shyammonk

Heard the story of an important botanist in the 1800s giving his apprentice a dead fish to observe for half a day, and then for three days. The first half day, after lot of boredom and curse, the student started drawing the fish and then he started seeing details he had not before. After three days the botanist apparently told him that he has not even started to look.

Transcribing in any form seems to be the best way to improve one's skill of observing, listening, seeing. Probably there is a natural time for the brain to fill up the basics and then one layer of details and then more. Of course jump learning or guess learning happens but it takes some time before the picture starts taking a recognizable form.

And one has to be able to listen and identify the nuances before one can play them. And more nuances recognized and played, closer to the skill one is, more recognizable form, more ability and details into one's own creation.

Jack Kornfield reminds us that breath when studied for long starts revealing the non solid nature of all. Breath itself becomes not one solid act but more of a combination of changes, differences, which actually it is, even if we look at it logically.

There is this unified law of transcribing, where in going to basic principles of transcribing, the field becomes less needed. The basic skills of observation and identifying and nuance prioritizing and guess learning skills can take one through different fields. After all the distinction of fields is dependent on the zoom level when looking at it.

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