Entrainment...... (Get in line....)

[laughingwillow]

From wiki: Entrainment in the biomusicological sense refers to the synchronization of organisms to an external rhythm, usually produced by other organisms with whom they interact socially. Examples include firefly flashing, mosquito wing clapping as well as human music and dance.

This is a topic I find interesting. And I'm not sure where it really belongs. Its definitely a component of the groove, but its more than that. This is the mystical side of the musical experience, imo.

As a musician, there are instances when I can feel a physical connection (above my head) with certain other musicians who are playing along. There is a feeling like having a rope emanating from my head being gripped by a non-physical hand. And when the music stops, the grip loosens.

As an audience member, some of my most intense experiences have been due to what I perceived as entrainment occurring between hundreds of people, all focusing on the same music at the same time.

However, the most profound experiences in my memory were due to sharing an active sacrament with many people in the context of a live music experience. The combination has almost put me over the edge on more than one occasion.

I'm curious ot hear anyone else's experience with entrainment through music or other methods.

lw

[judih]

group meditations often offer a form of entrainment.
One example: Osho's Kundalini meditation with specific music for each of the 4 stages - and with correlating postures/movements - has anyone else tried it?
Aside from the total focus of mind and body in tune with the sound, there is the presence of the collective energy of everyone else in the room participating.

Or another meditation group when chanting 'om mane padmi hum' over and over gives rise to a group high that is as enriching as it is temporal.

One person meditating is wonderful, but the addition of a group field together with music makes for superb vibrations.

Another form of entrainment takes me back to when I was learning Sacred Gymnastics with a Gurdjieff group. In that case, music specifically written to awaken conscious thought and focus accompanied movements again specifically choreographed to hone thought and body connection. Guaranteed learning experience.

And the most recent experience was this evening during T'ai Chi.
Chi cong to soft sounds of nature awakens the spirit. Doing the 24-Cutta - specific movements done for the past 17 years or so in a group of more or less the same people and then finally doing the Sword Cutta. All these sets are composed of definite movements to prescribed music, each person self-focused while being aware of the group energy field. The chi flows, the mind is freed, and the chakras spin.

i've always wished i could take a kirilian photograph of the t'ai chi group experience.

[laughingwillow]

Right on, sistah-j.

I really want to learn t'ai chi. Often when participating in musical events where an active sacrament is making Its presence known, the dance movements of the moment remind me of Tai Chi I've watched. The movement of energy....

lw

[JRL]

If you put two mechanical clocks next to each other they will entrain, as will two women's menstrual cycles.

Entrainment is what i am after every time I strap on my ax. No entrainment = no groove.
That's where it comes from, everyones internal clock is connected.

Here is what a groove is, what funk, is what swing is: Four or 5 people that can count to 4(or 3 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 11 ect) together.
It's ALL about the quarter note pulse, that's the groove.
If it ain't entrained it ain't happening;

Just my 2 cents.

[senorsalvia]

Love that line about entrainment being the reason or goal when strapping on the ax!!  Spoken like a true Boddisatva (sp?) of 'da beat... :smoke:3 -----  I've had experiences when playing that were , shall we say 'not normal'.. Times where the groove was deep enough that the moment became trancendent in the sense that I would actually look at the others in the band, and see not their nromal human personages, but a sort of archetypical 'look' that defined them, thier personalities etc..  Very strange ....Yet precious and illuminating.....

[laughingwillow]

OK. So, it's apparent to me that entrainment is possible on many levels. And from examples given above, I'd dare to venture that entrainment plays a significant role in the natural ordering of the cosmos.

Now, I'd like to consider adding an active sacrament into the mix....

The effect is greatly amplified, in my experience. And I believe there exists a mechanism allowing for the transfer of thoughts/emotions/information from individual to group or vice versa. An organic wi-fi set-up, if you will.

lw

[judih]

If minds are set for go, then addition of sacrament amplifies all positives.
what happens if you're in a small group and there's a freak out - this may be tricky.
(freak-out personalities require no specific trigger - they can veer off the balance beam at any time - but still i'm thinking of one specific time, when i was very happy to be able to leave that scene and spiral off to another more happily vibrant one)

by the way, i wanted to add something about the t'ai chi thing i mentioned.  We have a core group of people who've been practising for a long time, but there are always beginners joining the group. they stand in a position where they can follow along no matter which way we turn, and they often feel the entrainment and are uplifted enough to come back! A newbie attempting 88 movements for the first time may feel intimidated, but those who get the chi oomph, get on the t'ai and fly.

[laughingwillow]

What about the freak out? It should be embraced, imo. Or at least acknowledged with little concern,* as one does with a child who falls down and then immediately looks up to a parent for guidance on their reaction.

Small group interaction is different than large under these conditions, imo. Small groups sometime lead to direct communication between members, making entrainment more difficult or even undesirable. A large group of relative strangers  with a psychedelic bent has usually worked well for me, up to a point.....

* Until an individual's psychological world has been rocked by an active sacrament, their reaction to a "bad trip" can't really be known until after the fact. And this could prove to be a most dangerous point in a person's psychological development. The potential variation of folk's "fight or flight" reaction to perceived danger shouldn't be underestimated.

lw

[JRL]

Music sometimes works similar to the sacraments. It's psychedelic in the true meaning of the word:mind manifesting.
It's all about bringing the outside in and the inside out(John Lennon said that), but not only manifests but gives you a handle on internal states. When I play with good players, telepathic entrainment is what we are going for. We really open up to each other, and even if you try to hide you are transparent. It's like group meditation but louder. My guitar is a biofeedback device and the starship rudder.

And what happens is that you really form a connection with the people you play with, closer than blood Mr. Weir said. It's like having been on a team, gone to war or taken acid with these people. Playing music is a real life thing if done right, it's about souls open and mingling.

Adding sacraments to the mix just makes it that more more apparent, which gives you a better handle, more feedback and pours energy into the process. But it's the same process I believe, just way upleveled.

BTW, I love my job

[jfurry]

Ive only felt that musical connection a few times when playing.<many times dancing through the show> recently i started playing with a guy and we really clicked it was magic pure and simple. acouple weeks ago he took some things from my home while i was away, next time we played it was so apparent that it was him, transparent so to speak. well then the stuff reapeared under my front porch, we cant seem to get the music going again, and its one of the most sad experiances that i can remember.

[laughingwillow]

That's an interesting story, furry. Funny, but not in a "haha" way. Man, too bad. But how can you trust the guy now?

lw

[jfurry]

ive got another friend i play with but man this guy and i hit it off from the first note. I cant ever really trust him again, i just couldnt believe how it showed in the music.

[laughingwillow]

Ain't it crazy how that works?

lw

[jfurry]

not trying to put a bummer in your thread jrl. it just kinda went along with the theme .

[laughingwillow]

furry: Your comments pertained to the topic at hand, imo. Entrainment is a bit like a magnet, maybe. And so along with attraction there is also repulsion. Real difficult or maybe impossible for most to entrain under those circumstances, imo. The process might be part of the subconscious and affected by emotional entanglements.

lw