| Five Keys to Harmony ø The
Secrets of Spiritual Co-workership by Mary Carrroll Moore Five singers gather around a kitchen table in the upstairs room of Cliff Hanger Records, New York. The tea kettle has just whistled. Larry Siegel, producer and group member, goes to the stove and pours hot water into five mugs. Hands cup the warmth. Before each person on this chilly January Saturday is a stack of song lyrics and an impossible challenge: to work as a group to arrange, record and produce 12 songs in 12 months. ÒFive extremely diverse personalities were attempting the impossible. At first I tried to talk us out of the concept.Ó Larry Siegel laughs, remembering. ÒI thought, ÒFive directors? Each having an equal voice in the project? Unheard of.Ó Siegel is a professional musician who has played on the Rosie OÕDonnell show and with greats like ÒPapaÓ John Phillips. He has six albums to his credit. But the process surprised him. ÒI was surprised by the synergy it created ø to work as a group on every single decision about this CD,Ó he says. ÒIt really became a project owned by each of us.Ó Kevin McKay, a chiropractor from Stuart, Fla., and the other male vocalist in the group, remembers the guiding principle forged at their first meeting: ÒEach person was as important as the other, always,Ó he says. ÒWe wouldnÕt move on until all were happy. And it turned out each would take turns as being the Ôyellow canaryÕ ø the person with the least popular view or idea. And who was often the best vehicle for what Spirit wanted in the song we were working on,Ó he adds. The CD, released in December 2003, was appropriately titled No Limitations. ÒI had to surrender certain limitations,Ó says Emma Laurence, one of the three female vocalists in the group and a actor and singer/songwriter who lives near New York City. ÒOften they werenÕt the ones I expected. I had to give up criticism. Not discrimination ø which builds ø but criticism, which tears down. I had to give up taking things personally, like being afraid IÕd hold the group back if I was the yellow canary. I had to stop pushing any personal agenda and trust our evolution.Ó Keystone, the groupÕs name, refers to the oddly shaped five-sided stone that holds together an arch. Without each side of the Keystone, the arch would not be able to stand. The image of a keystone became the symbol for co-workership and five parts working in harmony to support a common goal. How did this principle of co-workership manifest when the going got rough, as it can in any creative venture? Becky Williams, a singer/songwriter and jewelry designer from the Boston area, notes: ÒIt was about facing the illusion of separation which is so much a part of the human state of consciousness.Ó And creating good harmony was a task of realizing that with every songøeach voice is separate yet each is also part of the whole. KeystoneÕs toe-tapping yet intricate sound has been described by listeners as similar to the early harmonies of Crosby, Stills and Nash. The lyrics, about going for the highest in life, add a spiritual twist. Each arranging and recording session began with a moment of spiritual focus: sacred chanting and reaffirming the projectÕs spiritual goal. Then the group would choose one of the songs to work with. The singer who had written the song would talk about the vision for it, sing it once through, then the group would begin brainstorming different arrangements. It was pretty unorthodox, but it worked well. Very different from the arranging process chosen by most singing groups, Keystone wanted each step of the CDÕs creation to be done by all five singers. Working line by line through each song was often laborious, sometimes bringing stalemates of differing opinions. ÒA calypso beat?Ó one person would suggest. ÒI hear it completely differently,Ó another would say. Ò[The process] was often difficult for me,Ó Becky Williams says. ÒBut every opportunity to give up the personal agenda and learn to truly work in the spirit of Ôall for one and one for allÕ is nothing less than accepting the challenge of working toward mastership.Ó As they finalized the arrangements, the songÕs unique spiritual message would become clearer. Soon the group caught on to a cosmic joke ø it seemed they would have to live the song until this spiritual message sunk in and bubbled through the work. ÒNo Limitations,Ó the title track, was about seeing without limits. ÒSacred Ground,Ó an a cappella song that is about meeting a spiritual master by a waterfall, was about finding the sacred moment within that is beyond personalities and opinions. Each songwriter had to give up their personal idea of how the song should be and become open to the groupÕs suggestions. And lessons were often surprising. ÒI learned that co-workership means being more aware of whatÕs affecting my responses,Ó says Emma Laurence. ÒIn one case, I uncovered a past life with another group member that was holding me back in this present-day project. In another case, I learned that our strong opinions sometimes express opposite qualities that need equal voice, each one key to the success of the song.Ó But the lessons didnÕt always come easy. One afternoon the group was arranging one of Larry SiegelÕs songs, ÒCompletely Free,Ó and it wasnÕt coming together. Rain had drizzled down all day, and singers were getting on each othersÕ nerves. They had already tried moving to the main room, then heading back to the kitchen table again. Nothing was working. Complex vocal parts were being learned on the fly, by singing them over and over so additional parts could be added. ÒLetÕs take a walk,Ó someone finally suggested. Despite the rain, they put on shoes and walked down the street to a housing complex with a loop road. Round and round they went. Someone began singing lines from ÒCompletely Free: The rest of the group joined in: ÒAnd the spiraling of your laughter, the subtle clues youÕre after, left behind to show that you as Soul already know.Ó What did they already know? Singing the same line, over and over, finally it dawned on one person after another. ÒWe are completely free!Ó From that spirit of freedom, the harmonies began to emerge. By the fifth circuit around the loop, they had it. Everyone went back to the studio and laid down a scratch (rough) track of the new vocal arrangement. What is it about personal harmony that creates musical harmony? Keystone discovered five keys. First, Ògreatest harmony was found when the person with the least popular view was validated, valued and appreciated,Ó Kevin McKay says. ÒWe made time for group processing because we knew we needed to be in harmony with each other before harmony would show up in the song.Ó Second, the group also learned of the value of dissonance as a component of harmony. In music, dissonance is the oddly combined notes that create rich, beautiful, and unexpected arrangements ø not unlike life itself. As group members were able work with one another and allow Òitchy airÓ (the not-quite-perfect combination of notes), they often found the entire sound was enhanced. ÒThis requires tolerance and patience when someone else is the yellow canary,Ó Kevin McKay says. In the case where dissonance needs to be resolved, musical resolution was usually only one or a half step away. Harmony also evolved from careful listening. Without listening, there could be no harmony in working relationships. Without listening to themselves and each other, the individuals couldnÕt hear how they sounded when singing together. Listening took on an entirely new power in the group process. The ability to listen to others outwardly and to oneself inwardly became a prerequisite to staying on track with their mission ø working together for a greater good. When one person stopped hearing their own small voice within, the music suffered as much as it did when they overrode each otherÕs voices. Trust was also essential. Keystone as a group had to trust that each person would speak up when something wasnÕt working for them. Each person also had to trust themselves, that their voice was as important as anyone elseÕs. ÒThere are always natural leaders in a group,Ó Emma Laurence says. ÒWe all had to become natural leaders, rather than let any one person take over. The level of trust we developed, painfully and with great effort, allowed us to succeed in our mission.Ó Finally, they learned about surrender. When each person in the group was willing to joyfully surrender what stood between them and the higher purpose of the project, they could harmonize. When each person was willing to surrender personal gain, they could harmonize. Surrendering personal agendas put them in place to experience miracles. ÒSituations that came up showed me how I separate myself from others or see my needs and goals as different or separate from the whole,Ó says Becky Williams. ÒI would experience this as hurt or pain. In learning to let go and surrender to the greater good of the group, I experienced a lightness of spirit and greater harmony and love.Ó Keystone gathered for the final session on Thanksgiving weekend 2003. After the feast and the football games, they faced the weekendÕs work. It was daunting ø finish arranging the last two songs for the CD, record them, talk about production styles, write liner notes, and get a group photo taken for the CD cover. The normal pattern was to arrange and record one song in three days. They would have to do twice that. No one was willing to compromise the quality, but if they didnÕt make this window, the December release was off. I decided to propose a technique IÕve found very helpful in teaching my writing classes at the Loft. Called a présumé, or future résumé, the technique starts with visualization. ÒImagine yourself Sunday evening,Ó I asked the group. ÒImagine the spiritual qualities and successes you would like to have achieved.Ó The group was silent for a while, then they began to list their ideals: ÒI want to feel wonderful about the arrangements and recording.Ó ÒI want to have time to process and validate everyone, not feel pressured or rushed.Ó ÒI want to work in harmony for the highest good of all.Ó The next morning was challenging. Would the group make their deadline ø and keep these lofty goals in sight? They worked on the first of the two remaining songs, recording the lead vocal track and arranging the harmonies around that. But Friday evening came with not much progress made. It seemed very unlikely theyÕd finish both songs by Sunday. Saturday morning the group needed to get right to arranging, but the looks on everyoneÕs faces made a check-in necessary. Nobody was feeling good about the project, the process, even the CD. Too much pressure. We were attempting the impossible. That evening I pulled out the présumé we had written, read the list of qualities. What were we here for, anyway? To be clear vehicles for Spirit, for the highest good, through our music. The CD was almost secondary now. We went around the circle and restated goals and spiritual purpose. As a group, we asked each other to surrender to the potential miracle of not only achieving our présumé qualities but also the recordings needed by Sunday night. The rest of the day was a testament to the power of surrender in the creative process. Smooth and full of unexpected gifts, one person having just the right idea at the right time, the blossoming of charity and kindness, the freedom of real creativity. By evening, Keystone had completed the arrangements and recorded one of the songs. The final song was recorded on Sunday morning. And between sessions, or while different group members recorded their individual vocal tracks, others worked on writing the liner notes or creating the CD cover. The sixth key to harmony is the arch itself. Divine love, or charity. ÒItÕs our love for the highest in each other and our spiritual purpose that created this circle of friends in the first place,Ó says Emma Laurence. This love became the key to learning all the other qualities of successful co-workership ø and produced a CD that each person was proud of. No Limitations was released in December 2003. The first Keystone concerts were in May 2004 in the New York City area. After the second concert, a woman in the audience came up to me with tears in her eyes. ÒYour music touched me so deeply,Ó she said. ÒSomething changed inside as I listened to it.Ó THIS IS WHY I SING, I thought. This is what harmony, inside and out, can do to help the world. Larry Siegel summed up the feelings of the singers: ÒI listen to this CD for therapeutic reasons, and that has never been the case with any other music project IÕve worked on.Ó The music really does heal. Keystone will perform in the Minneapolis area for one night only, Sunday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. at the Comfort Inn Conference Center, 1321 E. 78th St, in Bloomington (on the frontage road near Portland Avenue). The public is warmly invited to an evening of toe-tapping spiritual music, celestial art and great desserts. Tickets (include concert, art show, and desserts and tea bar) are $9 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity. For advance reservations, call toll-free 1 (888) 678-2972 or visit KeystoneÕs website at www.keystoneharmony.com where you can also hear sound clips from ÒNo Limitations.Ó Mary Carroll Moore is an award-winning painter who lives in the Minneapolis area. She will be interviewed on KARE-11Õs weekend morning show, Saturday, October 16, to share her art and ÒMelody,Ó the song she wrote for No Limitations. Copyright © 2004 Mary Carroll Moore |
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Oct 2004 |
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