Free Play: Improvisation in Life and ArtFree Play is about the inner sources of spontaneous creation. It is about why we create and what we learn when we do. It is about the flow of unhindered creative energy: the joy of making art in all its varied forms. An international bestseller and beloved classic, Free Play is an inspiring and provocative book, directed toward people in any field who want to contact, honor, and strengthen their own creative powers. It reveals how inspiration arises within us, how that inspiration may be blocked, derailed or obscured, and how finally it can be liberated—how we can be liberated—to speak or sing, write or paint, dance or play, with our own authentic voice. Stephen Nachmanovitch, a pioneer in free improvisation, integrates material from a wide variety of sources among the arts, sciences, and spiritual traditions of humanity, drawing on unusual quotes, amusing and illuminating anecdotes, and original metaphors. The whole enterprise of improvisation in life and art, of recovering free play and awakening creativity, is about being true to ourselves and our visions. Free Play brings us into direct, active contact with boundless creative energies that we may not even know we had. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 37
Page x
... feelings of fear and shame , and almost in a trance he picked up a flute and went with them . The concert began . As he waited be- hind the stage , no one intruded on his inner silence . Fi- nally , at the end of the concert , his name ...
... feelings of fear and shame , and almost in a trance he picked up a flute and went with them . The concert began . As he waited be- hind the stage , no one intruded on his inner silence . Fi- nally , at the end of the concert , his name ...
Page 2
... feeling that has been expressed many times by composers , poets , and other artists . There is the story of one of Bach's pupils asking him , " Papa , how do you ever think of so many tunes ? " to which Bach replied , “ My dear boy , my ...
... feeling that has been expressed many times by composers , poets , and other artists . There is the story of one of Bach's pupils asking him , " Papa , how do you ever think of so many tunes ? " to which Bach replied , “ My dear boy , my ...
Page 9
... feeling of being stuck , of having nothing to say . This book , one hopes , can serve as a blockbuster , a wedge for breaking apart creative blocks . But the process of working on blocks is a subtle one . It would be nice to have an ...
... feeling of being stuck , of having nothing to say . This book , one hopes , can serve as a blockbuster , a wedge for breaking apart creative blocks . But the process of working on blocks is a subtle one . It would be nice to have an ...
Page 17
... feeling is not enough. Like many other beauties and joys, it can betray us by appearing in one moment and vanishing in the next. If it is to result in a tangible artwork, or an extended improvisation of any quality, the creative ...
... feeling is not enough. Like many other beauties and joys, it can betray us by appearing in one moment and vanishing in the next. If it is to result in a tangible artwork, or an extended improvisation of any quality, the creative ...
Page 19
... feeling of the moment what and how I will play . But if I have announced the concert for Saturday night at 8:30 and people have arranged their lives to arrive at that time , then come hell or high water I will be there and be ready to ...
... feeling of the moment what and how I will play . But if I have announced the concert for Saturday night at 8:30 and people have arranged their lives to arrive at that time , then come hell or high water I will be there and be ready to ...
Contents
15 | |
The Vehicle | 24 |
The Stream | 31 |
The Muse | 37 |
Mind at Play | 44 |
Disappearing | 55 |
Sex and Violins | 63 |
Practice | 72 |
Vicious Circles | 141 |
The Judging Spectre | 149 |
Surrender | 158 |
Patience | 166 |
Ripening | 172 |
Eros and Creation | 185 |
Quality | 193 |
Art for Lifes Sake | 205 |
The Power of Limits | 85 |
The Power of Mistakes | 97 |
Playing Together | 104 |
Form Unfolding | 113 |
Childhoods End | 127 |
Heartbreakthrough | 216 |
Afterword | 225 |
Illustrations | 235 |
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Common terms and phrases
activity addiction art forms artist artwork audience Bach beauty become Beethoven blocks Blue Cliff Record body breakthrough bricolage child comes consciousness create creation creative process dance deeper e. e. cummings emotional emptiness energy everything experience exploration express fear feel flow flute free improvisation free play Galumphing Gregory Bateson hand ideas Igor Stravinsky imagination improvisation inner inspiration instrument intuition judging spectre kind koan learning lîla limits listen living look material matter means meditation ment mind muse musician mysterious Nachmanovitch nature ourselves P. D. Q. Bach painting pattern performance person piece player poetry practice resonance rhythm ripen samadhi sense sound spiritual spontaneous Stéphane Grappelli string structure surprises surrender T. S. Eliot technique temenos theater things tion tune unconscious violin voice whole William Blake words writing Yehudi Menuhin