Morning Music

Good Morning!

. . . . . . every day, every one of us, we all do it.

And there is a lot of advice about how to do it, mornings, I mean. When it should be, what you should do, what's for breakfast, etc.

Srini Rao has contributed this fascinating little article about mornings and how your Device, your Web, and your choices affect it.

Starting the Day on the Internet is Damaging Your Brain

                                      photo by National Institutes of Health

His gist is that you don't want to begin your day putting junk into your brain any more than you want to begin it by putting junkfood into your belly. Also that if you choose first-of-the-day activities which exercise and nourish your mind, it'll work better. Makes sense. Srini includes writing in his morning routine. He's a writer. I however am a musician. Many great options are available for us sonically-oriented. Here's one I've valued of late:

*Grab an electric guitar, plugged into an amp which has a headphone jack (this way everyone in your house/neighborhood/city needn't share in your morning ritual).

*Tune. Breathe. Straighten. I refer to this as guitar yoga. More on that another time.

*Play music.

Simple, seemingly. However this last one, the actual playing, involves a whole world of options and which ones you choose depends on your capabilities and your intentions, your outlook, and quite importantly: your mood. Usually, I close my eyes and ease through a few physical warmups ~ right hand string crossings and sweeps, tremolos, scales, arpeggios. Whichever ones I feel like or have simply been focusing on lately. I like this beginning since it addresses the physical aspect of playing, just like warming up, stretching, or actual yoga would for the body.

Then I might improvise for a bit ~ melodically, or more focused on chords, riffs, arpeggios. Or maybe find a backing track and let the computer provide a context.

Or I'll launch into a song that's been on my mind.

 

The point is I get sounds moving outward. Ideally without too much in the way of goals or stress, no vital destination. It is indeed a kind of musical meditation, and as Mr. Rao states, allowing one's mind to expand thusly, first thing in the morning, with an uncluttered consciousness, is an exceedingly healthy way to start your day.

 

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