Music and Magic

[Pelta]

Rhiannon333

i could feel something building up around us. i am completely new to everything, but this energy is the way magic should feel, i think. i wish i could train this somehow, i really need someone to learn from and mentor me.

Did you try to harness this energy? Put it towards a useful goal?

Try experimenting.  

[wikkedpixie]

All I really know at this point is that music is and always has been very soothing and therapeutic for me, no matter what I need it for. I listen to it when I need to escape from all the drama around me, when I need to meditate, or whatever. It just seems to help me clear my head. So I guess when I actually get things figured out as to a direction I want to follow, it will be very important in my path.  

[Pelta]

wikkedpixie

All I really know at this point is that music is and always has been very soothing and therapeutic for me, no matter what I need it for. I listen to it when I need to escape from all the drama around me, when I need to meditate, or whatever. It just seems to help me clear my head. So I guess when I actually get things figured out as to a direction I want to follow, it will be very important in my path.

Music can indeed be very therapeutic. It's used a lot in calming exercises, provided you're not listening to The Ring* or something. Calming music in doctors' waiting rooms and airplanes before you take off are really common. I swear if Aer Lingus plays The Four Seasons one more time...

*Wagner's. Not the movie.  

[Greeneyed_falcon]

I find music very powerful in itself but I can't really work magic and listen to music at the same time as a general rule because my ability to split my concentration is just not that good (maybe thats why its fallen out of fashion in modern magic?). Except drums, any sort of percussion really works for me.
Interestingly (and I only discovered this earlier today) certain tracks off Katie Melua's CD really helped my telekenisis/psychokenisis (I never know the right terms for things) and I'm not usually a fan of her.
Does that happen for anyone else here?  

[With Motion]

Pelta

wikkedpixie

All I really know at this point is that music is and always has been very soothing and therapeutic for me, no matter what I need it for. I listen to it when I need to escape from all the drama around me, when I need to meditate, or whatever. It just seems to help me clear my head. So I guess when I actually get things figured out as to a direction I want to follow, it will be very important in my path.

Music can indeed be very therapeutic. It's used a lot in calming exercises, provided you're not listening to The Ring* or something. Calming music in doctors' waiting rooms and airplanes before you take off are really common. I swear if Aer Lingus plays The Four Seasons one more time...

*Wagner's. Not the movie.

This song is possibly the most calming one I've ever listened to. I love it so much.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cpSv2mNhhc  

[Pelta]

Greeneyed_falcon

I find music very powerful in itself but I can't really work magic and listen to music at the same time as a general rule because my ability to split my concentration is just not that good (maybe thats why its fallen out of fashion in modern magic?). Except drums, any sort of percussion really works for me.

I know exactly what you mean, though it really depends on the person. I cannot have music playing when I read, do my college work, dress or anything else (except cook for some reason). It's just far too distracting and I find myself completely unable to concentrate on anything else.

However, this isn't the case for lots of people at all. Loads of people find "background" music really helpful to productivity, including when used in magic. It depends on the person.

Now, what you said about beats make a lot of sense. Beats and rhythm are the fundamental essential building blocks of music (and life) and can be extremely helpful in magic. I find it much easier to use a dance/trance track to do magic than something soft and undanceable. It has to be something I can dance to for me to use it in a specific way that helps magically.

Quote:

Interestingly (and I only discovered this earlier today) certain tracks off Katie Melua's CD really helped my telekenisis/psychokenisis (I never know the right terms for things) and I'm not usually a fan of her.
Does that happen for anyone else here?

Telekinesis? Like moving things long distance without touching them? *raised eyebrow*  

[Pelta]

*Shameless resurrection*

Let's move this topic on a bit.

I do a music degree in college. I spend every day of my life doing at least something musical. There are a lot of days I absolutely hate this. Most, however, I get a thrill from the fact that I've devoted so much of myself to something so special.

This really isn't that far from the way a lot of people devote themselves to their religion/path. If something you love becomes a part of your life, it's probably not surprising that you'll devote a lot of your time and energy to it.

Does anybody have experiences similar to this? In any part of your life - perhaps to your gods, sport, music etc.

What has always struck me is the fact that the more you love something the more you work at it; the more you work at it the better you become and the more you know; the more you know (in most cases) the more you love it. It's cyclic, and as long as you know it's worth it you'll continue to work at it 'til it kills you.

Is such passion laudable, or is such single-mindedness absolute folly?

Discuss.  

[TeaDidikai]

Actually- I really don't.

While I have always admired people who do- I seem to express the "Jack of all trades- master of none" in my life, unless you count tea, but even that is a bit superficial.  

[Daffodil the Destroyer]

I'm a music major as well - but I have found that my particular school is slowly killing my love of what I do.. but that's neither here nor there, I suppose.

When I'm really into it, playing music does feel absolutely amazing.. it's almost meditative to repeat a phrase over and over, slowly increasing the tempo as I'm learning a piece. Music is one of the few ways in which I've felt I am really in touch with "the divine" (as I'm not exactly on any particular path at the moment).  

[Pelta]

Daffodil the Destroyer

I'm a music major as well - but I have found that my particular school is slowly killing my love of what I do.. but that's neither here nor there, I suppose.

Where do you go to college? (If you don't mind me asking) I ask because it depends a huge amount on what you're learning. Here we do one single subject the entire four years at college (except that I do two because I work like a demon). I may be wrong, but I've been told the American college system for a liberal arts degree often means you do not focus on one particular area, meaning that each thing you do gets done in less detail. If you're doing something in-depth you often get more scope for immersing yourself in what you're doing. However, if I decide in ten years that I don't want a job in music then I'm screwed. See what I mean?

I was talking to a friend of mine who's doing a liberal arts degree and the number of varied courses she does is less than the number of single courses I do in music alone. Let's not even count the English lectures. In any case (if that made any sense) what I mean is that you may not be enjoying it because you're not getting the opportunity to work at it in depth.

[Sorry this doesn't make too much sense. I may come back to edit this some time when I'm not late for aural training.]  

[TheDisreputableDog]

Yeah, regular American colleges want you to be semi-well-rounded. The only problem is that they require a little bit of everything and sometimes restrict your qualifications or time so you can't have more than a tiny foray into anything that's not your declared major.

I'm a computer science major, and I need so many credits of comp sci classes, as well as so many physical science, social science, arts/humanities, mathematics, and language/culture credits (the way my school sets it up). And only certain courses qualify for general requirement credit, and there are restrictions on how many of those courses per department can be used for general requirement credit.

Which is really annoying. I don't have time to balance both my comp sci classes and the classes I'm interested in beyond the general requirements, so if I want to finish in four years I pretty much only get to take the required comp sci classes and the general requirement classes. I'm trying to pull off a gender and women's studies minor, but that means I really don't have time for anything else like creative writing classes, music classes, science classes, language classes, film classes, and comp sci electives.  

[TeaDidikai]

DD

Yeah, regular American colleges want you to be semi-well-rounded. The only problem is that they require a little bit of everything and sometimes restrict your qualifications or time so you can't have more than a tiny foray into anything that's not your declared major.

That's what elective credits are for. wink  

[TheDisreputableDog]

TeaDidikai

DD

Yeah, regular American colleges want you to be semi-well-rounded. The only problem is that they require a little bit of everything and sometimes restrict your qualifications or time so you can't have more than a tiny foray into anything that's not your declared major.

That's what elective credits are for. wink

I don't have tiiime. gonk

Although that might be because I've had to repeat three classes so far for various reasons. And the GWST minor takes up the little "extra" time I have.

Can I just stay in school forever and learn lots and lots of fun things? domokun  

[TeaDidikai]

TheDisreputableDog

Can I just stay in school forever and learn lots and lots of fun things? domokun

Only if you figure out how I can do it as well.  

[Pelta]

TeaDidikai

TheDisreputableDog

Can I just stay in school forever and learn lots and lots of fun things? domokun

Only if you figure out how I can do it as well.

Come to Ireland. College is (mostly) free here as long as you have an EU citizenship. 3nodding