Culture and conditioning

Culture cannot exist without memory.

Culture means tradition. And tradition?…- It means obsessively repeating certain patterns again and again, thus creating conditioning – that is, ever reinforcing the past.
Culture is time. As we want to ensure our survival, we see time as continuity and possession, and so we create – among other peculiarities – “classical music”.

So basically it all boils down to this: the “classical” versus this very moment…

Is this very moment “classical”? Hardly ever… Does the moment need to have continuation and become “classical”? No it doesn´t – unless we start to categorize it. All problems arise when we start “classifying” the moment.

What´s more important? The child – taking some nonsensical tones on a piano –, or a symphony by Beethoven? If we are sane, we wouldn´t give a damn about Beethoven´s music and rejoice in those few tones of the child.

It is all about this: a child tinkling – which is the metaphor for the joy of Now – or Beethoven which means tradition. Tradition versus now. Tradition killing us systematically…
Beethoven´s music (tradition) suffocating our Soul (our graceful Now)…

WE TRANSFORM THE MOMENT INTO “CLASSICAL” BEFORE IT HAS A CHANCE TO BE ALIVE. Living is therefore “possessing” for most humans, that´s why they are afraid of Now. Most people have no real life, due to being possessed by the culture they are part of…

So yes, in this perspective, – with few exceptions like Prokofiev, Stravinsky or Scriabin – I find Western music from Bach on, incredibly tedious and redundant. The heart beats now, and our entrenched perception turns this Now into preposterous abstraction. And of course, ABSTRACTION IS HEARTLESS as it tries to reach the timeless through thought patterns.

The intention is positive yet the outcome disastrous.

To make my point:

A great zen flute player was once invited to perform at the court of some Chinese Emperor. So there was the musician in the front of the noble audience. He takes his flute, blows one single tone, bows and leaves. Nobody heard from him ever since. .