Life and Music After CCT

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Life and Music After CCT

• By Suzanne M. Clark

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CCT Focus

• Musician and new teacher
• Overuse injuries and qigong
• Self-reflection and self-understanding
• Ira Progoffs Journal of Self-Development
• Louise Montellos Musicians Wellness
• Musical creativity and process
• Building and Sustaining Connectedness to Ones
  Musical Creativity and Spirit
• CCT helped to develop six areas

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1) Harmony, Bass and Arranging

• Model my own thinking and process
• Reflective Practice
• Musical learning process
• Musical sounds
• Compositional process
• Open-ended Projects
• Define intent
• Identify process
• Assess outcomes

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2) The Creative Flame
Focus Creative Process vs.Product

• Creativity defined
• Process
• Personality
• Blocks
• People
• Tools
• Visualization

• Testing-assessment
• Cognitive restructuring
• 10 year rule
• Performance anxiety
• Overuse injuries
• Creativity cards

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Creative Flame Final Project

• A work-in-progress
• Challenges and stretches your creativity
• Meaningful to you
• Demonstrates your creative process
• Shows artistic/musical/creative application of
  course material
• A public presentation
• A written paper

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Process and Product 4 Examples
Jacosa Family montage set to her song and voice
Adrian Political statement set to Us by
Regina Spektor
Andrew Photography techniques set to Leo Kottke
Maeve Her music set to The Land of Counterpane
by R. L. Stevenson
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3) Playing in the Key of Chi Qigong for
Musicians
Focus Using qigong to cope with the daily stress
of a music students life

• Historical context
• Studies on qigong
• Examine energetic practices
• Specific application to musicians needs

• The Nine Phases
• The Seven Precious Gestures
• Gentle Tiger
• The Vitality Method
• Miscellaneous exercises

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Sharing Research Projects

• An aspect of qigong/course material of the
  students choice
• A short in-class presentation
• A reflective essay

• Chi of Food
• Asthma and Qigong
• Depression and Qigong
• Meditation

• The Chakras
• Reiki
• Chi and the Quantum Field
• Chi and Vocalizing

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What Do Students Think?

• Practicing qigong helps put me in a better place
  to practice or perform and keeps me aware of
  issues related to playing that previously have
  been more of a problem.
• I have also become more aware of my chi as a
  physical matter rather than an abstract notion or
  feeling. This will greatly improve my
  performances in my music.
• It has helped me get through many (playing)
  sessions this semester and has helped me balance
  this hectic schedule of musicianship.
• Ive also started doing some qigong with my
  guitar on me and it already is starting to help
  me with some blocks.
• It is very calming. It helps my outlook on life.
  I think in a sense, it is helping me accept
  myself more.

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4) The Music of The Beatles
Focus Based on Hayes 10 Year Rule

• Three stages of the Beatles compositions through
  a chronology of their work
• Context
• social and musical culture
• time period
• personal influences

• Harmonic and melodic structure
• Song form
• Rhythmic layers
• Bass structure
• Arranging techniques
• Lyrical structure

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And in the End

• What can you do to demonstrate your experience of
  The Beatles?
• Creative experimentation with Beatle techniques
• Composition
• Arranging
• Lyric-writing
• Recording - technological
• Research-based project
• What excites you?
• What else do you want to know?

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And in the End the Students

• Paul is Dead Rumor
• Covers of Beatle tunes
• George and Indian Influences
• Musical Re-creations
• Beatles and Maharishi
• Many, many compositions

• Maya Jazz composer turned rock
• Jenna Arrangement of Yesterday
• Kat String quartet/vocals/pop
• John Meter/phrase, harmony
• Maria Lyrical journey, harmony
• Joe Bluegrass Taxman

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5) Seminar in Creativity

• Online summer course for CCT
• Examines
• Creative Fundamentals
• Creative Blocks
• Finding Creative Ground
• Relies heavily on creative artists
• What my musical life brings to CCT

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6) Professional Development

• A study involving creativity and the music of
  popular, rock and jazz genres
• Creative influences
• Creative process
• Creative blocks
• Creative evaluation