song quite a bit myself!
I’ve been following James for about two years and have listened to/watched a couple of hundred of his casts. I devoured his excellent book, but I’m certain that I do not understand music theory. I love listening to music, and this is the only one that left me cold.
@James Corbett and fellow Corbeteers. Here’s a phenomenon that I think you would find fascinating. There’s a reason why, as James was describing in the podcast, musicians appear to become psychically linked as if some form of telepathy is happening.
Here’s why.
How metronomes begin to sync up.
YouTube Demonstration:
https://youtu.be/T58lGKREubo
The Harvard study from where this arises:
https://sciencedemonstrations.fas.harvard.edu/presentations/synchronization-metronomes
OK, my favorite question to ask musicians:
What is your favorite chord?
I have mine, but do not want to influence replies.
Curious what Vinnie or James think about Jacob Collier… he seems to compose and perform on a level beyond regular music. He creates the audience-choir effect at his concerts that everyone loves being a part of.
He recently improvised with both the audience and a full orchestra and brought everyone together in a sublime musical moment: https://youtu.be/TURkB9zqxa0