Time, Culture and Music - A short proposal for a healthier view of time.

Time, it's a strange topic, whether seen as a linear progression from nexus to nexus or as a relative flux. More so when you take the limited human sensory bandwidth into account.
   I've had many thoughts about time and my place in it and like most of my thoughts, my understanding of time stems from my relationship with music.
   For instance, in western music we typically agree upon a time signature (or groupings of time signatures Fig.1) with our fellow musicians and we then trust everyone to hold up there end of the bargain and work within that set matrix. It should be noted though, that the formation of such a musical agreement imposes a set of imagined boundary conditions on the involved musicians, most of which it can be argued force negative constraints on the freedoms of musical expression.    

Fig. 1

   I feel this may be reflective of how in western culture we agree on a 24hour day and a 365day year, we then force ourselves to live out our objective realities within that set construct. We're expected to achieve set goals by set ages and this is very deeply ingrained in our culture.

   







   I think this is a very important notion to point out because after all, culture is just the manifestations of human intellectual achievement throughout time and music is the acoustic expression of that culture.
   I feel that in the western world we could learn a lot from Indian culture and their approach to musical time.  
   In South Indian they use a system known as "Konnakol". Konnakol is a rhythmic system, that uses a combination of syllabic phrases to denote rhythm with in a pulse. This pulse or "Tala" as it's known, allows for the ebb and flow of time in a way that western rhythmic systems do not. The "time feel" of a piece of music is then free to be an equal part of the artistic expression, free from any expectation or constraint. In other words you can't be "Out of time", your free to divide the pulse however you see fit.

  I think this is a very healthy approach to apply to time overall. We all have our own experience of time and the pressure of adhering to the western modal of time can be very stressful for some.

   I try in my own life to remember the lesson that Konnakol has to offer: I have my own life and with that my own perception of time. By trying to keep up with the expectations of the culture I find myself in, I am willingly giving up the freedom to express my life in a time-frame that suits me and accentuates my own experience. Remember it's not a race, it's a dance. 

   Much love,

   

   Bo

   

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