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Creative PushI envisioned this project to become a milestone in my career. A three month periodspent isolated within an apartment in Turkeyfor the purposes of self-improvement in specific musical and non-musical areas. The project has in the general sense been an effort to increase the joy and efficiency ofworking, learning, observing, evaluating andorganising as the distractions were no element or excuse. I provided myself with anopportunity to discover a deeper sense of peace and stillness. Learning to become quiet and solitude can prove very effective for learning and reflecting. I set out to acquire skills and wisdom that led me closerto my predetermined, long-term goals, but conducting my way through the project open for any new paths and ideas too. My stay helped to reinforce that creation is the ultimate desire and to form a valuable and optimistic perspective of the future when creation will be the main focus. My context is viewed as a necessity for many particularideas to emerge and take place, and it has been good to recognise with the needs of an interested mind and set time aside for the

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imagination. My mind has always been interested and pondering. Here; those characteristics has been nurtured and welcomed along with my natural ability to remain comfortable in my own space, over longer periods of time. It has been important to recognise with and increase theamount of mental self-control that is usefulwhen a challenging mood or feeling opposes as a result of the lonesome element. Maintaining a flow of thoughts of strong, positive nature usually only requires training, unless there is a deeper issue (Atkinson 1918). I have set the task to study myself closely. This includes recognising my habits and mental ways, and may be creatively beneficial in any context further into the future.

My aims have evolved through these past months, as I primarily focused on the practical guitar playing early on. Constantly providing me with the opportunityto practice and improve; the context was thefactor which I imagined would carry me to the next level of knowledge and playing. I defined my areas of practice, organised daily schedules based on research, priorities and experience and went to

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experiment with long hours of mostly monotonous, technically rewarding practicing. On day 32 (of being in Turkey), this took a toll on my body and a sharp turnin the project when I onward experienced increasing pain, particularly in the left hand as a result of these repetitive movements. Regarding daily music practice and the weekly online guitar lessons with Brant Grieshaber, it took a turn toward music analysis and theory. And generally in the project, my attention turned to a largerdegree toward the practice and research of concentration and meditation. My aims progressed from doing restorative yoga merely for relaxation from work, measuring technical improvement (not really an option any longer), and better understanding of self-discipline. These shifting directions was primarily as a result of research, but also through living my context and seeing the potentials of attaining deeper wisdom and quiet, including the benefits it yields.I became much more interested in spirituality and the power of concentration,in other words: self-exploration and improvement. I was still experimenting with scheduling and keeping track of myself to seek my most effective way of learning. I

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was now focusing on experiencing results of meditation and improved concentration beforeleaving. I eventually returned to guitar practice on a much smaller level, focusing on three different classical pieces as the physical movements required for these piecesare very varied and much less straining for my tendonitis.

In day 43 I started to feel demotivated, andthat my efforts did not matter. This was dueto the intensive nature of the context, and I began reading “Working from Home or Livingat Work?” by Barry Carter. This changed manyaspects on my day-schedules, and evolved my ideas in regard to constructing a professional self-working environment. For instance, it demonstrated that we have limited mental and physical resources, whichreaffirm that a good life/work balance is crucial no matter what occupation, and that it is sometimes the ability to stop yourself working that will increase productivity. My ambitions, however changed the most in relation to the study of concentration. It was a much more comprehensible field than anticipated, and becoming well-poised and gaining self-control both mentally and physically became a large priority, and it

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requires daily exercise. Earlier, I wanted to gain self-discipline, however learning toreserve energy and concentrate at will eliminates the importance of self-disciplineas one can reduce core hours of work and still progress equally. Less time working suggests that a healthier lifestyle is easier obtained, which is particularly necessary in the given context, but also to increase the learning-curve. The study of concentration also led me to the “New Thought Movement” and its core spiritual ideology, which contributed to my recent perspective on the dominant ideology of consumerism. With this observation in mind, the perspective, and therefore function of my context changed as I now saw myself avoiding the ideology to the largest extent possible. This benefits my learning outcomes. More on this discovery soon.

The context was in early stages viewed as a disciplinary practice for improvement in theparticular direction of music. My context’s architectural expansion was my physical boundary, and the space within was treated as a learning platform, not an escape from consumerism. Influenced by the typical 08:00-18:00 gleaming sun, and the moist air

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frequently carrying the audible messages of the islamic practice, aroused foreign topicsof contemplation and had impact in the thought world. The prayers were seeping through the walls of my context, and it allowed me to pause my work and pay respect to fellow beings’ rituals and beliefs. To bein silence during prayers only exists as a social norm in Turkey, and could easily havebeen rejected, however it may serve a purpose. It was simplistic silence that provided an opportunity to notice a sense ofbelonging and togetherness, simplistic silence all around may benefit from. The fact the one is aware when others are doing spiritual practice on a large scale all around can in itself be a wonderfully rewarding thought. Reflection is part of theessential and natural effect of this context, partly due to its astonishing ability to enforce unfamiliar sounds as wellas utter silence. The early meditation practice took place on the rearward balcony facing vast landscape covered by green treesand the occasional Turkish estate, with naked mountains in the background. Contextualising myself in a remote, exotic environment is favourable in that personal

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values, purposes and intentions are more naturally reflected (Ferrante 2011).

I was evading the urban views, western-accustomed facilities and infused moods found on the front. Few off-season tourists found themselves here, equally as safe as inthe communities from which they came. Luxuriating in the consumeristic ideology, they were focused on cheap, copied products found locally. The agenda seemed to always concern material prosperity from the tourists and especially the natives, whose hand gestures were repeatedly way-showing meinto their venue in my passing moments to shopping food. “The affluent world is identified with form, more lost in content, more trapped in ego” (Eckhart 2010, cited inBrand 2014). My recent discoveries in the fields of the dominant consumerist ideology,spiritualism, “New Thought Movement”, “Zeitgeist Movement” etc., suggest to me that this is an indecent and unfulfilling cycle which may be better off rejected. We do not have to be caught up in material things, and aligning our consciousnesses with truthful energies rather than stimulating fear, desire; the bad ones, it will accommodate us to move more

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effortlessly through life (Brand 2014). My context has increasingly been treated as a temporary sidestep away from this ideology, and it has been a key motive for meditative practice. “We are being brainwashed every minute of every day. Every time you turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or even any time you hear anybody say anything; it is usually a conditioning. We become conditioned to feel like we need to fit in. This can seriously restrict your unique creativity” (Vai 2014).

“Solitude heightens artistic receptivity in a way that can be challenging and painful” (Fassler 2014). To most people, solitude or isolation takes courage because one comes incontact with with one’s own pettiness and cowardice. There is no escaping the consequences of every act or procrastinationthat takes place in a socially isolated context. Artistic solitude, as Fassler discusses, is a decision to face all feelings and sit with them for long periods of time. This is how the work of writer, director and film producer Ernst Ingmar Bergman was developed. He encouraged living in the occasionally unpleasant setting of solitude.

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Today it is somewhat expected we show results finding ourselves in open workspaces, collaboration situations, socialmedia and team events. Being in the given context is questioning and providing an individualistic and critical opinion of thiswell-established method. Isaac Asimov once wrote about his opinion on how a choice of environment can best furnish one’s creativity. “My feeling is that as far as creativity is concerned, isolation is required. The creative person is, in any case, continuallyworking at it. His mind is shuffling his information at all times, even when he is not conscious of it. (The famous example of Kekule working out the structure of benzene in his sleep is well-known)”. He discusses how the presence of others may inhibit this process. We often find creation embarrassing, as one great idea often requires many foolish ones which we do not care to show. There must be relaxation and ageneral sense of permissiveness, and the individual must have the feeling that otherswill not object (Asimov 1959).

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Before entering the context it was essentialto achieve an understanding of how practitioners have been experiencing solitude in the past. I looked for how they would cope with the lonesome element, and did receive some various opinions, however experiencing it first-hand is what truly would go to form a valuable understanding. That is as long as one is confident enough to enter the space in the first place, and if not; there are ways of transitioning intoisolation. I early understood that loneliness and aloneness is distinguishable.In regard to arts practitioners and thinkers; some believe it is important to learn to be alone rather than lonely, othersprefer embracing the negative emotions of loneliness (Buchholz 1998). It is an artistic decision one must experiment with to form a personally creative and effective preference. This insight suggested to me that an impermanent, experimental decision had to be made, and as my primary field of research unfolded it was desirable to followthe route which would best complement my mental self-control, and thereby complement one of the aims of the project. Therefore I focused on controlling the more positive mental image of aloneness throughout. Not

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yet experimenting with letting the intensiveness of the context infuse negativeemotions, primarily as this would seem like a contradiction to my daily exercise in mental self-control.

Looking at Ernst Ingmar Bergman’s working process (briefly mentioned above) provided me with valuable insight prior to the project primarily regarding his view on using one’s “demons” for the better, rather than the diminishing or sometimes crushing power this might inflict. The value he gained from this idea was related to creation, and I found this opposing with Williams Walker Atkinson’s less creatively inspired perspective on the matter, as he would suggest using mental self-control to eradicate fear and negative emotions and obtain a positive mindset to augment one’s achievements. This explanation goes especially well if one were to study more ofthe works he did whilst being part of the “New Thought Movement” in the late 19th century. His writings categorised as Mental Science, concentration, will power, personalmagnetism, psychic influence, thought-force and so on. It was also inspiring to me to discover that a large amount of great

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composers, authors, philosophers, inventors etc. shared the view of the extent to which a creative flow may flourish in uninterrupted solitude. Actress Felicia Day gave me the idea of being creative before taking on the duties of the day. It is a good reminder that creation is the real job,and it can be a valuable contribution to maintain motivation in the given context. Sometimes I would jam, sometimes I would start to make a drumbeat, sometimes I even doodled. Another example is; whenever his work was not going so well, Einstein used tolie down in the middle of the day, staring at the ceiling and listening. Frantz Kafka explained it in the sense that learning to become quiet and solitary will make the world of ideas naturally open up (Babauta 2010). I found these to be great tools in moments of hopelessness. Focusing solely on what is heard is also a valuable exercise inconcentration (Atkinson 1918), although thisis probably not what Einstein was occupied with. Einstein would also describe that he used to quietly observe what was going on inhis imagination, and this could not seem more natural, only after a few attempts in discouragement.

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With both feet in the project, theoretical research guided me into early morning and mid-day meditation, exercising the will, gaining self-control, expanding concentration span, several guitar-techniqueworkouts and exercises, guitar lessons, reading music, ear training, organising day-to-day schedules, general music theory etc. A lot of effort was required to reorganise all aspects of practical research as new theoretical research was undertaken. This resulted in a lot of experimenting with day-to-day schedules, and I have certainly become more organised. Daily critical reflection and taking notes proved to be a crucial aspect to stay on top of the work that was rapidly growing underneath me. I reached a point where I was exercising at minimum eleven/twelve practical categories per day, usually lasting over thirty minuteseach. Some form of variation was always a necessity, and the most interesting theoretical research provided enough ideas to secure some time off the every-day routines. As an example, I got an idea from “Working from Home or Living at Work?” that led to rethinking the whole structure of my workday. Doing the most important tasks of the day in the first three hours, possibly

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working another hour if possible, and leave the mid-day open for meditation, reading, listening to music or silence, reflecting and so forth, and then undertake another four or five hours of working. This makes sense because I have always enjoyed being active in the extremes of the day, and this is also an example of what was mentioned in relation to choice of context earlier, in that I am making an individualistic and critical opinion of a well-established way of working.

Overall, I believe I set myself up for a project where learning was inevitable. The nature of my context would continuously remind me that working was the only option, and it is what I should be doing. Seeing as I also experienced the benefits of keeping the workload regulated and more concentrated(ideas from Barry Carter and William Walker Atkinson), I lately experience a great work/life balance. A balance that occurs dueto practice and research, and is considered successful due to its productivity. I exhausted myself in mid-project, had a pause, did research and immediately went to apply and reflect on the new information. Ithas helped me to reach a goal, because the

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overall learning-curve has been increasing throughout the project. It is my favourite aspect; finding how I work as near as possible to my fullest potential is in itself an aim of the project. It is almost as I knew that disciplining myself to the extent I did would eventually create imbalance and small pit-falls along the way.Eventually, however it would prove helpful in the practical learning undertaken, as I would now recognise my personal limits and signs of exhaustion.

My early, disciplinary practice did however create a physical injury that is still present in moments of writing. It could havebeen avoided in the sense that more physical, repetitive practicing calls for more frequent warming up/down. With the daily guitar workouts directed at specific muscular areas for longer periods of time, they should not have been taking place so close to one another on the schedules. Thoseareas should also have been stimulated in other, relaxing ways like massages, stretches and movements, and this should be prioritised and organised. Injuries are onlysomething we hear of until they suddenly occur, and the decision not to take this

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equally serious as the seriousness of my context was an unprofessional and under preparedness.

The project complemented progress and learning, but the question was how much I could achieve. The extent of the powers we possess to do great things can never fully be comprehended, but learning to stop and concentrate on the issue when one is faced with an obstacle is one of the more important things I have learnt recently. It is in many ways the opposite of acting on impulse, which is rarely an act that benefits anything.

The thought that pursued me throughout was how grand the potential of my context was tooutput creative work, which as a result willbe my next, similar project. It is part of the outcome of my PIC; creating an established route to an improved self-working environment, but also more access toa stiller mind that will ultimately allow meto acknowledge with and follow what really interests me on a deep, creative level. I believe I have become slightly more detachedfrom the commercial concept of impulsive consumption, and hopefully I will have

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applied my findings in concentration before feeling such an urge. Another outcome is thepractice of two types of meditation. I experienced benefits from them as spiritual fulfilment and material detachment, and alsoto avoid rushing in the workday. I have experienced slight improvement in mental andphysical self-control, however a larger increase in level of concentration. I have experimented with ways of organising and undertaking my work and have achieved increased understanding of how I may benefitthe most by working from my own schedule. I have evolved my thoughts for the future, andin doing a large amount of theoretical research and non-creative work, it has formed and developed ideas on how creative output can be experimented with to the same degree this project has. I am still not certain of how much improvement I have made in the technical area of guitar playing, as the measurement videos done in the beginningall include the repetitive movements that led to the injury in the first place, and I would have to strain myself to see the results. I have studied three classical pieces by Bach which has been a helpful substitute, but the amount of progress possible has been limited. I have improved

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phrasing and fluidity in Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Partita No. 3 in E Major, andtransposed Prelude Suite No. 1 in D Major. Through guitar lessons I learnt three ways of doing music analysis and what their different benefits are. We looked at severalinteresting ways of using scales for improvising. I gained a valuable approach that would work to learn all chordal triads across the fretboard in every key and use them for voice leading through some specificchord progressions. A piece of music (approximately 64 bars) was made, predominantly using Suspended 4 triads as they were the example of our study. There were more compositional ideas emerging in the first few weeks, but these ended up temporarily only as practical recordings or scribblings on paper. Reading music and ear training has equally been practiced every day, and progress has been made. I collected50 musical exercises, but as playing decreased, so did my interest of gathering any more. I often did singing sessions alongwith pieces of music, but viewing it more asan active break, not focusing on potential improvements. I early gained a brief understanding of restorative yoga, but much more so on many different types of

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meditation, as this was the direction of which my aim evolved.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

ATKINSON, William. 1918. The Power of Concentration. Chicago: Advanced Thought Publishing Co.

Sondre Hovden SH158636 20 BA MusicBABAUTA, Leo. 2010. ‘The No. 1 Habit of Highly Creative People’. Zen Habits. Available at: http://zenhabits.net/creative-habit/ [accessed 14/21/14].

BRAND, Russell. 2014. The Trews: Episode 04. [news clip]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwTEtIvgRuY[accessed 22/10/14].

BRAND, Russell. 2014. The Trews: Episode 63. [news clip]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_3573683105&feature=iv&index=64&list=PL5BY9veyhGt46KMmgAJYi1LF0EUkpqcrX&src_vid=wd-IPEaOEU0&v=meNT62Efd14 [accessed 06/10/14].

BUCHHOLZ, Ester. 1998. ‘The Call of Solitude’. Psychology Today. Available at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199802/the-call-solitude [accessed 23/06/14].

CARTER, Barry. 2014. Working from Home or Living at Work? Washington: Amazon.

FASSLER, Joe. 2014. ‘What Great Artists Need: Solitude’. The Atlantic. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/02/what-great-artists-need-solitude/283585/2/ [accessed 13/06/14].

FERRANTE, Julia. 2011. ‘Professor: Solitude, Reflection Tied to College Success’. Bucknell University. Available at: http://www.bucknell.edu/x67495.xml [accessed 13/11/14].

VAI, Steve. 2014. Steve Vai Addresses Brotherhood of the Guitar Members [video clip]. Available at:

Sondre Hovden SH158636 21 BA Musichttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hsv03rsB0k [accessed 11/06/14].