Guitar Lesson: Become a Mystic on the Electric Guitar

Become A Mystic on the Electric Guitar
by Jason Earls, author of Cocoon of Terror & How to Become a Guitar Player from Hell
http://becomeguitaristfromhell.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/zevi35711


(WARNING: This article contains somewhat bizarre or unusual exercises and commentary that some may consider “philosophical” or “spiritual” in nature; it’s basically an “outside-the-box” thinking lesson.)

A mystic can be defined in many ways. Perhaps the definition I would agree with most is, a person who intuitively experiences (or strives for) obscure types of knowledge through the practice of various “religious” methods such as meditation, praying, study of ancient texts, etc. Examples of mystical experiences could be 1) A feeling of “one-ness” with the infinite forces of the universe, 2) Having a sense of timelessness, 3) Seeing beyond normal modes of morality, 4) Witnessing various images of God, etc.

To explain mysticism a bit further using different words, and with the goal of being as objective as possible, we could say that the practice of mysticism consists of certain “religious-oriented” people seeking after divine attributes of God, with some claiming they experience various mystical states while doing so; and hence the people who engage in such activities can be called “mystics.”

Note that some philosophers and logicians (Wittgenstein, for example) have claimed that mysticism is really not so “special” or “extraordinary” after all. Instead, they view mysticism in the following way: certain objects or things exist in this world, yet simultaneously these things cannot be explained, or are inexpressible – i.e. they cannot be talked about in a way that makes sense, which alone constitutes them being “mystical” in relation to other things in the world.

Personally, I believe in mysticism only in this way: I realize man’s five senses are limited, thus there are things we cannot experience in any way as a result. Yet I also realize there are certain “sensitive” individuals in the world who experience things other people cannot because they possess a heightened sense of awareness, or are especially hyper-vigilant, or have other “extrasensory” perception(s); and these hyperaware individuals, if they focus enough of their energy or attention on striving for mystical experiences, may be able to attain something of the “divine” experiences they are seeking.

The skeptic usually denies the mystic’s claims and says that mystical states do not exist. But realize these doubts are only possible since mystical experiences cannot be put into words and because they defy logic, “common sense,” normal modes of reasoning, etc.

So what does mysticism have to do with music? What does it have to do with playing the guitar? Plenty.

Music is obviously an extremely powerful medium. Many people consider music to have certain “spiritual” properties. And almost every individual in the world likes some type of music. Remember also that certain logicians and philosophers have claimed that mysticism concerns itself primarily with what IS and IS NOT expressible. (To reiterare Wittgenstein’s opinion of mysticism: certain “things” in the world show themselves, yet they cannot be put into words, hence these are mystical things.) So what are the common denominators here? Silence and nonsilence (music); plus spirituality – where these themes overlap, we can hopefully extrapolate those qualities to make them more effective.

Because I want to state my overall purpose in this article as clearly as possible, I will write this sentence: By choosing to become a mystic on the electric guitar, you will strive to have “divine” mystical experiences as you perform; and if you achieve any, you will use your guitar to convey these experiences to others through the music you create with your guitar.

As you can probably guess, I cannot list an exact formula, or any specific exercises using guitar tablature, to allow you to convey the mystical experiences you might have (if any). This article is explaining an experimental, outside-the-box, guitar technique in which you’re pretty much on your own. Nevertheless, here is an outline of an algorithm you may want to attempt:

Strap on your guitar. Meditate or concentrate on the power inside yourself and the universe and try to align yourself with those forces – seek to have a mystical experience (ecstasies or visions or knowledge gained) while playing your guitar. Translate those feelings into your music. Share them with your audience. Make them feel the mystical states you experience. That is probably as far as you can go.

Most mystical experiences will be inexpressible. But perhaps music is the proper vehicle for them. Silence. Remember, there is no silence, which John Cage adequately proved.

At the risk of repeating myself, I will list a few more sentences and questions for you to contemplate, since the exact ideas in this chapter may be difficult to understand.

1. The mystical guitarist uses his dedication to esoteric spirituality to inspire himself and transcend the boundaries of what a more “normal” guitarist can achieve.

2. Inspiration to compose and perform music comes from states of the mind (and other areas) that are not fully understood by psychology or any other discipline. Perhaps it is possible for a musician to go into these and other realms of the mind that are inaccessible to others and be able to pull music out of them. Wouldn’t this be considered mystical?

3. The mystical guitarist’s main goal is to make powerful music so they can share their “divine” experiences with others and transport people’s consciousnesses to other planes more beautiful and more extraordinary.

4. Because many people indentify music as being spiritual in some way, and since music IMPACTS people’s emotions in a myriad of ways with no known method of describing exactly how the process works, is music not itself a case of the mystical?

5. The mystical guitarist nurtures every aspect of spirituality within them, continually focusing on it as they are playing and improvising, striving to feed their devotion to becoming one with the “metaphysical realm” since they know it will elevate them to greater levels on their instrument as well as helping to increase their mental health and spirituality.

6. If a mystic strives after union with the forces of the universe, and they are a virtuoso musician, and they do in fact have a genuine mystical experience, can the same religious or mystical qualities they feel be passed on to members of an audience through their playing? I realize the chances of someone being a mystic and a virtuoso musician simultaneously, then experiencing something “divine” as they are performing, are all very slim, but with six billion people in the world, surely someone somewhere at some point in history could do it, couldn’t they? Is it possible to have a divine experience while playing a musical instrument at the same time? Or would it take most of their concentration to simply play the music? Not if they’re a virtuoso.

If you have a mystical experience while playing your guitar and then share those feelings with members of your audience, I believe you will be the first musician to ever accomplish this feat.

One more thing: I believe it’s actually easier to become a “monk” on the electric guitar than a mystic. When I was 16 years old, many people would have probably considered my behavior similar to that of a monk’s living in a monastery. I would do nothing but practice my guitar for most of the day, usually around 9 or 10 hours. I had very few friends at the time, and I would read and study guitar magazines for hours, using them for both entertainment and learning purposes. I abstained from alcohol and tobacco and I lived on a diet of Coke, omelets, and egg rolls. I did not have a girlfriend and rarely attended parties or social gatherings. If I would have been a more spiritual or religious person at that time, I could have definitely been considered a genuine monk. The only thing that mattered to me during that period of my life was practicing my guitar as much as possible.

When I finally got a girlfriend a year or two later, she was jealous of the time I spent with my guitar, and once she stated, “You love your guitar more than me, don’t you?”

“No,” I lied.

After that, nearly all of my girlfriends have claimed that I prefered my guitar over them. Sometimes it was true and other times it was not.

Although I believe it’s easier to become a monk on the guitar, I think it’s much more important to strive to become a true mystic. Good luck with your attempts.

-end-

(Thanks for reading. If you know of any magazines that would like to publish this article, please contact the author. Also, you would be helping out the author greatly if you purchased one of his books from Amazon.com or another online book store. Thanks again.)
http://becomeguitaristfromhell.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/zevi35711

Bio: Jason Earls is the author of Cocoon of Terror (Afterbirth Books), Heartless Bast*rd In Ecstasy, How to Become a Guitar Player from Hell, Red Zen, If(Sid_Vicious == TRUE && Alan_Turing == TRUE) {ERROR_Cyberpunk(); }, and 0.136101521283655... all available at Amazon.com and other online book stores. His fiction and mathematical work have been published in Red Scream, Yankee Pot Roast, M-Brane SF, Scientia Magna, three of Clifford Pickover’s books, Mathworld.com, AlienSkin, Recreational and Educational Computing, Escaping Elsewhere, Neometropolis, Thirteen, Dogmatika, Prime Curios, the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, OG’s Speculative Fiction, Nocturnal Ooze, Bust Down the Door and Eat All the Chickens, and other publications. He currently resides in Oklahoma with his wife, Christine.