Performance & The Subconscious Mind- Part 15; Dr. John Diamond; Peter Muir interview; Music As Therapy
February 25, 2011 by Richard Matteson
Hi,
Understanding Music & Performance
Peter Muir; Director of the Institute for Music and Health
In this blog we feature an interview with Peter Muir, Director of the Institute for Music and Health (www.musichealth.net) that will connect the Kinesiology work of Dr. John Diamond founder of the Institute for Music and Health to his in depth study of music.
Diamond’s groundbreaking book, Your Body Doesn’t Lie became the standard for the muscle testing procedure (See my blog on Muscle Testing & Behavioral Kinesiology). Diamond followed with the three volume series of books, Life Energy in Music Vol. 1- Vol. 3. Here’s an excerpt:
The Purpose of Music
“The basic purpose of music is to be therapeutic, to raise the life energy of the listener. This simple yet profound truth seems to have been forgotten in this era which acclaims virtuosity and sophisticated musicology. The function of music since its beginning has been the spiritual uplifting of the listener so his life energy is enhanced by the experience.” Dr John Diamond (1983) The Life Energy in Music Vol. 1
Here’s some information about theDiamond Method for Music from Dr. Diamond’s website:
The Diamond Method for Music marks a revolution in the field of music and health. It offers a totally new understanding of the relationship between music and health and, more importantly, gives us unprecedented insight into how we can use music to benefit ourselves and society in general.
The Diamond Method for Music involves literally thousands of specific techniques and approaches to maximize the therapeutic potential of music. Every variable discovered to affect the Life Energy of music has been isolated and investigated, including: the performer; his instrument; the genre of music being played; the composer of the music; the notation of the music; the acoustics and other properties of the performance space; the systems of recording and playback if a recording is being used. Each one of these factors has produced detailed research findings. These are of value in their own right, and also, more importantly, have made it possible to delineate numerous factors that impede the Life Energy of music-making, and so develop ways to realize the highest creativity in music-making.
After briefly studying Dr. Diamond’s work, reading some of his work and chatting on the phone with Peter Muir, I’ve come up with some conclusions:
1) As a performer your conscious attitude towards yourself, the music and the audience is critical to the success of the performance and the reaction of the audience. Your attitude should be the spirit of giving and of love. Diamond calls this an “altruistic attitude.”
2) Your conscious attitude can’t always be in alignment with your subconscious habits and memories which may be negative or conflicting. [Diamond- Youtube lecture]
3) Connecting music to your deeper consciousness, which is one of love, sharing and giving, raises your Life Energy. [Diamond- Youtube lecture] (Notice also that Diamond capitalizes Life Energy which places it in a position of reverence. There is a correlation between my belief that God is love and his belief that Life Energy is love.) During a successful performance it raises the life energy level of both the performer and the audience.
4) Performances should be interactive. A performance is a collaboration between you and the audience. Audience participation is encouraged. The audience will benefit more if they are participating and less if they are watching.
5) Performing with an altruistic attitude of love and giving is especially beneficial for increasing the Life Energy of the performer.
6) Certain sounds and types of music enhance life energy, others do not. Music is therapeutic and can improve health and longevity. A performance can increase your life energy- play any type of music as long as it’s done with the right attitude.
7) The emphasis is on the act of performing as a form of giving, not on critical technical requirements.
So “enjoy yourself” and “play from the heart.” Once you have acquired the skill and ability to perform, don’t worry about technical issues, reach out to your audience and include them in the performance.
This doesn’t mean that the serious student or professional performer doesn’t need to have good technique or know the music and be able to perform it at an acceptable level- once you’ve reached the level of skill and competency necessary to play the music, you need to focus on creating enjoyment for you and your audience.
I still have many questions which Dr. Diamond and Peter Muir do not seem to address: Why do people play music? What is their motivation? What is an acceptable performance? How do you make that judgement? What criteria are used to judge a performance?
If you want to be a medical doctor you need to be certified and be approved to operate. To be a professional musician there are standards that must be met. What are they?
I’m not referring to music therapy that involves children, the disabled and elderly. Or an informal jam or singing. It doesn’t matter if you play “the broom” as played by Lucky an Australian folk artist (the broom was also featured on an album by Captain Beefheart- 1st broom and 2nd broom), electric guitar, or piano—there are better ways to learn to play an instrument and/or sing than others. What are the best ways to learn?
My focus is establishing criteria for successful performances, whether it’s classical music or blues. The purpose of these blogs is to improve the level of performance as well as the spirit of the performer and audience.
About Peter Muir: Peter and I have several commonalities- we both perform (Peter’s an accomplished pianist); we both write (pick up his book, Long Lost Blues), love and play blues and ragtime music; and we both do some music research. Here’s a bit more about him from his bio:
Dr. Muir’s philosophy is guided by a belief in the fundamental beneficial power of music. He has worked closely for twenty years with John Diamond M.D., the foremost authority on using music as a health modality. He is director of the Institute for Music and Health in Verbank, NY, a nationally recognized center pioneering the use of music for well-being.
Telephone Interview by Richard Matteson with Peter Muir: 2-25-11
Question: Tell me about your work with Dr. Diamond
Peter Muir: I’ve worked with Dr. Diamond for twenty years. You could say I have a pretty good understanding of many of his concepts.
Question: Tell me about one of Dr. Diamond fundamental concepts. What is “life energy”?
Peter Muir: Your “life energy” is known as “Chi,” the life force. [The word "chi" has its roots in the ancient Chinese culture and philosophy. Chi refers the life force of all living things. Muir mentioned that in India, it is 'prana' (breath). In Japan it is ki, 'the life force energy'.]
The life force inside you is a basis for health. When your life energy is low – you are susceptible to health problems; When your life energy is high – you are in good health.
When a person is “outward” they are in good health; when they are “inward” they are in poor health. [This concept also relates to a performance. A good performer reaches "out" to the audience- the behavior is outward or healthy]
Question: Tell me about Dr. Diamond’s muscle testing (see last two blogs for information on muscle testing) as a way to understand the body and subconscious mind.
Peter Muir: Muscle testing shows a stress in the body through the muscles. Dr. Diamond’s book, Your Body Doesn’t Lie became the standard for the muscle testing procedure.
Question: Are you familiar with David Hawkin’s book Force Vs. Power where he talks about Diamond’s muscle testing and also (Hawkins) calibration of consciousness?
Peter Muir: No, I don’t know Hawkins. Many people have used Dr. Diamond’s muscle testing procedure and adapted it to their work.
Question: What do you think about muscle testing?
Peter Muir: I don’t use muscle testing, I use awareness of the body. I’ve trained be aware of the stresses in the body and I’ve developed an awareness.
Question: Do you believe muscle testing works?
Peter Muir: I believe muscle testing is almost 100% accurate- if done under the right conditions. It’s just getting the right conditions. I don’t want to talk any more about muscle testing in this interview.
Question: Tell me about performance anxiety.
Peter Muir: Performance anxiety and stage fright are really misnomers- the performer isn’t afraid of the performance just as stage fright isn’t fear of the stage. The performer has a fear of the audience.
The performer has to realize that the fears are not justified. The audience is not there to notice errors. The way you think about your audience is important. You need to develop an altruistic attitude, you are using it to help the people in the audience enjoy the performance.
You need to take your “ego” out of it. Young children for example, have no problem performing- it’s a natural thing for them.
Question: So the emphasis is on enjoyment of the music and not technical issues.
Peter Muir: There is Music with a big “M” and there is music with a small “m”.
By “Music” – with a big “M” – we mean the whole other side which makes music so special – feeling, personality, and expression.
By “music” – with a small “m” – we mean the technical aspects – knowing how to play the instruments and sing the songs correctly, with the right notes and the right rhythm.
Students will respond far more to teaching which emphasizes Music over music. That is they will respond to the warmth, enthusiasm and sincerity of Music-making much more than whether we are singing in tune or playing the right notes.
It is a sad fact that most people who are taught instruments give them up very quickly. The reason for this is usually because of an overemphasis in the teaching of music at the expense of Music. What started out as fun and a means of personal expression rapidly becomes a matter of mechanical scale-practice and note-learning.
We are therefore concerned with developing and integrating both sides of the equation. Not everyone can be a great musical technician – musical virtuosi are rare. But everyone can be a great Musician, and inspire others to love and enjoy Music. If your goal is to use Music not just as another skill to be learnt or as entertainment but as a way to enhance your life, you must focus on the Music, big “M,” not small “m.”
Question: Tell me about your music programs at the Institute for Music and Health.
Peter Muir: In Canberra, Australia, Susan West runs the Hand-in-Hand Music Program. She has grade school kids singing for everybody—seniors in nursing homes, other students, the whole city!
Most of the songs used in the Hand-in-Hand Music Program are Tin Pan Alley songs!
[The program Hand-in-Hand brings together classes of children (aged between 6 and 11) with groups of the elderly, disabled and/or disadvantaged in the community with the aim of altruistically sharing music-making as a means of life enhancement.
The songs of Tin Pan Alley are used as a communicative ‘bridge’ between young and old focussing on active participation and shared musical experiences. The aim is not to provide choral groups that sing for nursing home residents but to share music one-on-one; to make music with the residents.] From Life Energy Foundation article by Susan West.
Question: Any final comments?
Peter Muir: All music has life energy and anyone can participate. It doesn’t matter if you can’t play just sing. One interesting thing I’ve learned is- it’s the performer who most benefits from a performance.
Thanks Peter! Thanks Dr. Diamond! By the way love your artwork too!
Music is good for your health and so is performing. Looks like I’m going to be around for a while!
More to come,
Richard