Many people I meet desire more "harmony" in their lives.
When I question them, I often find though that their understanding of harmony is unrealistic.
From a musical perspective, harmony is a skilled and creative use of difference.
Two or more different pitches (some higher, some lower) are sounded at the same time, and the relationships between these different pitches are harmonious.
The word harmony originates with the Greek harmonía, which means joint, framework, agreement. This word is akin to hárma, chariot, harmós, joint, and ararískein, to join together.
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A critical musical skill is being able to "hold your own" while someone else makes different sounds than you are making. Only when both of you are centered in your individual sounds, can you "join together" to make harmony.
In large musical groups, people may be making many different pitches (higher or lower sounds) and rhythms simultaneously. When the people are skilled, the end result sounds harmonious and beautiful.
I invite you to consider the realities of harmony next time you think that peace on this planet can be created by the denial, suppression, overlooking, or dismissal of difference. (Which strikes me as the general strategy being attempted in too many cases.)
You are not the same as your neighbor. An oak tree is not the same as a squirrel. One spiritual path does not brings its adherents to the same destination as another.
By definition, we cannot create harmony as long as we try to deny the truth of difference with nice sounding platitudes about how we're all "the same underneath." It's also interesting to me that we feel so threatened by difference. I believe we are confused. We think that disharmony is created by difference, rather than by lack of skill in working with difference.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
True unity of human hearts and minds will occur when we ALL accept one another's differences and learn how to make skilled, creative use of those differences to bring us ALL into greater states of aliveness and pleasure. Those who refuse to take ALL into account, eventually find themselves starved for music.
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One of my favorite musical forms is Georgian polyphony. The following video, featuring the Georgian Harmony Choir and the sun gives you a short (2:39) introduction to this amazing music. It's immediately obvious that to succeed in forming this harmonious sonic tapestry, each singer has to be able to make his or her sound while also carefully listening to the other singers.
When I question them, I often find though that their understanding of harmony is unrealistic.
From a musical perspective, harmony is a skilled and creative use of difference.
Two or more different pitches (some higher, some lower) are sounded at the same time, and the relationships between these different pitches are harmonious.
The word harmony originates with the Greek harmonía, which means joint, framework, agreement. This word is akin to hárma, chariot, harmós, joint, and ararískein, to join together.
*********************************
A critical musical skill is being able to "hold your own" while someone else makes different sounds than you are making. Only when both of you are centered in your individual sounds, can you "join together" to make harmony.
In large musical groups, people may be making many different pitches (higher or lower sounds) and rhythms simultaneously. When the people are skilled, the end result sounds harmonious and beautiful.
I invite you to consider the realities of harmony next time you think that peace on this planet can be created by the denial, suppression, overlooking, or dismissal of difference. (Which strikes me as the general strategy being attempted in too many cases.)
You are not the same as your neighbor. An oak tree is not the same as a squirrel. One spiritual path does not brings its adherents to the same destination as another.
By definition, we cannot create harmony as long as we try to deny the truth of difference with nice sounding platitudes about how we're all "the same underneath." It's also interesting to me that we feel so threatened by difference. I believe we are confused. We think that disharmony is created by difference, rather than by lack of skill in working with difference.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
True unity of human hearts and minds will occur when we ALL accept one another's differences and learn how to make skilled, creative use of those differences to bring us ALL into greater states of aliveness and pleasure. Those who refuse to take ALL into account, eventually find themselves starved for music.
************************
One of my favorite musical forms is Georgian polyphony. The following video, featuring the Georgian Harmony Choir and the sun gives you a short (2:39) introduction to this amazing music. It's immediately obvious that to succeed in forming this harmonious sonic tapestry, each singer has to be able to make his or her sound while also carefully listening to the other singers.
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