The Grooved Whale Project

Over the course of the Grooved Whale Project and my research into whale song I’ve radically altered how I process the world. I’ve become accustom to analyzing myself and my behaviors much as I would do another species. The challenge I had with analyzing my musical behavior was that when my brain was in the state of music, no logic was allowed to enter. Let me explain:

When I am fully involved in music (most often while playing my violin) I am in a place where the sound plays me. There is no conscious decision of what notes to play, of moving the bow up and down. There is no conscious recognition of individual notes, patterns or progressions. The music just is. It pulls me in and directs me where to go.

This state is recognizable – I see it in performers when they hit the zone. Have a look at this James Brown video but first turn the sound down. If you were a non-musical species studying this behavior, what would you conclude?