Music for practice?

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone...<br><br>New to Astanga practice but

am hooked! Question: Those of you who use music at

home or hear it in a class, what do you use? I am

finding most CD's I find online are too meditative and

relaxation oriented and not energizing enough...any

suggestions for artists or web sites? Looking forward to

learning from you within this group, and sharing my

experiences too. Sandy

[Guest guest]

everybody is different. some like music during

the practice, some only during savasana, some not at

all. the yoga journal had a review of the "top 10

cd's" for use during yoga. the article included a lot

of helpful insights from various yoga teachers about

their experiences in using music in class. i don't know

which issue it was, i think it was a couple of issues

back. maybe some one here has some back issues and can

give more accurate info to refer to.

[Guest guest]

OK you all, don't shoot me here, since I am a

newbee and seeking the real way...but what about the

music in Brian Kests' videos?! Is that a good sound or

is true astanga practiced with peace and quiet? I'm

confused...Sandy

[Guest guest]

>the music in Brian Kests' videos?! <br><br>That stuff is canned elevator

muzak...<br>practice to Led Zep!...Houses of the Holy

[Guest guest]

Maybe this is just me, but I can't help thinking

that music during Ashtanga practice is counter

productive and counter intuitive. I mean, music is about

sound and rhythm, keeping a beat. Thats what Ashtanga

practice is, in a sense. Keeping the beat or rhythm of the

breath and the sound is the sound of ujjayi. It would be

like trying to listen to two different pieces of music

at the same time. That would have a jarring effect

on my ears.

[Guest guest]

I would say true Ashtanga practice is peacefull but practices to the musical

accompaniment and rhythmical beat of the sound of your ujjayi breathing and the

body working.

[Guest guest]

Thanks, mryogaman...I totally understand you. I

just am new to this and have heard of many teachers

using music - CD's with no real beat, but more

enegrgizing musical sounds rather than a total

relaxation-type of CD, you know? Just am curious and also,

looking for some music to buy, should I decide I want

some music for home use. I just love music, perhaps

that is why I am seeking some...sAndy

[Guest guest]

I suppose the only real guideline is to be aware of everything during and after

practice and that awareness will tell you what is right or not right for you.

Cheers, and welcome to Ashtanga !!

[Guest guest]

Great taste, one of my favortie albums of all time.

[Guest guest]

I get it...i feel the same way about some kinds

of music inteferring with concentration...for

example, I can't listen most any kind of music while

reading (classical, for some reason, is the exception,

though I'm not a fan of classical at any other time

besides reading).<br><br>I do find that certain indian

music goes along very well with Mysore practice...

[Guest guest]

I like I and II the best!

[Guest guest]

Thanks mryogaman, and thanks for the welcome! I

have since done a net search (for hours, geez!) and

came up with some great sources, I think...I ordered

some CD's from Jivamukti.com - one was made by a DJ

and it sounds like what I am looking for...we'll see

- I'll report my opinion here when I get it! None

the less, it might be great listening for driving!

Sandy

[Guest guest]

dj Cheb i Sabbah's Sri Durga is nice. Welcome

[Guest guest]

Hi Sandy, although I rarely listen to music when

practicing, I do listen to lots of music otherwise. There is

a lot of sensual and surreal electronica and world

fusion (like Dead Can Dance) but an alternate, more

jazzy suggestion is a splendid album by Al Di Meola,

John McLaughlin, and Paco de Lucia--I forgot the

title, but you can test drive a track or two from

Napster. The CD should be available most

places.<br><br>cheers<br>Sunshine

[Guest guest]

We've done this b4 on this site but when I

practise to music I use the following:<br><br>Massive

Attack: Mezzanine<br>Leftfield: Leftism and Rythm &

Stealth<br>Urban Species: Blanket<br>And for the comedy ashtanga

workout - a nice bit of UK garage "F the L the Y the B

the Y the Sparks the Kie got u flying

by..."<br><br>Anything else just makes me want to sing along, which

fucks the breathing.

[Guest guest]

Personally I hate classes whcih have twinkly, pipey new age music. It doesn't

relax me, or inspire me it makes me want to kill all hippies. <br><br>Pan pipes

- leave 'em in the Andes.

[Guest guest]

Hi Sandy,<br>I like to listen to music that helps

me stay energized while I practice at home, the

studio I go to does not play any music though. I've

enjoyed music by Makyo, Afro Celt Sound System, Banco de

Gaia, Talvin Singh, Dreadzone, Dj Cheb I Sabbah, Ground

Zero, Michael Brooks and sometimes even LTJ Bukem (a

very good London DJ). Hope that gives you some ideas.

Sorry for all the insults you see flying around on this

board. It's not everyone, it's only those people that

aren't very thoughtful in the way they respond. However

you'll generally get a good dose of honesty. <br>:-)

Welcome to the Astanga family.<br><br>Namaste,<br>Nada

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the welcome nada, and for the music

suggestions. I just got a CD burner last night (blame my

husband - he's the napster junkie!) so I will go to

napster and see what I can listen to! Here's a suggestion

for you all who like music to practice to - I have

been using Celtic Underground Dagda - love it for

practice. It's a long CD with many songs that blend

together, no lyrics, just great sounds. Some have a mild

beat, others do not. ...I have a thick skin and a tough

soul, I believe...helps me digest the first week on

this list, and to handle floating in chaturanga during

a beginners' ashtanga class! Sandy

[Guest guest]

hey, nada...<br><br>Am loving Makyo! Got one on

napster playing at the moment. (Chandon?) Can you tell me

about this artist? Does he/she/they have a CD with

continuous music or seperate tracks? Thanks - great

suggestions. If I don't sing back on for a few days, you'll

know I crashed my 'puter whilst downloading 20 songs

at once! LOL!...Sandy

[Guest guest]

Hey Sandy,<br>Glad you like them :-) They've been

a fav for a while now. Yes they have 2 CD's that I

know of, Rasa Bhava and Sringara. Chandan is off

Sringara and is the second of their CD's. What is your

Napster ID, perhaps we can swap files. Mine is

nadayoga... I use Napigator to pick the server I log on to,

that way friends and I can swap files.

:-)<br><br>Peace,<br>Nada

[Guest guest]

while i'm on a posting flurry here, what do you musico's feel about the senor's

position that use of systems like napster is tantamout to stealing and is

contrary to a yogic approach to life?

[Guest guest]

Napster is free and legal at this point. I'm a

musician and feel that if someone downloads my music from

Napster and it inspires them to buy the CD, as it does me

if I find something I like, then great! If on the

other hand someone downloads my stuff, hates it and

doesn't but the CD, then all the better because they

haven't wasted their money on "crap". I want people to

like what I write, although part of being an artist is

to expose yourself for others criticism. No one has

a place to talk about what constitutes a yogic

approach to life except those qualified "gurus" that we

have personally been influenced by.<br><br>Napster

provides musicians a way to get free exposure that the

labels wouldn't provide since they generally only

promote the fastest horse in the stable so to speak.

Stealing of course is in the eye of the steal-ee.<br><br>I

say live your life, let the law be your guide as far

as is practical. I personally know yogi's that smoke

herb before practice, amazing but true and also

"illegal". One could argue, if so inclined, that meat

eating, smoking, watching TV, earning a living, etc., are

all against the yogic approach to life. You have to

be accountable to yourself and your ideals, not some

pumped up self-righteous rhetoric.

:-)<br><br>Namaste,<br>Nada

[Guest guest]

You say that senor said that using napster is

tantamount to stealing and therefor not "yogic" -- Where did

he say that? (I missed it.) <br><br>I would have

thought that this was more a question of copyright law to

be adjusted by legislators and courts (or to be

settled between the record companies and the internet

companies like Napster) than a moral issue. <br>If one

person takes a legal tax deduction using a "loophole",

is that "tantamount to stealing" from whoever might

have benefitted from whatever programs are financed by

the government? I don't think so; the solution (if

one is needed) would be to close the loophole, not

for individuals to engage in pointless abstinence.

<br>In other words, with Napster it looks to me like any

connection between the free use of the tune, and any loss of

income to the one with the "moral" right (who I take

would be the composer or the artist who made the

record) is in most cases too attenuated to count. I even

read something by one of the current teen idol rock

stars (I forget who) saying, in essence, that the big

record companies exploit artists so mercilessly that it

matters to the recording artists hardly at all what

people do with Napster, etc.; that if the record

companies can't shut Napster, et al. down then they have it

coming to them; and even that Napster and other systems

actually could benefit artists in general by operating to

release the stranglehold that big business record

companies have on the means of distribution.<br>In cases

where the artist has a more direct interest in sales of

his or her own work (selfproduced CD, for instance),

I might feel differently about whether it was like

"stealing". But maybe not. When the person publishes the

thing, they do it subject to whatever is the existing

apparatus for enforcement of copyright (moral or legal).

And, there are so many small copyright infringements

in the average person's life that we just don't

consider to be "tantamount to stealing". For instance,

making a cassette tape of some tunes, or a dub of a

movie for your friend(essentially the same as Napster

usage); xeroxing part or even all of a book.<br>So again,

did senor say this? Did anybody say it, and does

anybody agree with it? I would hate to be the last one to

find out that there is some yogic rule about this that

I was supposed to be aware of.

[Guest guest]

<<You say that senor said that using

napster is tantamount to stealing and therefor not

"yogic" -- Where did he say that?>><br><br>post

2544.<br><br>the question i posed is one of ethics--is there a

true right or wrong in the activity, not so much one

of legal wrangling. legally, to copy a song, a book,

an article or a movie or any other copyrighted item,

without permission, is illegal. the legal question the

courts face with regard to napster is whether napster is

engaging in illegal activity by enabling the illegal

copying. there is no legal debate that the individuals

doing the copying are in violation, that is commonly

accepted.<br>whether or not one is stealing, for want of a gentler

word, from a pauperous musician or from a mega

conglomerate is immaterial ethically. the question is, is it

stealing? if so, how ever 'minor', how does that fit in

with an individual's perception of their progression

along the ashtanga pathway of self improvement. why

exert so much energy in the physical asana practice if

so little effort is being placed in the practice of

niyama, etc? unless, it really is mostly about good,

better, best bending.<br><br>now, i'm surely being

received right about now as some better-than-thou,

self-appointed do-gooder. yes, i've used napster--mainly out of

curiosity, i'm not a music person. <br>yes, i've done my

fair share of illegal things--lying, cheating in

school, eating a caramel at the grocery store. once i

only did 2 backbends when i should have done 5. i'm

posing the question not out of sanctimony but curiosity.

is it one of those things that people say, "yes i

know this isn't right but it's only a minor wrong", or

do they see it as not wrong?

[Guest guest]

The artist has the right to protect the

commercial use of his creation -- Napster abuses that right

in a venue in which commercial copyrights have

previously been protected and regulated. Senor is right:

Napster is wrong.<br><br>On the other hand, one could say

that the music industry has about as much integrity as

does Pro Boxing, and therefore we have the right to

Robbin Hood the coporate badguys/fatass

artistes.<br><br>I'm not sure if Niyama can be amended by a

2wrongsmakesarightOJwasinnocent pov. But until I get 3rd series wired, what does

what i think matter anyway.