Music

Playing, Practicing, Listening, and Meditating
 

Notes by
Michael P. Garofalo

October 1, 2007

 

Keyboard     Drumming     Native American Flute     Harmonica     General

 

 

 

Piano, Keyboard



I use a Yamaha YPG525 keyboard: 88 keys, 500 voices, 32 note polyphony, extensively computerized.  It is a wonderful digital keyboard.  Unquestionably, it is my favorite instrument.  I play it nearly every day.   

 

 

 

 

General Notes About Music and Meditation


 

Chaos Magick


Drumming

 

 

 

Drumming, Drums, Drum Circles, Sacred Drum, Shamanic Drumming

 

Djembe - Africa Drum - Wikipedia   Pronounced jem bay


Djembe African Drums at World Wide Drums   I use a djembe drum made from mahogany that is 24" high, weighs 12 pounds, and uses a 11"-12" goat skin drumhead.  The drum is a natural, unpainted, light brown color.       

 

 

 


Djembe L-FAQ


Djembe Rhythms FAQ


Drum Journey  Drum Resources and Links. 


Drums - DMOZ     


First Breath.  With David Spotted Eagle.  DVD.  45 minutes.  A private lesson with a master of the Native American flute.  Produced by the Oregon Flute Stores and Indigenous Pictures, 2003.  ISBN: 091960607.  VSCL. 


The Healing Power of the Drum.   VSCL. 


How to Play Djembe.  Book and Audio CD.  VSCL. 


Native American Drums - Living Drums.  I use a hand held Native American drum.  The drumhead is painted with a "Feather" (8 feathers, 8 triangles).  The drumhead is made of cowhide and is 13" in diameter.  This drum weights 2 pounds.   

 

 


Native American Indian Drums


Sacred Drumming.  By Steven Ash.  Edited by Renata Ash.  New York, Sterling Publishing Company, 2001.  Index, 144 pages.   Includes a 60 minute audio CD.  ISBN: 0806926570.  VSCL.  A focus on the American Indian hand held drum played with a beater. 


Sacred Earth Drums.  David and Steve Gordon.  Topanga, California, Sequoia Records, 2004.  VSCL. 


The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming.  By Michael Drake.  VSCL. 


The Shaman's Eye: Healing Rhythms for Trance Meditation.  By Liquid Bloom.  67:19 minutes.  Boulder, Colorado, White Swan Records, WS007.   ISBN: 1714700702.  VSCL. 

"Scientific research shows that these primordial rhythmic sound vibrations do have a direct effect on brain activity.  Steady beats at 4-7 cycles per second generate theta brain wave states associated with ecstatic trance.  In the theta state, beta (or waking) mind activity is lowered, inducing heightened awareness.  We become spirit sensitive; receptive, intuitive, present and centered in our heart's intelligence.  The trance state can be likened to a waking dream.  Inner visions may reveal themselves.  Self-realizations and deep insights may surface.  Or, we may simply feel a renewed lightness of spirit, clarity, and joy."
-   Liquid Bloom, The Shaman's Eye


Valley Spirit Green Wizard.  He practices gardening, rites, qigong, taijiquan, yoga, tarot, walking, standing meditation, web publishing, esoteric research, and drumming.  A grey-bearded philosopher and eclectic NeoPagan Taoist Druid from Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California. 


The Way of the Pulse: Drumming with Spirit.  By John Diamond.  VSCL. 

 

 

Native American Flute


 

The Four Directions:  Traditional and Original Compositions for Native American Flute.  By Carl Bludts.  Includes a companion audio CD with all the music in the text.  Vida, Oregon, Oregon Flute Store, 1998.  38 pages.  VSCL.   


Flute Songbooks for Native American Flutes 


Flutes Online


Flutetree - Native American Flutes.  By Robert Gatliff. 


The Native American Flute: Understanding the Gift.  By John Vames.  Scottsdale, Arizona, Molly Moon Arts and Publishing, 3rd Edition, 2007.  Includes an audio CD with all the music in the text.  Index, 92 pages.  ISBN: 0974048631.  VSCL. 


The Offering.  By Mary Youngblood.  Boulder, Colorado, Silver Wave Records, 1998.  Mary is of Aleut and Seminole ancestry.  ISBN: 2158509172.  VSCL. 


Oregon Flute Store  JoAnn was helpful to me. 


Stellar Flutes.  I use a Native American flute called the "Stellar."  The flute is a 6 hole pentatonic minor scale, tuned to medium G.  The flute is light brown in color and is made from western red cedar.  It has a bird fetish.   Stellar flutes are made by Matt, Tom, and Erika Stewart. 


Valley Spirit Green Wizard.  He practices gardening, rites, qigong, taijiquan, yoga, tarot, walking, standing meditation, web publishing, esoteric research, and flute playing.  A grey-bearded philosopher and eclectic NeoPagan Taoist Druid from Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California. 


Where Hawks Fly: Native American Flute Music.  By Sirena Squires.  58:15 minutes.  2006.  ISBN: 0026120780.  VSCL. 

 

 

 Harmonica - Chromatic

 

  Hohner Super 64 Chromonica.  Made in Germany.  This is the harmonica that I use. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Michael P. Garofalo's E-mail

 

Valley Spirit Meditation
Meditation Research and Education

Red Bluff, Tehama County, North Sacramento Valley, Northern California, U.S.A.
Cities in the area: Oroville, Paradise, Durham, Chico, Hamilton City, Orland, Corning,
Rancho Tehama, Los Molinos, Tehama, Gerber, Manton, Cottonwood, 
Anderson, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, and Redding, CA

 

© 2007, Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California
Michael P. Garofalo, All Rights Reserved

 

 

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