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it was a challenge, since my main instrument is the piano.
I know you don't do the earth hour thing, but in one hour, you really could learn to move between 3 chords without looking. kinesthetic learning -- just close your eyes and think about how your fingers feel moving.
Piano in the dark is nice too.
It's not that I don't support things like this it's more the politics and science behind it that I don't like. Power plants are on or off. They don't change emission output when people shut off their lights so the people who think they are reducing pollution are being deceived. That bugs me. It's almost a sort of disinformation and unethical marketing, in my opinion. I love watching all the big companies jump on the bandwagon hoping to improve public opinion and get some free advertising too. Environmentalism starts at home. As citizens we can use less or no toxic chemicals that end up in our groundwater, purchase less cheap junk that uses a ton of energy to produce, plant a tree or garden, and so many other things that we don't hear about.
I love your idea of kinesthetic learning. I'm a meditator and meditation in the dark or maybe just a candle is wonderful. Mindfulness in the dark is amazing. It motivates me to use my other senses and sense what they are telling me. Every notice how better your hearing is in the dark, and different.
I'm a generator and compressor technician. I not only work on some of these power plants but I also work in the dark. My tool bag is organized so I don't need to see it. I can reach in and grab almost any tool by position and feel. Now if only I could learn to play the piano or guitar like that...
I'm betting you could easily apply that skill to the guitar (or piano). In truth, the less you look, the better you play in the long run. I love the idea of meditation in the dark. I also think yoga would be great in the dark.
Yes, I already use no chemicals on my yard. I try really hard to buy things without packaging, and I try to build things with reclaimed lumber, if I can get it locally. I have taught myself to consume very little, and I really don't miss it. I buy my veggies at the farmer's market, which I walk to each Sunday. I also heat with pellets and have almost all CFL's, both of which have immense political and scientific implications. You would probably call me a hippie or worse, and I would not be offended. I don't do this only one hour a year.
Believe it or not, I am not silly enough to think that the power plants are winding to a halt because we do this. I think it's about getting people to consider unplugging a bit, not unlike when a musician does an acoustic version of a song. It's thinner, as in, not as noisy. We get to appreciate the silence in between the notes when the reverb is off. We get to listen to the voice more closely. Is it more buttery and lyric, or is it more gritty and emotional, as we feel the dips and slides that disappear when electronics step in to remove all humanity from the sound?
I'm hoping people turned off the video games and tv last night. I'm hoping they played board games by candlelight, or took a walk by moonlight, or sang, or told ghost stories by a fire, or whatever. I'm hoping they connected with themselves.
Most of my neighborhood was dark last night. I actually felt bad about torturing my neighbors with my meager violin. Often, I play piano with the windows open, since I have no A/C. The neighbors stop by to tell me to play more. When I don't play, they stop by to say they miss it. Next year, (and many nights in between) I'll play them some piano in the dark.
eta - thanks for being so nice about discussing this. it was a refreshing change from what usually happens on these threads.
