My morning routine usually consists of sitting with my coffee (half caff these days) and reading. This morning it wasn’t quite right, I have so much to do at the computer today I thought I should just take my coffee there and get started downloading the images I shot yesterday and getting straight to editing. I usually, once I get the download started, check emails for the day, facebook and twitter.  This morning the Ted talks jumped out at me. Claron McFadden: Singing the primal mystery , and I completely enjoyed enjoyed it.  I am surrounded with amazingly talented musicians and I am always in awe of them.  I am what I call an appreciator of music, that means I can’t carry a note (trust me on this one!). Over the last few years with the encouragement from the musician friends around me, I now will join in on jams with the odd shaking of the avocado or the drumming of a hand drum, and yes they are right, anyone can join in.. especially in such a loving safe environment. Over all however I will leave the music to those who have it flowing through their veins.  I will be a professional appreciator.

Which brings me to why I wanted to write this note.  After listening to the “Ted Talks of the day” I saw another one that looked interesting – Evelyn Glennie shows how to listen. We all need to learn how to listen more so I thought ok.. lets learn. Her talk hit many different levels for me, some on the sense of experiencing music and some that I could totally relate to my own creativity and photography.

There are a few things she said that I would like to share..

Its the things you notice when you aren’t actually with your instrument that become the most interesting to explore.
What we see in front of us gives us an idea about a “person” but its so basically shallow – its not enough – we have to listen to ourselves, we need time with people to interpret them not translate them. (rings so true, as a photographer thats exactly how I feel, I am interpreting the person before me, its how I perceive them, not just making a “copy” of them)

What the eye sees there is always sound happening – looking at a tree moving she hears the leaves rustling. (made me think what do people hear when they look at my photos?)

I really loved this statement – Say something through music, which basically is sound. We can then reach all sorts of things to all sorts of people but I don’t want to take responsibility for all your emotional baggage. Thats up to you. That determines what and how we listen to certain things. (all of our personal experience come to play when we listen to music, read a book, look at a photograph. There are no 2 people who will ever have the same emotional experience around a piece of art. Once you realize that it allows you to be free to make the art YOU want to make and not listen to the “others”, but to make it because that is what you see/experience. There is no this is right that is wrong.. if its what you need to say than so be it!)

Hope you enjoy Evelyns presentation as much as I did:

This entry was posted on Friday, March 25th, 2011 at 11:19 am