At the time that I wrote my column last month, I had not yet received the first of the blizzard of emails that alerted me to the global hook-up known as “Fire the Grid.” Some of my questions were already being answered.

     More on that in a moment. There have also been a number of insightful reviews of the concerts held throughout the world, both as entertainment and as a force for change.

     In the long run, I believe that the phenomenon orchestrated on 7/17 will be seen as the harbinger of many more coordinated events to come. If you didn’t hear about the consciousness hook-up, here’s the really brief overview: Coordinated worldwide at the same hour, 11:11 Greenwich Mean Time (4:11 a.m. here in California), individuals and groups were invited to meditate, pray or to do whatever they felt called to do for an hour.

     We were encouraged to engage in something that brings us joy, and to thank the universe, Higher Power, God or whatever Force you are comfortable with for this special time to link up and connect with other human beings.

     From a sound healing perspective, the same principles of resonance and entrainment are fundamental. Everything in the universe has a vibration, including each of us. If we can all raise our vibrations at the same time, we can send those vibrations of peace and upliftment to raise our own and our planet’s vibrational fields.

     Being so open-ended, it’s hard to determine what sort of outcomes could have been, or were, observable. I’ve heard that many people felt an incredible rush of energy. Some, like myself, felt more of a sustained, heart-opening energy. I would also note that it felt like the shortest hour I’ve ever meditated for. So I knew something was up, as I sat alone in my meditation corner in the darkness of the predawn.

     Some folks didn’t feel anything. Of course, just being awake at that time of the night is an unusual occurrence for most of us. That in itself would qualify as an altered state of consciousness.

 

The Global Consciousness Project

     If all we had were our subjective experiences, that would still be notable. But a fascinating scientific dimension was added when the international, multidisciplinary collaboration of scientists, engineers and artists known as the Global Consciousness Project agreed to measure the event on the scale that they have been researching since 1988. I don’t have room to go deeply into their work, so I highly recommend that you visit their website: http://noosphere.princeton.edu and find out for yourself.

     Briefly, though, their purpose is the examine subtle correlations that reflect the presence and activity of consciousness in the world, using custom software to measure physical random number generators. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but when I saw their data and graphs from the 9/11 attack, it’s clear that they are onto something phenomenal.

     The graphs and measurements of Fire the Grid were likewise, at the very least, thought provoking. I hope that there will be more publicity and greater use made both of this measurement protocol, and of the coordinated consciousness events. I would, however, like to suggest that the starting time be changed so that those of us on the West Coast are not always forced to go without sleep.

Rock and Roll and Global Warming

     Kelpie Wilson wrote an insightful column for Truthout.org on July 30. Titled “Sex, Rock ’n’ Roll and Global Warming,” Wilson wonders if the Live Earth concerts are going to continue, and if so, will they evolve to serve the planet, or just provide so much entertainment into one 24-hour period. There were certainly a lot of questions about the green footprint of the events. One wonders if changing a few light bulbs and buying a hybrid car are really going to make enough of a difference in the face of the continuing corporate policies that have gotten us into this mess.

     Wilson suggests that rather than having mega-stars fly from one continent to another to perform, local musicians would be a more prominent part of the mix. This would also celebrate the world’s diversity more than just seeing a well-known American rapper or pop singer sing on a stage in Germany or Brazil .

     It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

Digital Unfolding and Who Played What?

     Speaking of unfolding mysteries, a few nights ago I met with other record labels and music distributors. One of their names was familiar. It took me only a moment to recognize that I had just read about what happened to his record label in the May 28 issue of Newsweek.

     As a musician, I was actually surprised this hadn’t happened sooner. In fact, it may have, but we don’t know. What we do know is that not only has the digital revolution in music made it easy to make copies of your own CDs to give to friends as gifts without thinking of the karmic implications, but it has now made it possible to steal an entire album and claim it as your own recording!

     The article, “Grand Theft Piano,” was written by Esther Bintliff. The headline writers also had fun with it: “Joyce Hatto was once called the greatest pianist no one ever heard of. She’s famous now—for being a fake.”

     In what is billed as the classical version of the Milli Vanilli phenomenon, Hatto’s husband, William Barrington-Coupe, allegedly copied performances of Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yefim Bronfman, and others, and compiled these other artist’s performances and put it out as his wife’s recordings.

     There is some intrigue as to whether his wife was aware of it. But in the end, even with some digital manipulation to disguise the fraud, the facts came to light. In what is now being called “Hattogate,” most of her 119 albums are suspected forgeries.

     As a musician, I know my own music, and my own recorded performances. As the brilliant pianist and computer scientist Manfred Clynes discovered and wrote about in his classic Sentics: The Pure Pulse of Emotion, each composer has a characteristic signature. This is a combination of touch and timing. Each pianist also has his/her own idiosyncrasies that make it hard to make an exact copy.

     Unless, of course, you make a digital exact copy. That’s one of the advantages I generally have enjoyed during my career. There are several distinct, though subtle, aspects of my playing that have been thankfully difficult for others to simulate, though many have tried.

     I remember the best case. It even fooled me for the first two minutes. I was in a yoga class, and the instructor was playing a version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major, from what I thought was my recent recording. At one point, however, the music headed into a melodic and harmonic direction that I would not have gone. I knew then that it wasn’t my album.

     After class, I went up to see which one it was. It was by Daniel Kobialka, and the pianist/arranger was Andy Kulberg. Mystery solved. I had helped mentor Daniel in the genre and in marketing. In fact, he even hired the same business manager. I realized then that he had learned his lessons well. There was another intriguing aspect to this case, though.

     I recognized Kulberg’s name, but it took me a moment to place it. Yes, of course. He was the bass player on the seminal ’60s band “The Blues Project.” Seeing their concert in my first month at college turned my life around, and helped expand my musical universe. Andy also composed and performed the beautiful “Flute Thing” that was very instructive in my own musical growth. I knew I wanted to ask him about this. When Andy and I finally met for lunch, I said, “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you.” He cut me off and answered, “Yes, and I did a pretty good job of doing you, didn’t I ?”

     We both laughed. I had helped him establish a whole new creative mode of expression, as he had done for me thirty years earlier. We then discussed collaborating on a future project. Unfortunately, his premature passing came quicker than anyone expected.

On Another Note

     As I’m finishing this month’s column, I’m saddened by the passing of Tom Snyder. He was the king of late, late night talk shows, and I had the honor and privilege to appear on his show in January, 1979. It was a high point in my career. Even though it’s just us and the crew, you know that millions of people are watching you, and I could feel the energy.

     He was initially skeptical of the possibility that my music could live up to its claims of instantaneous relaxation. I was so new to the field that I didn’t fully appreciate what a risk he and his producers were taking by having me on. If I was as good as my PR rep said, I’d put his audience to sleep. His advertisers would not be happy campers.

     After chatting for a while, I stepped over to my electric piano, and began playing the opening notes of Chakra Suite. Within seconds, Tom’s demeanor softened dramatically. He was into it from that point on.

     When I finished, he said, “Let’s hold you over for some more segments and really zone out the country!” All in all, a wonderful night that I’ll never forget. Thank you, Tom, and good night, wherever you are.

PS: If you have purchased any of my music through iTunes or one of the other digital download services, I’d love to hear from you. Have you compared the sound quality to a physical CD? Did you buy just one or two songs, or the entire album?

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© 2007 Steven Halpern. In an earlier incarnation as a jazz-rock trumpet player and guitarist, Steven Halpern performed with bands at large festivals in New York, Chicago, Miami, San Diego and San Francisco. His most recent release, Drum Spirit, honors the power of rhythm and trance-formation. Hear samples at www.stevenhalpern.com.

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