Fear and Greed

What have we got to fear? With me it’s fear of loss. Loss of love. Loss of respect. Loss of security. I feel fear of failure. I don’t want to feel that others are judging or condemning me. This makes me afraid.

What have we got to be greedy about? I’m greedy/needy for recognition. Greedy for accomplishment or mastery of Life. I want to have it all and to keep it forever. Good luck.

The Native American style flute allows me to opportunity to confront my fear and greed. In order to learn and grow I must allow myself the right to make mistakes without labeling them as failures. To do this I must leave my fears behind. I accept that I am not going to be perfect all the time. This is OK. In fact only by giving myself the right to be imperfect can I continue to grow with my flute. My music is an exploration. Sometimes it leads to unexpected notes. Notice I did not say wrong notes. An unexpected note opens the space for a new improvisation to evolve. The improvisation finds a way to use the new note. The music improvises new ways to integrate the note into established patterns. This leads to new opportunities for expression. If we stay within the boundaries circumscribed by our fear of hitting a wrong/bad note nothing new happens. We are safe. But we are going in circles.

My greed wants me to be accomplished. I want to be confident that I have it wired. I don’t want to make mistakes. The mistakes that can lead to judgment or shame. Right! Try and make that one work. However, the music is a jealous lover. It will not allow of split attention. If my focus is on getting it right then I will not be surrendered to the music.

I know that the music coming through the flute can transport me to a place without fear and greed. The music is all that exists. Nothing else matters. My unique contribution to the universe is expressing itself in music. If no one hears – that’s OK. If the whole world hears – that’s OK too. What’s the difference? The flute has the answer.

Today we celebrate the birth of a man who sacrificed his life publicly so that the message ‘you are forgiven’ could get across. He told us that we can let go of our fear of failure. We can let go of our desire to be perfect. The Universe gives us the right to make mistakes. In fact it encourages us to do so.

Tuned In

What does ‘in tune’ mean? What is ‘being in tune’ any way and does it matter? Is your flute ‘in tune’? Is my flute ‘out of tune’? Am I out of tune? Are you out of tune? Are we ‘in tune’ with each other?

What happens if we are ‘out of tune’? Is that a bad thing? I’m getting confused – maybe I’m not in tune with what’s happening. Am I OK? Are you OK? Are our flutes OK? What will people think? Oh my God – I’m getting nervous about all this. Maybe something is wrong. I don’t want to be out of tune. Do you?

Now, relax and take a deep breath. We will try and sort out some of these questions. Then perhaps we will be in tune with tuning.

Music, like just about everything else in the modern world we live in has become standardized. If you want to be ‘in tune’ according to the latest (there have been many) standard then A is 440 Htz. This has not always been the standard. It is thought (though not proven) that Bach tuned to 415 Hz for A. Over the years there has been a steady creep upwards. This is because the higher frequency sounds ‘sweeter’ (what ever that means). I read somewhere – but don’t quote me – that what stopped the upward creep was opera singers. They rebelled because the high notes kept getting higher to the point that they were straining their voices to reach them.

So, by today’s standards if you want your flute to be in tune it should be calibrated to the big 440. Unless they have what is called perfect pitch most people can’t distinguish the difference between 440 Hz and 430Hz. Or 440 Hz and 450Hz. It sounds the same to them. Let’s draw a comparison with temperature. Can you distinguish between water that is 80F and water that is 82F? Or water that is 80F and 78F. Probably not. And if you could would that change anything.

There are flute players who carry around electronic tuners in their pockets. If a flute is not dead on at 440Hz they get all judgmental. They don’t even listen to the flute. Nor do they feel what is happening in themselves when they hear the sound. For them it’s all about what the electronic tuner says. I call these types tuning Nazis.

There is a myth out there that 432 Hz is the God ordained perfect pitch for A. Somehow 432Hz is thought to embody some cosmic harmonic or standard. This particular tuning is claimed to have profound effects on consciousness and on the cellular level of our bodies. But I have found no empirical evidence to support this claim. Lack of empirical evidence does not mean that this slightly lower tuning doesn’t have a different effect. I must confess that I prefer a flute that is tuned to about 432. This means that the flute is a little flat by contemporary standards. But I am going by the way I feel about it. Not by some standard of what is right or wrong. I’m not claiming it’s a magic number or sound. Or has healing properties.

So what does all this have to do with you and your flute?

For me the whole purpose of playing the Native American style flute is to relax and have fun. Playing my flute can help me get into a space where I am enjoying myself. Honestly, the last thing I am thinking about is whether or not my flute is in tune. I played my first simple river cane flute for a year and had a great time. Of course that little flute was way out of tune. I didn’t know it. Nobody complained. And, being “out of tune’ didn’t affect my enjoyment one bit. When I upgraded to another flute it was not to be ‘in tune’ but to get a clearer, sweet sound and more volume.

Relax, get in tune with your self and the world around you. Play. Is your flute out of tune? Does it really matter? Enjoy!