As I was in the process of imparting music a few weeks ago to a student of mine, we reached a very tricky and rather surprising juncture. I was trying to teach the student a simple phrase in an Aalaap (a creative improvisation within a Raag). The student was trying to repeat it but could not; this was not because it was difficult, but because it was a bit too simple. One might argue that a teacher should be proud of this attribute in a student, one where the difficult is motivating for him or her. I would agree, but on the condition that the simple is not marginalized. This deserves an explanation.
Music is made up of simple and pure pieces of sound. Even the most complicated pieces of music can be broken down into simple and pure notes. One of the most important steps to creating even a complex and intricate web of notes is being able to master the simple ones with perfection and purity. Sometimes, in our quest for challenge and thrill, we end up not being able to stay with the simple and beautiful. And over time, clutter and quantity replace simplicity and quality. Which is why, in classical music we must learn to perfect and polish simple notes and phrases. We must be able to take joy in them.
As I have myself grown to understand this truth through experience within the template of musical learning and teaching, I have grown to understand its profound import in our spiritual and emotional lives as well. I am now more aware of small things that have the ability to make me happy or sad and have developed an ability to recognize them when they happen. With this, we can develop a healthy and light emotional inner being; one that doesn’t pile up or repress. Because we are able to recognize and resolve feelings then and there when they are still simple. Another attribute that I feel comes with being able to deal with simplicity, is the ability to break down big and complex tasks into many smaller and simpler ones. This helps us solve big problems with patience and perfection. The analogy that comes to mind is that when we need to untangle or unknot multiple knots, we should be able to start with the outermost knots, the smaller ones and keep solving them as simple problems. And before we know it, the big mesh of tangles becomes just a collection of many simple ones.
Simplicity is actually very difficult. There are so many simple things in life that we find difficult to do. It is simpler to keep healthy with exercise and a balanced diet than go through the stress of ill-health and hospitalization. And yet people seem to find the former difficult. It is simpler to speak the truth and be honest as far as possible. But we all know the trouble many people have with that; somehow a complex web of lies is more comforting for many than the simplicity of truth. We have simple things in our life we can be grateful for; a job, a family, friends and good food to name a few things we take for granted so often. Yet people often set the threshold for happiness so high that unless they have an astronomical salary or an expensive car, happiness cannot have a place.
Being happy with simple things is tough. But it can be cultivated, just like any other skill. Classical music training forces people to focus and master the simple through the practice of basic notes to perfection.