Life and Music After CCT
By: Suzanne M. Clark
CCT Focus
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Musician and new teacher
 Overuse injuries and qigong
 Self-reflection and self-understanding
– Ira Progoff’s Journal of Self-Development
– Louise Montello’s Musicians’ Wellness
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Musical creativity and process
 Building and Sustaining Connectedness to
One’s Musical Creativity and Spirit
… CCT helped to develop six areas…
1) Harmony, Bass and Arranging
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Model my own thinking and process
 Reflective Practice:
– Musical learning process
– Musical sounds
– Compositional process
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Open-ended Projects:
– Define intent
– Identify process
– Assess outcomes
2) The Creative Flame
Focus: Creative Process vs.Product
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Creativity defined
Process
Personality
Blocks
People
Tools
Visualization
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Testing-assessment
Cognitive
restructuring
10 year rule
Performance anxiety
Overuse injuries
Creativity cards
Creative Flame Final Project
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A work-in-progress:
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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
Process and Product: 4 Examples
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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
3) Playing in the Key of Chi:
Qigong for Musicians
Focus: Using qigong to cope with the daily
stress of a music student’s life
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Historical context
 Studies on qigong
 Examine energetic
practices
 Specific application
to musicians’ needs
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The Nine Phases
The Seven Precious
Gestures
Gentle Tiger
The Vitality Method
Miscellaneous
exercises
Sharing Research Projects
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An aspect of qigong/course material of the
student’s choice
– A short in-class presentation
– A reflective essay
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Chi of Food
 Asthma and Qigong
 Depression and
Qigong
 Meditation
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The Chakras
 Reiki
 Chi and the
Quantum Field
 Chi and Vocalizing
What Do Students Think?
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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.
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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.
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It has helped me get through many (playing) sessions this
semester and has helped me balance this hectic schedule
of musicianship.
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I’ve also started doing some qigong with my guitar on me
and it already is starting to help me with some blocks.
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It is very calming. It helps my outlook on life. I think in a
sense, it is helping me accept myself more.
4) The Music of The Beatles
Focus: Based on Hayes’ 10 Year Rule
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Three stages of the
 Harmonic and
Beatles’ compositions
melodic structure
through a chronology
 Song form
of their work
 Rhythmic layers
 Context:
 Bass structure
– social and musical
culture
 Arranging techniques
– time period
 Lyrical structure
– personal influences
And in the End …
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What can you do to demonstrate your
experience of The Beatles?
– Creative experimentation with Beatle
techniques:
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Composition
Arranging
Lyric-writing
Recording - technological
– Research-based project
• What excites you?
• What else do you want to know?
And in the End… the Students
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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
5) Seminar in Creativity
Online summer course for CCT
 Examines:
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– 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
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A study involving creativity and the
music of popular, rock and jazz genres
– Creative influences
– Creative process
– Creative blocks
– Creative evaluation