WHAT DOES IT DO? A Testimonial
	Here are the words of a man whose three private sessions of Tonal Refraction took place seven months before this writing: "I found the Tonal Refraction private sessions a 'real trip' in the best sense of the word, but never expected that the longer-term impact would be so significant. Frankly, I am not completely sure how Tonal Refraction works, but I do know that my musical life is now divided into two parts -- pre-Tonal Refraction and post-Tonal Refraction. "Pre-Tonal Refraction: I was a devoted, some would say obsessively-devoted amateur musician, for about fifteen years (beginning as a 45-year-old adult, first with classical guitar, then after developing serious focal dystonia, turning to cello). I really worked hard, practiced religiously, and demanded a lot of myself. The results were very mixed. At best, I could play a wide variety of solo pieces, with good tone but somewhat ragged rhythm. When I played for others or with others, I would feel this inner anxiety creeping up my spine, into my body and fingers, and then it would all begin to fall apart. I suppose it was the Type A approach to music -- all in the head, emphasizing discipline, with all the determination of a medieval knight. I don't want to short-change this period -- I did learn a huge amount about reading music, about sight-reading, about ensemble play, about instruments -- but I had hit a wall and so, with Nancy Garniez's encouragement, I was drawn to Tonal Refraction. I should add that the focal dystonia was really debilitating (I could only use the thumb and index finger on the right hand, the rest just crumpled up when I tried to play); and my experience with the cello, though it was not marred by focal dystonia, left me with the feeling that I was about as far away from Yo-Yo Ma as a Little Leaguer is far away from Derek Jeter. "Post-Tonal Refraction: I was already back with the classical guitar by the time I began my sessions with Nancy Garniez. But it was very much as I described it above -- now reduced to two digits, trying to play four-voice pieces on the guitar. Almost immediately after our sessions, things began to change, and change dramatically. Perhaps the most obvious was that my ear became the central factor in playing -- I actually was hearing the notes, measure by measure, just before I played them. Then my ear seemed to broaden its reach, both recollecting and listening ahead, so suddenly the whole notion of dynamics came into play. No longer did it feel like 'work' in the Type A sense, but rather a meditative sense of mindfulness - or perhaps I should call it 'earfulness.' "Then in my duet sessions, playing renaissance and baroque musics with a very good recorder player, I found my ear listening in real time (but also anticipating and recalling) my partner's one-voice part and my multi-voice part. I felt that I was doing lots better, but my duet partner's response made it absolutely clear -- I was in a very different league, someone who could actually play ensemble music without becoming totally self-involved and self-critical. I could actually take my eyes off the music and interact with her playing. For the first time, I really heard those glorious moments when chords sound like chords.We now have been working on a Handel A-minor Sonata for about a year (along with some other music) and, instead of becoming bored with the same piece, feel that it is such brilliant music that it seems worth the time, perhaps worth a lifetime. "I should also add that I now approach practice without the obsessive sense that 'I must do it' but rather that it is a 'joy to do it.' Rather amazingly, my focal dystonia is now about 50% disappeared. That is, I am now playing with three digits (thumb, index, middle) and occasionally getting the stubborn ring finger into the mix. Instead of trying to get the 'right position' with the guitar I am letting my hands and body determine what 'feels right' just as I let my ear determine what will 'sound right.' At the risk of sounding like Star Wars, it does seem that the whole attitude of 'letting things happen' releases 'forces' that are quite beyond my rational control. Incidentally, I did take some sessions with David Leisner, a remarkable classical guitarist who suffered from focal dystonia and then found a physical route to a 'cure' -- but it was not until after my Tonal Refraction sessions that I was able to fully open myself to Leisner's wonderful insights. "I am still not quite sure how Tonal Refraction works, but I do know that, for me at least, it did work wonders. In some ways, with respect to the 'ear' for instance, it had a direct impact. But in a broader sense, the Tonal Refraction sessions seemed to liberate me from previous ways of thinking about music and playing an instrument. I had crossed some kind of musical Rubicon and I can tell you one thing -- I never want to go back! I remain very much an amateur, but now music-making is an experience that is directly linked to words like 'joy' and 'soul' rather than 'work' and 'ego' ". BACK TO RESPONSES