New Pathways to Piano Technique

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NEW PATHWAYS TOPIA NO TEC HN IQ UE

A S tu d y o f th e R ela1 io n s R dw eenM i n dan d.f lodyw i t hS l l c c i a lI l d c r c n e cto

P ia no P la yin g

n yL U I G I D ( )! 'i I'E N :- ;r EH E

Forrwor.; R yALDOUS Iluxr.xv

I'HILOSOPlfICAL LIBRARY

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NEW PATH W AYS TO PIANO TECH NIQ U ECopyright, 1953, by Maria Bonpensiere

Printed in the United States of America.All rights in this hook are reserved.

No Dart of the book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoev~r withoutpermiss ion. in urr it ing f rom the l~o lder 0/ t~ese r~ghts excep t by ~ Tev~fewe~w{!~w ish es to qu ot e b rie f pa ss ag es In co n~ec tw n un tl i a r e~ ww w n~ten d dme usi an in mag azin e o r n ew sp ape r or radio broadcast. For injormution a ress

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15 East 4 0th Street, New York 16, N. Y.

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F O R E W O R D

By ALDOUS HUXLEY

THE WORLD is a continuum; but in order to act upon it suc-cessfully, we have to analyse it into easily comprehensibleelements. The cake of experience can be cut in many differ-ent ways, and none of the systems of slicing can express themolar fact completely; each, however, may be useful forsome particular purpose.

There have been literally hundreds of analyses of humannature, some excellent, others less good, others again posi-tively misleading. What fellows is a very rough and per-functory kind of analysis which, while obviously inadequateto the total fact, may yet be of some value in the presentcontext. For our present purposes, then, we may say thatevery self is associated, below the level of consciousness,with a not-self-or, to be more accurate, with a mergingand inseparable trinity of not-selves. There is first of all thepersonal and partly home-made not-self, the not-self of con-ditioned reflexes, of impulses repressed but still obscurelyactive, of buried-alive reactions to remote events and for-gotten words, of fossil infancy and the festering remains ofa past that refuses to die. Next comes the not-self of bodilyfunctioning-the vegetative not-self of muscular activity,of digestion and respiration, of heart action, body chemis-try, glandular and nervous interactions. And finally there isthe not-self whose manifestations are primarily mental-

the not-self which is responsible for hunches, inspirat ions,sudden accessions of insight and power, the not-self whichSocrates described as his Daimon, which Christians calltheir Good Angel or even the Holy Spirit, which the Hindusequate with Atman-Brahman and the Mahayanists withMind, Suchness, Buddha Nature.

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A self can affect and be affected by its associated not-selves in many different ways. Here, for example, is a selfwhich, like all too many of its fellows, reacts inappro-priately to circumstances. Such a self is apt to people thepersonal not-self with all kinds of chr~nic fears,. greeds,hates, wrong judgments, undesirable habits. Thus distorted,the personal not-self reacts upon the conscious self, forcingit to think feel and act even more inappropriately than be-fore. And so the game goes on, each party contributing tothe delinquency of the other in a pattern which ~s, at thebest a vicious circle, at the worst a descending spiral. Selfand' personal not-self have set up a mutual deterioration

IV~society. . J

For the vegetative not-self of bodily function, their ac-tivities are disastrous. Crazed by aversion and concupis-cence haunted by the bogeys with which it has stocked thepersonal not-self, the ego starts to trespass upon the terri-tory which rightfully belongs to the vegetative soul. Theresul t is that everything goes wrong. Left to itself, the phys-iological intelli aence is almost incapable of making a mis-take. Interfered with by the craving and abhorring self, itloses its native infall ibil ity. Bodily functioning is impairedand the ezo finds itself saddled wi th yet another grievanceagainst th~ Order of Things-an acute or chronic illness,none the less distressing and none the less dangerous forhaving been produced by its own unrealistic thoughts andinappropriate emotions. The ego and its personal not-selfplay their game of mutual deterioration, and the bod~ ~es-

ponds now with heart trouble, now with a defect of VISIOn,now with gastric ulcer, now with pulmonary tuberculosis.

d I hoicc.""You pays your money, an you ta (CS your c OICC.And what, meanwhile, of the third not-self+-the Daimon,

the Good Angel, the divine Paramatman with whom, in es-sence, the personal Jiva is identical? The ego has power toruin the body, but can do no hurt to the spirit, which reomains in all circumstances impassible. What it can do,

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however, and what it actually does do for almost everybody,almost all the time, is to eclipse the spirit. The self sets upa screen between the inner light and the waking conscious-ness-a screen not, indeed, perfectly opaque, but so nearlylight-proof as to render the visitations of the third not-selfrare, fleeting and ineffective.

A fully integrated person is one who is at peace withinhis own being and at peace, in consequence, with his envi-ronment. He accepts what happens and makes the best of i t;and he knows how to make the hest of it because his selfand his personal sub-conscious are not insane and thereforedo not interfere with the working of the vegetative soul andthe spirit. Such fully integrated persons are very uncom-mon. To a greater or less degree, most of us are the victimsof the ego and its personal not-self. We make ourselves illand stop up the source of all wisdom. And being sick, unin-

spired and pathologically self-centered, we get on badlywith our fellows and live in a state, not of creative harmonywith our fate, but of fut ile and destruct ive rebel lion againstit.

All the world's great cultures and religions have devel-oped their special disciplines of integration-integrationwith persons and integration of persons with their sub-human, human and spiritual environment. Thus, in the FarEast, we find the disciplines of Taoism and Zen; in India,the various yogas of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism; inthe Near East, Sufism and its derivatives; and, in theWest, the 'ways of perfection' laid down by the masters of

Christian spirituali ty. For the last twenty-five centuries, atleast, all the world's seers, all its saints and wise men haveagreed that the ultimate purpose of human existence iscomplete integration; and for the last twenty-five centuriesthe great majority of their fellow men have been contentto say, "Amen", and go about their business and pleasuresas usual. Their attitude is all too comprehensible. Distantgoods tend to shrink into insi~nificance when compared

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with immediate pseudo-goods. Common enough in times ofcrisis, persistent heroism is rare when things are goingeven tolerably well. For the average sensual man, the idealof complete integration seems unachievable and the way toit, forbiddingly arduous. What is needed, if more people

are to be led in the right direction, is the setting up of pre-liminary objectives, easily attained and, when attained, im-mediately rewarding. From the experience of such limitedbut very real goods men and women may perhaps betempted to advance a stage further towards their ultimategoal and consummation.

The present volume treats of one of these preliminaryobjectives. That its remarkably gifted author should not bealive to demonstrate his discoveries, and to pass on to othersthe methods he developed for his own benefit, is greatly tobe lamented. We must be content with his legacy-thiscurious, interesting and, as I believe, very valuable book.

Let us consider a few familiar and yet astounding facts.Here, for example, is a parrot. It listens to a phrase spokenby its master and experiences a desire to reproduce it.Something associated with the conscious parrot-self-someamazingly intelligent not-self-then proceeds to make thebird use its beak, tongue and throat in such a way that fromthese organs-organs, let us remember, radically unlike throrgans of human speech-there issues a copy of the phrasegood enough to deceive dogs, cats, children and even waryadults into believing that it was spoken by the person whomthe parrot has chosen to imitate.

And here is a baby. We make a funny face at him, andthe child is sufficiently amused to wish to do likewise. Hissecond not-self responds to this wish and the rememberedimage of what he has seen by manipulating the muscles ofcheeks, jaws, mouth and forehead in such a way that theface as a whole reflects our original grimace.

Feats such as these cannot bc attributed to 'instinct'; for'instinct' is a built-in tendency to perform some specific act

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(such as nest-building in birds, or sucking and clinging ininfants); whereas these activities of the parrot's not-selfand the baby's vegetative soul are ad hoc manifestations ofsome kind of intelligence capable of adapting means toends in the solution of unique and unforeseeable problems.

In experimenting with himself at the piano Mr. Bonpen-siere found that the not-self, which can do these things forthe bird and the baby, is able to perform feats even moreremarkable. Distinguishing V (the conscious ego's will toperform an action) from V2 (the vegetative soul, which seesto it that the body does all the hundreds of things that haveto be done, if the action is to be carried out), he formulatedthe relationship between self and not-self as follows: "Vproposes, V2 disposes." The infallibility of V2 in regard tosuch involuntary activities as digestion and respiration hasalways been recognized. So long as we leave it in peace,the second not-self does everything as it ought to be done.Interfered with by the anxious or greedy self, it does lesswell or even fails altogether, leaving the body a prey topsycho-somatic disease. Bonpensiere's experiments led himto the conclusion that, even in the field of voluntary action,it is better to leave V2 to its own devices. He discovered "theparadoxical truth that, if instead of transmitting the per-forming volition, we withdraw it (another phase of specificvolition) from any possible combination with the physio-motor apparatus, the act is inexorably bound to be per-formed in the most ideal realization-that is, immediatelyand without the slow building up of progressive conditioned

reflexes; for, thereafter, the physiological guidance of theact is entirely assumed by V2, V having relinquished itsinterference." In the physical life, precisely as in the spiroitual life, the proper attitude can he summed up in suchphrases as, "Not my will, but Thine" or, "I live, yet not I,but Christ liveth in me." The hi?;hest, the most useful func-tion of the self's conscious will is to will itself out of theway, so that the beneficent and infallible not-self can work

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through the psycho-physical organism in the best possiblemanner. "So far as our conscious volitional life is con-cerned, the physio logica l has become a negation. It i s minusto the self of the individual. It is plus to life as whole."The language resembles that which has been used by all thegreat masters of the spiritual life. Its novelty resides in the

fact that it refers, not to "union with God" or "Liberation",but to every day bodily skill. Even in this field the functionof V, the will of the conscious self, is to refrain from inter-fering with the not-self. Its positive action should be con-fined to proposing the end to be attained, either in the formof an image of the desired achievement, or of a symbolstanding for that image. The difference between ordinarywilling and what Bonpcnsicre calls Ideo-Kinetics can besummed up as follows. The unreflecting and untrained egosays, "I want to perform such and such an act." The moreenlightened ego inhibits its first impulse and says instead,"I want such and such an act (represented by an image orthe symbol of an image) to be performed by the not-self incharge of my body."

Among the teachers of every kind of skill there is a con-stant insistence on the need for letting go, for somehowcombining act iv ity wi th relaxation , not -doing with the moststrenuous doing . The great merit of Bonpensiere consist s inthe fact that he has clarified and systematized notions thatwere previously obscure and even mutually inconsistent,and that he has devised and described in detail a praxisbased upon his theory.

It is interesting to compare this theory and its related

practices with the theories and practices developed by twoearl ier workers in fie lds less h ighly specia lized than that ofpiano playing. 1 refer to Dr. W . H. Bates and F. M. Alex-ander. Bates, an oculist, was concerned with seeing. Coulddefects of vision, he asked himself, be corrected by otherthan mechanical means ? Were spectacles the only or suffi.cient solution to the problem? In the course of years he

F O R E W O R D

worked out a method for the functional re-education ofsensing eyes and seeing mind. The basic princip le underly-ing his theory and practice was the same as that which un-derlies Bonpensiere 's: namely, that V must be preventedfrom interfering with V2. Perfect seeing is the work of thenot-self; the self merely gets in the way. The harder you,

the ego, try to see, the greater the strain and nervous ten-sion and the worse the vision. The various drills and pro-cedures devised by Bates and his fo llowers are the pract icalcorollaries of this proposition.

With F. M. Alexander's work on 'the use of the self','c reat ive consc ious control ' and 'the fundamental constantof living', we pass beyond the field of specific actions orsingle functions. The problem here is fundamental andgeneral. What are the intra-organic circumstances in whichthe physiological not-self can perform its multifarious la-bours with the highest possible efficiency? Alexander estab-lished the fact that there is a certain relationship betweenthe trunk and the neck and head, which is normal (in theabsolute rather than in the merely statistical sense of theword). Given this relationship, functioning of the autonomicnervous system becomes perfect and the body as a wholeworks [Io put i t anthropornorphical l.y ] "as it was meant towork." The circumstances of civilized life are such thatmost of us have come to adopt a wrong, unnatural 'use ofthe self'. The head-neck-trunk relationship is abnormal;consequently the functioning of the entire organism is ab-normal. But abnormal habits, if persisted in long enough,come to seem normal. If normal functioning is to be re-

stored, the debauched and deluded self must be taught toinhibit its tendency to unreflecting action along the accus-tomed lines. (In Bonpensiere 's terminology V must be pre-vented from interfering wi th V2). The fatal habit of whatAlexander calls 'end-gaining' must be broken and the con-scious self taught to consider 'means-whereby'. In the lucidinterval created by voluntary inhibition of debauched im-

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pulse, the self can be taught to use the right means of doingwhat it wants to do; and when this has been learned, generalbodily functioning will be normalized. When the self is usedwrongly, no act can be performed gratuitously: there arealways psycho-somatic costs, more or less high according tothe nature of the act. For this reason nobody can obtain the

fullest possible benefit from a system of specialized train-ing, unless he has first undertaken a basic training in theuse of the self. Because they are based on fundamentallysound principles, both Ideo-Kinetics and the Bates Methodcan do a great deal of good even in persons untrained inthe techniques developed by Alexander. On those who havemastered the proper use of the self, the beneficent effects ofthese specialized trainings are likely to be still greater.When, however, specialized physical training is based uponwrong principles and given to persons unacquainted withthe proper use of the self, somata-psychic costs are unduly

high and the net result is apt, in the long run, to be moreharmful than beneficial.Vast sums are spent on education (nearly as much, if I

remember rightly, as is spent on alcohol) and, along withmoney, prodigious quantities of time and devotion. Are theresults commensurate with the outlay? Many people are in-clined to doubt it. Then how is the educational system to beimproved? The Progressives have offered one solution; theadvocates of Science mitigated by a year or two of theHumanities, another; the Hundred Great Books people, athird. All the prescriptions strike one as being curiouslynaive, inasmuch as they tacitly assume that fundamentalimprovements in human beings can be brought about by do-ing something 011 the surf ace of experience. Consider , forexample, an education based upon the reading of a hun-dred, or even two hundred, of the West's Great Books. Whatcan this do for twentieth-century pupils? No more, surely,than it did for those who actually wrote the Great Books,for those who used to read them as a matter of course be-

F O R E W O R D

cause (poor wretches!) they had no alternatives in the wayof comic strips and television. That it did something forthese people is obvious; but no less evident is the fact thatit did not do nearly enough. Half the chapters in the historyof man are the chronicle of enormous follies and the mosthorrible atrocities. If we are content with behaving as peo-ple behaved in the thirteenth centurv A. D. or the fourthcentury B. c., then by all means let us pin our educationalhopes on the reading of Aristotle and Aquinas and Dante.But we would like to have something a little better than theold conglomerate of slums and cathedrals, the immemorialamalgam of self-satisfied reason and systematic senseless-ness, of brutal squalor and the occasional sublimities of art.We would like something better, and our only hope of get-ting it lies in devising a system of education, in which sur-face training in science, arts, handicrafts and Great Booksshall be combined with a training in the means wherebysuch surface learning can best be accomplished. And thisdeep-level training in the use of the self and Ideo-Kineticswould serve, so to speak, as an opening wedge for an evenprofounder training in docility to the second and third not-selves-an education in the art of getting out of the way,of dis-eclipsing the vegetative soul and the Spirit, in remov-ing the barriers of ego-centricity and permitting Life toflow, unrestricted, through the organism. Of the procedureswhich will have to be employed in this higher and deepereducation of the human person I cannot write in this place.Suffice it to say that, between them, modern psychology andancient autology (as Coomaraswamy called the traditional

science of the Self) can be relied upon to provide the meanswhereby some real improvement in individual and (at oneremove) social behavior might be achieved. Meanwhile letus be thankful for any contribution to the methods of thismore effective education of the future. Among these contri-butions Bonpensiere's will surely find a place.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTSTA B L E O F CON TE N TS

PART ITHE DISCOVEHY 01,' I[)EO-KINETICS

Foreword by Aldous l!uxley , "."....... vAcknowledgm ents " XIV

Introduction ".., ,.." ", XI XCHAPTER I

I AM DEEPLY indebted to M r. Aldou s H uxley for his Fore-word and also for his invalu able suggestions and encourage-ment.

Also I am most grateful to M r. D enver L indley for his sin-c er e, u ntir in g interest in my husband's work and fo r hisfriendly advice.

To Mr. Georg H oy, my co-w orker in the selectionan d ar -rangement of t he se e xc er pt s from m y hu sband's N otebooks;lowe a great debt of gratitude for his p ro fo un d, st ea dfa stinterest and assistance in putting these excerpts into bookform.

Of Mr. H oy I can say unreservedly that he is an en-lightened exponent of my husband's work ; that hehas a

thorough comprehension of the science of Ideo-Kinetics andis fully conversant with its principles and it s application tothe technique of piano playing.

Mr. H oy first met m y husband, Luigi Donpcnsicrc, in1926 an d a true friendship ensuedbetween them. In 1939Mr. Hoy returned to New York after an absence of severalyears, and it was during this visit that L uig i B onpen sierespoke to him about his discovery of Ideo-Kinetics and corn-rnunicated tohim hi s findings usof that period. J \L this tim ehe instructed him in the actual application of Ideo-Kineticsto piano playing, and he is the only person, besides thepresent writer, who learnedby word of m outh from the au -thor himself the facts abou t his discoveries.

M a ri a B o np cn s er c

33444567

Pre-Ideation 8Symbols ..,.......... 8Self 10Release 12Will " " 14

CHAPTER IITOWARDS IDEO.KINETIC CONSCIOUSNESS " 16

CHAPTER IIIANALYSIS FOIl FIRST Im:oKINETIC EXPERlMENTS............ 19

CHAPTER IVHITTING A MARK IN PHYSIO-KINETICS " , 22

CHAPTER VHITTING A MARK IN IDEOKINETICS " 25CHAPTER V I

BASIC EXPERIMENTS IN SYM130UZATION AND HITTINGTIlE MARK , ,................ 29

CHAPTER VIIANALYSIS OF A FIRST EXPERIMENT ON THE PIANO 36

DEFINITIONS , .

Mechanics .D rna:nics , .Kinetic " .Volition " " ..V an d V2 D efined " .Physic-Kinetics , " ..Volitional Ideation , ..

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PART II

TIlE SCIENCE OF Im;oKINETTCS ApPLIED

TO THE ART OF PIAl'lO PLAYING

CHAPTER I , , ,.., " "." " " " ".., 41CHAPTER II

"HITTING TIlE MARK" ApPl.TEO TO TIlE PrANo" ...".....,,' 44CHAPTER III

RHYTHM AND INTENSITIES ."..",..."..."."""""""."."" ..""" ...,,,,....... 51CHAPTER IV

SY1IBOLS ""'"''''''""""""",,,,,.,,,,,.,,,,'''''''''''''''''""'"'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 55CllAPTER V

SYSTE:'IIS OF POINTS IN SPACE,." ....""......,."""..".""....""......,,",,.. 76CIlAPTER V I

RELEASE ,.,.."......,",.,.""",.,""',...,",...,,',,....,...,".,""',...,"',...,,',....,,""'''''',.,'' 81CHAPTER VII

IDEATION AND VOLITION ".." .., ".,." "" " "" .." , 85

CIrA PT.El{ VIIIPRACTICING WITH ONE HAND ALONE BENEFITS THEOTHER " " ", ," " " " ,,'"'' ' , " .." , "" .." 89

CHAPTER IXPRACTICE " ".." "" ,.."'" "', ,, """ " "" 91

CHAPTER XF'INGEHIN G ""......"....",........,.."..,,'""""'''" ......",........,.."...."'".,....,,"""""'" 95

CHAPTER XlSTUDIES IN SIGHTLESS PLAYING ,,, ,,.,, ,, , , " , , , , , , . , , .103

CHAPTER XIIREADIN G "" .."".......",...."".."...""..".".....""..,"........"" ....."""" .....,......".,,.. " ' . 112

CHAPTEll XIIIIMPROVISING, MEI'II ORY AND HABIT '''''''''''" .." .." " 11 6

CHAPTER XI VCON eLUSIONS "'' '' '' '' '' '' '' "",.."., ' ".".,"",....,",.".,","" ....,.. ', . . ,'",."",."",,,.121

INDEX .,''' " " "..,..,,,..,,'"'''' " ,..,," ",",,"," " .."..".." """",, .125

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Excerpts from the Notebooks ofLuigi Bonpensiere, selected anda rran ge d b y M aria B on pe nsie rea nd G eo rg Hoy.

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INTRODUCTION

II,

III III :

CRl!:AT PRINCIPLES are not discovered for the glorificationof the individual man. He who would cherish this thoughtwould be, indeed, a poor servant to the Power of Life. In.stead of launching a c1wllengc to his fellow men and de-claring his primacy ill the field, it would be much wiserand more practical for him to say, "Here is this new thing.What can we do with it ? I feel that if a new bit of know]-edge is to be of extended use and benefit, it must be pre.sented with utmost simplici ty. Come. Help me." Therefore,nothing in this treatise is presented with u claim of finalityas to definite theories or unassailable hypotheses. On thecontrary, all of the experiences and, at times, astonishingstatements of facts are offered only as a contribution to fur.ther study and investigation.

Even the terminology of plwl\omclla had to he improvisedfor the convenience of discussion and any appropriate revi-sian of the temporary terminology will be welcome. Wehave been obliged to study the unknown in terms of thingsknowll~in terms whose symbols recall other establishedmean ings, M ucli to our dis! ike, we have had to use and toubuso such terms as mind, consciousness, volition, will,thinking and intelligence. All of these terms might be takenas synonymous of the same psychic activity, only differingamong themselves in their funct ional aspect.

These discussions are also full of assertions which seemto he taken for granted and in cOnJplde ddi,l!1CI~ur igno'

ranee of the latest vcrdicb of biological observation and ofscientific and philosophical inquiry in general. The truth isthat they have been compiled in the spirit of deepest humil-ity and of reverence for everyone's effort towards the ad.vancement of knowledge. The absolute and direet possibility


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of demonstrating the postulates of this study experimentallyis indeed a grace, Otherwise they might be deemed fantasticor impossible and refuted a priori.

T his stu dy implies three different steps in intimate se -quence: the discovery of a new aspect of the forces ofNature the f'oundntion of a new hrancu or suh-branch ofscience' and the invention of a method by which both the

new principles and the new science are applied to a widelyextended activity of man.

We have discovered, in our human physiology, specialaspects of energy which are the immediate pwjection ofour thoughts. By thinking alone, our hands, with utmostfaithfulness and without the least conscious effort, can re-produce the most elusive and complicated products of ourmusical volition.

W l~ designuto this systemof dynl1mics by the nam e ofIdeo-Kinetics. It wns discovered during an exploraLion ofvolitional acts and motions, especially motions requiring

long training and leading to the attainment of great ski ll .Ideo-Kinetics, in itself, would amount to vcry little if itwere limited to the few experiments available (a peculiarhehaviour of vol ilion [IS a pplicli to muscular motions). It isbecause it call be applied to one of the greatest skills attain-able by man (and because of the fortuitous coincidence thatthat skill is exercised on a man-made instrument, the piano,singularly adapted as a laboratory of the highest endow-ment) that IdeuKinetics can reveal some of the deepest secrots and unsuspected capacities of Ihe nervous system-that it can, in other words, ofTer such an immense field ofinvestigation to both psychology and physiology, apart fromits sublime contribution to the art of music.

Scientific investigations based on individual feelings andexperiences arc possible only because a degree of mutualagreeml'll\ has been reached ahuut lllf' specific meanings ofpsycho. physiological values. A reciprocal he! p , through areference to standard values, is not possible until individual

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INTRODUCTION

experiences are studied and correlated. The addition of aconvenient vocabulary, grown out of a common understand-ing, becomes of immense value. Until such a stage of knowl-edge about IdeoKinetics is reached, the scholar must be -come his OWI1 psychologist and physiologist and huild hissystem diligently out of the basic and positive data, whichare, unequivocally, suff ic ient to illumine him about the new

categories and dynamics. Man will get in Ideo-Kineticswhatever dynamic possibilities he may happen to know;and whatever marvels he ignores will be l O ~ L to him.

A spark of the very fire which Prometheus hrought can-not l }( ~h an dl ed w itha ton ostentatious simplioity-e-not with-out a reminder of what that fire was and is. If a new Dis-pensation is looming on the horizon, which will del-iver toman a great many graces, he must make himself ready forit. This principle is clearly illustrated in all of the func-tioning of Ideo-Kinetics in relation to the mind of man.Ideo-Kinetics gives an unlimited amount of help in attain-ing what would, normally, be considered impossible; but,in order to get all of the benefits, man must think of them.When the Scriptures say "God is no respecter of persons",besides many other things, they convey the thought thatman does not deserve more than he makes himself worthyof; and he shall get no more. There is no rubbing of talis-mans in the regions of Life.

Here is announced the beginning of an era when man canbe, spontaneously, what he thinks he is. Encouraged by thefirst findings, we should explore the fields where man hasonly to think and Li [e will realize his thoughts. Here theEternal Poet, the One whom beauty feeds in light and in

darkness alike! in dearth and in plenty, sings an appeal toall mystics, men of good-will, men who have surrenderedtheir ego and who are ready to work for the glory of Godand Life alone.

Luigi Bonpensiere

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INDEXAb aeternam-5Acoustic-58Activator-6Activity-xix, xx 3, 4, 5, 21, 27Acts-xx, 16Anachronous-8Anatomy-122Anthropomorphic-37 t 120Appoggiatura-64Arm, arms-12, 44, 73, 112Arpeggio, arpeggios=-Sfi, 61, 75, 76,

91, 92Art, artist=-xx, 11, 69, 83; 86Aspect, aspects-xix, xxAttainment-12, 123Attitude-19, 20Automatic-I?Aulomutism-1lSAu tonomi c placement-107Autonomy-14, 103Awareness-4. 1 7, 1 12

B ll 22 25 27

Contai ner-22Con trnction--42Control-15,76Cooperator-6Coordination-16,48Cross-33C ultu re-------16CUTiosity-52

Datu, sensory=-dDeterminati on-22Di agra m-1l5Difficulty, obstinate-53DiIfraction-7Discovery-xxDispensa tion-xxiDivide, great-14Dominion-12Dynamics-c-d, 5, 19, 47~89Dynamism-4

Effort-xx, 4. 13, 17 t 35

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NEW PATHWAYS TO PIANO TECHNIQUEEyes--25,29,31,34,44,46,57,73Eyesight-4

Fac to r, f ac to rs-3, 13Fai th-I7, 18,22,42,86, 104,121Fatigue-14Fear-42, 85, 91, 95F e e l - 2 0F i a t - 2 2 , 2 3 , 2 5 , 2 6 , 2 8 , 7 6

Field, physical-4Finger, f ingers-22, 52, 69, 71Fingering-44, 49, 52, 56, 75, 81, 82,

95, 96choice of-98difficulties-17p reoccupation-lO 1well-pianned-IOO

Fingertips-48Fire-xxiFixing, mental-33Flower, f1owers-33, 34Force, Iorces=xx, 6,8Fortissimo performance-B7Founda ti on -xx, 79Freedom-20, 54Functionalism-5Functions, involuntary-I6

Getting a habit-I17God, glory of=-xxiGood playing, conception of-54Good-will-xxiGrace, graces-xx, xxi, 18Grail , Holy, Grail , The-12, 83Gtouping-99Gruppetto-111Guidance-4, 5 , 6. 12 , 25, 2 B, 44 , 56,

57, 1 03

Hab it -20, 24, 117 , 11 9Hand-ZO, 23, 30, 46, 52, 55, 56, 66,

701 6ft-76 , 86, 90right-76, 89, 90,113

Handicaps, phys ica l e liminat ion o f-77

Hands-xx, 9, 11, 12, 13, 21, 27, 43,54, 55, 56, 62, 63, 67, 68, 75, 87,112

Harmony-60Hearing, sense of-123Humility-19

I-ego-Z6Ideation, acoustical-I03

dynanllc,powerof-73

f lo wing -93, 94incorrect--42pure-26vol it iona l- 5, 7 , 2 5, 2 B, lISvolit ional, principles of--45, 52

Ideo-Kinetic-concept, concepts-21,25,30consciousness-i.B, 48dynamics, perfect-l0education--42end-results-lOBfjngering-96guidunce-46integration-Il3integrations, process of-1l4mastery-IOproccss-74orientation-S2reading-1I2releast7-lO, 13tcchnique-28units-32

Ideo-Kine tl os -c -x x, xxi , 3 , 1 2, 16, 1 9,85

Tdcology-85Image , g raph ic -29, 58

men ta l-25 , 4 5, 47ocular-72,73Images, phonetic-75Impedimenta, spatial-SlImprovising-1l6Infiltration-123Inheriluncc-14,38Ini ti awr--17Inquiry-xixInstrument, man-rnede-=xxIntegration-9, 16,17,47,53IntelJigence-xix, 16, 88Invention-c-xxInvoluntary--13, 16

Keyhoard-9, 44, 45, 56, 70, 72, 76,77pattern-57,58

Kinet ic , Kinet ics-4, 13,26Knowledge-x ix , xx i, 17, 23 , 41 , nz ,

121 , 122 , 1 23

Laboratory-xxLaw,laws-4, 11,21,23,78Lcgato-96Legatura-83Legature-99Life-xxi, 12, 15, 23, 86

regions of-xxi[126J

NEW PATHWAYS TO PIANO TECHNIQUE

Light-S,27Limb, l imbs-e-Ll, 108Location-9,77Lookat-113, 114Loops-2S,26

Machine-3Man-x x, x xi , 19, 23Mank ind- 23 , 42Mark-23,25,27,30,31,33,54Mathematician-123Mechanics=S, 4Memory-32,116Metabolical new needs-I6Method -xx, 8 ,9 ,55Mmd =odx, xxi, 10 , 2 7,33, 34, 43, 47 ,

50 , 5 3, 79Moonl ig ht Sonat a, The , Beetho ven-

82,97Mot ion, motion s= -xx, 4 , 13, 5 2, 95Motor energy-6Musi c, a rt o f-xxMusi c, Musi ci an -50, 69, 74Muscles-16,24,42Mystic, mystics-xxi , 18, 23

~ature--5, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17,22, 23, 23, 38

Neck-76Negation-14,15Negativity, principle of-20Note, notes, musical-25, 32 , 58Norm-5,7

Pivot-I3Poct-21Points in space-76Power, powers-xix, 3, 4, 22, 24, 4B,

85,93Practice- 6, 16, 4 8, 70, 71, 91Prayer-llBPrecept-21Precision--83, 92

Pre-ideation+-B, 9, 93,94, 96Prestissimo-77Primacy=-xixPrinciple, prineiples=-xix, xxi, 54Pro cess, p roeesses-3 , 6, 7, 1 2, 96Progression-pattern-67Projection-20,26Prometheus-xxiPsychologis t-xxi, B8Psychology-xx, 110PI111--48,49, 79, 10 8Push-I3

Reading -l l2 , 113 , lISRealization~26Reflex, reflcxes~23, 4!lRcfutation-9Life, regions of-xxiRelease-13, 25, 27, 42, 56, 74, 81, B5Rendering, interpretative-69Resonance-86,87Reverence-xixRhythm-51,81

Observation, biological-xixObstacle-I7,82Octaves-57, 71, 91Orientation-6, 52Organism-c-ltiOrgans-24

Paint-34Passivity-20Pathways, new-5

Perfume-32Philistiues-123Physio-dynamics-6, 8,

23,81,B2,109Physiolog1st-89Physiology-xx, 12, 36P iano -x x, 3 ,9 , 41,57

playing-3 2, 50, 7 7Pianiss im0-86, 87P iani st , p ian ist s-B, 7 4, B6Pitch-3 2. 6 0

Scale, chromatic-57Schclur=-xxiScience, sciences-xx, 110Scriptures-xxiSelf-lO,l1

conscious-21-control-85inn er-25, 2 6-1e88-12, B 3-reliant-22volitional-ll

Sensation, kinaesthetic-73Sequence-9,9910, 12, 13, 19. Shifting, mentul-46, 47

Shyness-42Sight-123

reading -112 . 113Sightless mastery-l04

playing--105Ski ll -xx, 4 ,95

superlative--6Skips, exercises of-70

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NEW PATHW AYS TO PIANO TECHNIQUE

S o u n d - 4 9 , I I ISound, integration of-74

Sources-32Space-location-s-l Sd

perception of-26Staff, left hand-1l4

right hand~1l3Stimulus-IOStratagcn, mentaI-92Stretch,rnuscular--99Strength-s-Ifi, 87String instrument players-86Structure-44, 52Student-57Stunt-74Sub-complex=-?Substratum, musicaI-1l7Sug-system-77Sunrise-97Sunset--97Supremacy, man's-24Symbol-9, 10, 25, 30, 55, 57, 73, 103Symbols-44

arhitrary-9cum pulsory-8Exchangeability of-29exchangeability o-29expedient--l0

r n e n t l 2 8 3 2 4 6

Thought, thoughts=-xx, BJ20,48Thumb-52

Time~8, 83Tools-36Topography-79Touch-4, 25, 35, 6 1, 110 , 123Training systernutio-v Ifi, 119

period of--17Transcendence-IOO,123Translation--U3Treatise-xixTruth-23, 38

-building-e-IzT u n e i n - - I 2 1Twice horn-B3Typewritcr-79

Ultima thule-12U l tr a- ph ys io lo gic al- e- Zd , 1 0 4Unit. units-16, 22, 26, 76Universe-12

"V", "V2" - - - - S ,6IiV~1PH OPO SE S, "V 2" D TSPO SE S----

7Values-xxVigilance--55Violin-76, 86

Vi t B6


14/80

CHAPTER I

DEFINITIONS

IN A N A LY Z I N G the activities under study, we feel obliged tostate our definition of terms. We feel obliged to do it evenat the cost of making our definitions arbitrary.

Mechanics

We designate by mechanics the study of an activity inde-pendent of its generative power. For instance, if a machineis put inlo motion by electricity, we would not consider thesource of motion but we would be interested solely in thereciprocal action of every part of the machine and in prob-lems of pressure and the relation of time to the length of

motion and to stress. Then, if we analyze the problems ofthe piano, which afford an interesting field of observationfor physiological mechanics, we find that all training andtechnique is reduced to the application of principles ofstrict mechanics. In other words, in a mechanistic processwe study the sequence and interrelation of cause and effect.Both cause and effect are always considered as quantitativefactors related to and depending upon distance, velocityand variations in the amount and angular direction of stress.

W e may state definitely that al l preoccupation with suchproblems is totally absent from the field of Ideo-Kinetics.Not that the machine is, by a miracle, suppressed but he-cause a process of transmission from part to part of the ma-chine is disregarded. The machinery is excluded from allvolitional activity. It is this paradoxical exclusion fromanything mechanically active that makes the explanation ofterms especially necessary. What we are accustomed to con-ceive as mechanistic, being extraneous to all Ideo-Kinetics,

[3]


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NEW PATIIW ArS TO PlANO TECHNlQ UE

creates the necessity of giving a new definition of whatdynamism and kinetics can mean in Ideo-Kinetics, In a sim-ple statement we can assert the truism that there can be notalk of mechanics in a field where effort is entirely ex-eluded. Then, there being no mechanics of transmitted ~ffartin IdeoKinetics, we must now analyze how the concept ofkinetics is affected. If we arrive at this concept through ourawareness of motion in general, we must see what this con-cept can become in it system of activity where there is mo-tion but no computation nor awareness of transmitted effort.

Dynamics

We shall call dynamics any activity which expresses lawsand principles awl which brings motion and change. In thisguise, dynamism is interpreted as a cause of motive powerwhich brings motion and change as its eff eet.

Kinetic

We shall call kinetic any actual motion as expressed inthe physical field. Kinetics, then, are interpreted as the re osults of a dynamic cause.

Volition

In the course o ranalyzing the chain of processes leadingtowards the development of skill in voluntary motions, it isclearly shown that volition behaves like guidance during therealization of ideated end-results, To determine what voli-tion is or when its specific function starts or ceases is, forthe moment, beyond the scnpf' of our analysis. The onlyspecific meaning of volition; in our case, is its particularaspect as guidance. However, all through the process ofacquiring skill in various voluntary motions, we becomeaware that the management of our conscious guidance islimited to the control of our sensory data-eyesight, touch,kinesthetic sensation and intensity of effort-but that theactual processes of physiological activity-e-neural impulse,

[4]

DF.prN1TfONS

muscular innervation, selective neuro-muscular connectionsand coordination-are beyond the reach of our volition and,consequently; beyond our conscious guidance. This lattergroup of phenomena is only a response to our initial voli-tion.

If we designate our conscious volition by the symbol"V'\ we can conveniently designate by "V2" the complex ofactivities responsive to the stimulus of V". We are thenfaced with the interplay of two guidances.

"V2" is the governing activity of each living creature. Itis the guidance perennially bestowed by Nature under theaspect of an individualized being and somatic functionalism.

Ideo-Kinetics, not only in its advanced stage but in itsimmediate manifestations, rushes to e]a im that a new statusbe acknowledged for both "V" and "V2". We have assignedto "V" and "V2" the symbolic role of guidances. Guidance,in objective analysis, would designate their compliance withimmutable biological and physiological necessity. In an as-

sertive flash HV" shows Ihut it can transcend from its abaetertuim. assigned role and arouse an equally transcendingresponse in "V2". This statement implies an unexpectedrevelation of physiological (somatic) behaviour; new neuro-logical dynamics giving rise to systemic neuro-activity ; newpathways to action.

The concept of '"V2" as guidance, so elusive when pro,jected from the taken-for-granted source of normal psycho-physiological functionalism, is vividly asserted when thenorm is transcended at the mere bidding of "V's" new sta-tus: that of pure volition, or volitional ideation. Psycho-

physiological functionalism is at once upset by the assertive-ness of in-rushing new physiological behaviour. The undis-puted permanence of a norm fades as the delusion of acosm ic dream , and the reality of afar wider norm emerges.

Now for the prnclical purpose of establishing the relationof "V" to "V2'1 in the analysis of voluntary, physiologicalmotor acts, we shall neglect all of "V's" aspects offered by

[5}


16/80


the psychic complex and utilize only its aspect of volitionas activator and cooperator to "V2". Before we had aknowledge of [deo-Kinetics we were jllstifi,~d in assumingthat "V" was merely a by-product oJ "V2's" own activityand functionalism. Now, confronted with the new facts, "V"emerges as an independent force, entitled to impose altera-tions along the whole course of "V2's" activity. Accord-ingly:

A. "V" can choose to alter the motor encrgy.B . "V H ca n cause radical innovat ions in the work of the

terminal perf arming organs.The ascent of pure volition, though possible in every voli-

tional motion, is to b G g lo ri fl C J in the special practice ofarts requiring superlative skill. As to '"V" selecting the ap'proach to "V2" rather than to the habitual normal activity(PHYSIO.KINETICS). there is a developed technique whosefirst step is the witlulraioal of "V" from the paths of pliysi-ca l volition, The response is immediate, once the basic pr in-

ciple is grasped. Th e diJTercncr: hctwr-en the tw o volitionalapproaches is fairly summarized hy the following ir leolog-ical orientation:

In habitual PhysioKinet ics , "I want to perform this act."(I shall usc V2's machinery which is at my disposal.]

In Ideo-Kinetics, H I want this act to lie performed" (B yV2 entirely).

If we try to analyze the process of a volitional motor act,especially an act tending towards the development and re-alization of high skill, we discern at once two distinguish.ablt: activations:

A. The conscious guidance of the individual's volition,'which 'we have symbolized as "V H

B. The guidance of the complex of involuntary processes,which we. have symbolized as "V2".

All motor ads an d sk il led motor activity is, then, a co-. b I 'J "V " dopcratrve process etwcen LIe two gU J anccs, an

"V2". "V" is characterized by the striving towards or pro-

[6]

DEFINITIONS

posing the realization of some ideated, p4ys.ical .(moto.r)end-result. "V2" is characterized by the physiological hid-den processes of Natu re o ff e rc d towards the real izat ion ofthose ideated end-results. It might be formulaled that !IV"PROPOSES, HV2" DISPOSES.

Volitional. Ideation

In the case of Ideo-Kinetics, the transcending of the normis brought about at the bid ding of "V". Yet the initiator ofall those innovations is not, cannot he, the "V" we knowempirically in the habitual performance of volitional acts.

Volition is a complex (o r if we prefer, a suh-cornplex ofthe wider psychic complex) not a specifically isolable ac-tivity. We are, or course, adhering strictly to the concept ofvolition which relates lo motor acts, barring all other psycho-logical issues. Should we try to find a single, irreducibleelement in this vol it ional suh-complex, there would be butone: the idea of expected end-results, which we shall callvolitional ideation. This ideation is the sole contribution of"V" to the motor act. The rest of the unfathomable processee of transmission, transmutation and neuro-physiologicalmechanics are the work of "V2". Yet the action of "V"does not stop at the issuing of the volitional ideation. Itcontinues to follow closely the doingg of "V2" (V continu-ing its guidance over V 2; V2 careful ly oheying V's guid-ance) within the limits of possible physiological mechanics.

Ideo-Kinetics is a transmutative process of the volitionalmotor acts through the diffraction of volition itself. Ac-cordingly, the sale aspect of volition which ff~mains. val~dand active is the volitional ideation. The aspect which 111

Physic-Kinetics follows the physiological processes (theprocesses of performing volition) is withdrawn altogether.This leads inevitahlv to the discovery that, owing to thisdiffraction of "V" (the volition); the behaviour of "V2" isaltered and its competence extended; while the entire nerv-ous system reveals transcending facts hitherto unnoticed.

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NEW PATHWAYS TONANO TECHNIQUE

In spite of its simplicity, the basic principles of Ideo-Kinetics would have remained obscure had they not beenverified through actual experience. Volitional ideation, byits own sovereign power, determines the extent of its Held ofaction. The nature, power, capacity and extent of conceptsheld to be active, therefore, determine the extent of Ideo-Kinetics. What the volitional ideation knows of Ideo-Kinetics and what it accepts and believes and wants to reoalize is automatically selected within the acting dynamics.What it ignores or dismisses or fails to include will be ex-cluded.

Pre-Ideation.

The dynamic action or power of ideation is not neces-sarily utilized at the moment of its origin. It is not like theradiation of Iight that can east shadows only in its nascentslate. I can ideate an act not [or immediate performanceand keep it in storage for any amount of time; then themo~ent I release it for action the whole act is performed,while m y thoughts can either wander elsewhere or be keptattentive in watching the release of the pre-ideation, This isnot f igurative speech. It can be reproduced at will, with allthe accuracy of method adopted in any dynamic experi-ment. The extreme significance of these facts not onlyshows that ideas are no longer to be considered as mereepiphenomena but that they are, in the strictest sense of theword, dynamic forces. Also that their dynamic value can heextended heyond their origination in time. They can he bothsynchronous and anachronous with their end-results-e-a factentirely foreign to Physio-Kinetics,

SymbolsThe adoption of symbols, in lieu of abstract concepts of

reality. is also an ad of volition. In Ideo-Kinetics we usetwo kinds of symbols, We use systematic symbols, or com-pulsory symbols, as we find them already established in the

DEFINITIONS

very subject-matter of our activity. For instance, we havemusical notes (their names and graphic representations areeither written or visualized in our memory) and the visuali-zation in our memory of their co r rcspom! in g keys on thekeyboard; and we have, from Nalurr. Herself, their soundvalues. These all serve the purpose of finding in space the

loci which they represent .We use .a s~c.ond kind of symbols: the arbitrary symbols.These the individual chooses at will, in order to assemble agroup of sy stem atic sy mh ols ami for th< ~pu rpose of in creas-ing the efficiency of his chosen sym bol, Forexample, the useof TAU* to represent our refutation of willful contributionto physical effort .

We Use arbitrary symbols only in order to bring about aprocess of in teg ral ion ;i. c., when we have to learn or ac-quire mastery over n heretofore unfamiliar Lit of kineticsDr technique. W hen the integration is complete (when weplay what we have mastered, or read, or improvised, usingonly the now-familiar kinetics) we employ only systematicsymbols.

It is not because of some particular power of a symbolthat we recur to its help. Its use seals om volition againstthe interference of other volitional thoughts. This is illus-trated when we find that the reading of a musical sequence~wa~ fr?m the piano is far more effective than actually try-mg It WIth our hands 011 the keyboard. It is on this princi-ple that the wllole method of Iearning ill Ideo-Kinetics isbased.

When- we exton the Ideo-Kinetic virtues of a visual svm-

bol (an arbitrary symbol, for instance, Tau) and recognizein it the greatest fundamental help in mastering location onthe keyboard, we may ask -why we rely on a symbol whichrequi res a mental eO'ol'l to reproduce (as a mental image)and not have it written hef ore us 10 look at. The answer is

.. The Author used the Greek letter Tau, or sometimes Phi, to representthe whole concept of RELEASE,

[8][9]


18/80

NEW PATHW AYS TO PIANO TECHNIQ UE

that the psychological operations involved in the two casesare not the same. During the holding of a mental image, ifyou hold it at fill, the volitional activity of intrudingthou ghts is dev iated [rum our consciousness. Whereas, irthe symbol is read, it acts as anything coming from the out-side, so to speak, .and does not c l i f fer from any other sen-sory stimulus. In one case it is a perceived image from theo ut si rl e ;in the other, it is crenterl (rt-produ ced )from withina nd b el on gs , c on se qu en tl y, I I _ )thl"'activ ity of volition. I II theprompt resort to Tau, we suspend, at once, any cooperationwith physiological effort. We refuse to act. We play dead.We remember that for the display of perfect Ideo-Kinet icdynamics we m ust not contrilru lc eventhe least effort.

While looking hopefully towards the attainment of finalIdeo-Kinetic mastery, let us take every advantage that thesystem, 50 providentially, has to offer and let us, by allmeans, he helped by expedient symbols. Consequently; letus each devise a symbol that can bring, as immediate result,

th e Ideo-Kinetic concept of a shir U n p ;self.

Self

In order to grasp the concept of physic-release, we mustborrow the concept {If self as R prop for the full understand-ing of the leading principle of Ideo-Kinetic release. Weavoid the philosophical entanglement inlo which the subjectof self would inevitably lead us. We merely adopt this con-cept as an expedient. Even when we use it as a convenientdistinction between one individual and all the rest of indi-viduals, we are apt \0 gi...e the term gradation in meaning,according to the number of activities or traits we mean toinclude. We speak of the self as the empirical entity corn-prising the whole of man-body and mind. Or, from a sub-jective point of view, we limit the self to the activities ofthinking and redin~, We consider, in such It ease, thnt thephysical organism belongs to the objective collectivity ofN ature. Weare not attempting to exhaust a classification of

[10]

DEFINITIONS

the many ways to interpret the self; we are just glvmg af ew e xa mp le s in order to illustrate OUl' point.

We are struck by the possihilities uf UIl!' will, as againstthe seemingly ev idcut Iatal ism t i l ' I hines wi ti liu and wi t houtthe individual. 'Vhatever can hI! willed we consider as ap-pertaining to the domain of self ~ whatever remains inde-pendent of our will is outside the self. Consequently, all the

voluntary motions belong to the self. Even the physicallim bs and m em bers Ilre c on si dr -r cr l a spart of the self ill sofar as they respond Lo the will; exclusion is made of theirsubordination to laws and conditions of Nature. This lastconceived self we should call the ' vo li ti on a l s el f.All the in-volu?tary organs, which do not function at our bidding, 'weconsidor as helonging In another collective ."clf--Naturc~s.Thus, while our entrails (of whose existence, when all iswell with us, we are not even a-ware) can in no way belonato the volitional self, we consider our hands (over which w~are so concerned and which we train to excess in order thatthey m ay r aithfu lly express ou r will) as the grcatc5t ex -ponents of our volition.

Now we are talking to the pianist-to the man who soearnestly wants to express himself through his hands. Nomatter what his philosophy is, he will throw overboard alleschatological encumbrances so long as he i s p la yi ng . Whathe knows is that his playing is going to portray the most in-timate features of his inner self. He has translated all of therecondite resources of the self into his own hands. His handsare his very self. But, should -we Ill" cu riou s to know thesecret of this su cornph~lp. ex ten sion of tlw sdf, hom mindto limbs, ally great art ist would relate a long tale of tribula-tions and of toil. It is the tale of an evolving volition whichhas to be physiologically and gradually manifested.

The initiated in Ideo-Kinetics knows that his ideation canfoHow lwo courses:

A. Either he entrusts the ideation to his physiological

[11]


19/80

[12J

DEFINITIONS

lated to biological experience, Every time we need a changeor correction or improvement in our organism and we eitherentrust ourselves entirely to the redeeming forces of Nature,or we try artfully to bring about marc favorable conditionsin order to receive her hel j1, we are committing an ad anal"ogous to Ideo-Kinetic release, For example, this is truewhen impedimenta to physiological welf are are removed

and we commit ourselves to the working out of universalprinciples., We call an act of release any prohlem o[ biology (hav-m g chosen Ih(~ prohlr-m to lw f ;o lv r d , w i th !lain of ou r ownfree choice) the solution of which we entrust to the cares ofNature. The word, release, can be used until another wordis found to indicate the dynamic factor of perfect physio-release,

To make one jump from Physio-Kinel icsitiLo Ideo-Kinetic consciousness is asking Lo o much; unless the indi-vidual is especially illumined: So it is expedient to reach

the unknown through the few means available from the al-ready known. WhaL everyone already knows is Physio-Kinetics Lased on elTort. It is , th en , expedient to evolve sogradually the idea and experience of e!Tort towards a newdirection that in following this new direction we must, per-force, find our goaL If the concept of absolute releaseseems, in the beginning, beyond our grasp, let us reach itthrough gradual steps-by departing from the idea of phys-ical effort. '

We have interpreted release from t.he beginning [IS a de-taching of the will from physiological preoccupation. Hereis the pivot of the whole system. In procuring release, weare simply transforming a voluntary motion into an involun-tary one.

One can speak with authority ahout release only whenthe free flow of his ideation finds immediate kinetic realiza-tion, without the least preoccupation; when his hands, with-out the least mental push, go about their business of scru-

[I3)

NEW PATllW AYS TO PIANO TECH NIQ UE

will and, in so doing, he makes his hands work+-Physio-Kinetics.

B. 01' he must entirely disconnect his hands from physio-volition of his own and limit his activity 10 his idea-tion-loco-Kinetin;.

In A, he must be conscious that his self is extended to thephysiology of his hands.

In B, he must be thoroughly convinced that the physiol-ogy of his hands is entirely beyond the rlorninion of self.

It is through the reu lizntion that his hands aruaeting un-der the influence of SUIlW other guidance that he must con-sider them self-less, It is the surest wa y of neatly cuttingany possible tie linking them to his physio-volition; i. e.,the surest way to realize complete physio-release. So, let usfind a sym bol able to convince us that the dynamics of ourhands arc already heyond 1111-~reach o rsol], We know verywell h ow, th rou gh competent symbolization, we can renderany concept dynamically active; i. e., capable of generat ing

Ideo-Kinetics. Of course, the recurring to expedient symbolsmust alwavs he evaluated as a means to an end: as a meansto c sL a hl i~ h p er m an en t conrl itions. T he: ideal to cultivateis the attainment of' a p"ychology built entirely upon Ideo-Kinetic convictions. For, as we must repeal, the mastery ofIdeo-Kinetics depends on a truth-building process, withtruths derived from direct experimentation and aimed at annlrogethcr novel outlook on life and Nature.

Evidently consciousIless 1 S )101 Ih e ul tima thule of th eself, So long HS we insist in :'Jhaping the Universe accordingto what we believe we arc handling, without making rev-

erent reservations for the greater possibilities of incognitae,our work of packing and unpacking our intellectual lug"gage will always interrupt om quest [or The Crail.

ReleaseThere is an analogy between an act of Ideo-Kinetic re-

lease and certain other common instances of behaviour re-


20/80

NEW PATIfW AYS TO PIANO TEClINIQUE

pulous translation, just as though they were not his ownhands (when they do not give him the least hint that theyare any of his concern); 'when he feels sure that nothingcan possibly go against this rcalization ; when he feels notthe slightest sense of fatigue; when he feels sure that Gnallyhe is at home in a world of sublimated laws; and when heis surprised at the past awkwardness of toil and its scope.Then he can speak with authority of having grasped the fullmeaning of release. Then. when his physiological practicingseems to be at the end of its resources, he can, by a delib-erate act of ideation, declare his mental autonomy.

A whole library can be filled with books on the princi-ples of Ideo-Kinetics, but it will be just as useless as a Ii-brary on how to become an artist, a poet, a mystic or asaint, We are reminded that: "To those who have, i t shallbe added, and to those who have nut, it shall be takenaway." Even if we are not among the chosen, it is a great

blessing to be in the midst of the called ; for we have he.come acquainted with an inheritance which, by some strangeturn of life, has been overlooked in the reading of God'stestament to man.

DEFINITIONS

linquish our control on the physiological. We release it tothe forces of Nature. So far as our conscious volitional lifeis concerned, the phy_siological has become a negation. It isminus to the self of the individual, It is plus to life as awhole.

Will

A little reflection will make us realize that in the veryact of negation (plunging into a physic-volitional nothing)we are summoning the sudden services of an integral will.There is nothing ahsurd or snvnring of a caprice of Naturein the fact that we must not will in order to will.

When we make a plunge into release, into negation, weactual ly subtract our will and its hold on the physiological.But, as a matter of fact, our volition is always flowing inthe milder aspect of ideation, We ideate ou r end-results ina process of flow; but, at the same lime, we ideate our a b osolute unconcern with the ways and means to obtain them.We gather the whole of our cognizant and conscient self onthis side of the psycho-physiological great divide and re-

[14] (15]


21/80

CHAPTER II

TO WA RD S ID EO -K IN ETIC CO NSC IO USN ESS

But after doing many tentative motions, and with the helpof some motions with which we were previously acquaintedin our past heterogeneous experience, we begin to feel theincoming coordinat ion. The process is clumsy.

What is wrong then? Have we any authority to suspectthat something must be wrong? If so, have we any reason tobelieve that there must be a remedy'? What should we ra-

tionally select as a guidance to find the cause of the error?First, of course, we should make an analysis of the perfection of functional involuntary mot ions.

Second, a comparative analysis of both skilled motionsand involuntary functional motions.

Third, a comparison of the three classes of motion-voluntary, skil led voluntary and functional involuntary.

Nature offers the highest service of involuntary funct ionswith ready-made integrations, but she seems to follow anideation of her own, In the voluntary motions, she leavesthe choice of ideation to man's mind. Nonetheless, in man's

progress towards skill, it is Nature who selects his psycho"physiological integrations. Furthermore, once the skill isacquired, we see how the voluntary motion comes close toresembling an involuntary motion. The physio logical indexof effort disappears almost completely. The will need notassert itself with great intensity, which, in turn, diminishesthe effort-the motion becomes largely automatic, withoutcare and awareness of the means employed. So, we sec hereclearly, if we sharpen our insight, a great shifting fromthe status of the ordinary voluntary motion towards theprivileged status of the involuntary.

Your period of training in Ideo-Kinetics has only onemeaning-you must develop an intimate, experimentalknowledge of the dynamics involved, and upon this knowl-edge build your faith. Remember that if we are trying toovercome an obstacle (deciphering a score, correcting fin-gering difficult ies, etc.,) and we acknowledge the obstacle,it is tantamount to ideating it volitionally, Your ideation

[17]

TO WAR DS ID EO -K IN ETIC C ON SC IO USN ESS

IDEO-KINETICSis a technique which grants to voluntaryacts the wisdom and competence displayed in the involun-tary functions of the organism. We find it easy to explainthat competence as being mechanistic in the involuntary,but we regard it as d isquiet ingly abnormal in the voluntary. Isit possible that the same Nature who has planned the mostmiraculous functional coordina tions wi th in our own bodies;who always modifies them and reconditions them in anyemergency and accident; who knows our _real needs andtries to overcome all the obstacles that, through accident or

neglect, are put in the path of her wisdom-is it possibleor credible that she be so tardy in preparing an integrationof our voluntary motions? It is not a matter of metabolicalnew needs that causes the delay and slowness. What isneeded is only an activity of integration, for which we de-pend entirely on Nature's secret bounty. Intelligence andculture may simplify matters a great deal, physically, but,in the main, we rely on Nature's good grace.

Many competent teachers will insist upon reminding usthat we have no strength-we must develop our muscles-even when we possess muscles capable of doing twenty t imesthe amount of work implied in that skilled task. After longtraining and practice, the sense of effort is gone and we re-joice in our developed strength and muscles. It is the coor-dination of a rightly selected group of units, adequate tothe chosen task, that brings success. We could never selectthose units. We do not even know what they are nor wherethey are. We only know that some muscles are used; andoften, in the attempt to use them, we choose the wrong ones.

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must be an act of Faith, rather than an objective outlook ontechnical data. As for this faith, do not mistake it for asevere test of your intellectual makeup. It it; not like theFaith of the mystic that falls on the elect, discarding thelumen of his proud reasoning. It is not the expectation ofGrace that is required of you. It is not based on a psycho-logical mystery co involving being born again. You simplyhave to know what it is you want and to know that the dy-namics do respond to your ideation.

CHAPTER III

ANALYSIS FOR FIR ST IDEO-K INETIC EX PER IM ENTS

[IS}

IN IDEO-KINETICS, because of the very fact that we are notconcerned with physiological implications, we live in aworld where ideas are realized into acts and we have everychance to examine all of the most subtle nuances of thosesame ideas projected faithfully into the realm of facts.The more we insist on this analysis, the more we find thatour facts are our ideas.

If we put so much stress on the practical way to renderour ideas dynamic, it is because there is no precedent, inthe complex experience of our external and mental world,which would serve as an example. The only experience of

kinetics known to man is the physic-dynamics of effort-e-the very thing we are striving to forget.

If you want to succeed at your very first experiment-anysimple volit ional experiment-you must try to avoid certainmental conditions which are always present in the attitudeof a first experimenter. In an objective experiment nothingof your mental attitude would matter; but in a subjectiveexperiment there should be nothing present to conflict withthe very nature and purpose of your mental dynamics. Inall probability, you will wonder or doubt whether the actwill be performed. Or, even jf predisposed to believe, or

even willing to believe, you might be watchful to see whenthe act is going to start. This latter attitude would be greatlycontradictory to your purpose, for in watching when it isgoing to start you have entirely changed the problem. It isyou, your will, that must deliberate on the act; conse-quently, nothing is ever going to happen if you wait for asomething to get busy. Keep entirely relaxed and decide to

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NEW PATHWAYS TO PlANO TECHNIQUE

will th.e act down to the end. Then, supposing that youstart wl l.h the cor~ect state of mind, at the very beginning ofthe motion surp,nse. will get the best of you and you mayturn your attention mto, a sudden attitude of watching. Yousho~ld prepare yo~rself beforehand for this emergency, anddecide that you WIll keep your volition active to the end;for you know that everything is going to happen accordingto schedule.

Give a gre~t deal of attention to securing the passivity ofthe hand until the phase when you will the act to be performed. Here your attention is focussed on the willed actand your hand wil l jump without your being conscious of it:I~ is on this, I?rinc.iple of negativity on the part of yourIimbs-e-remaining inert as if refusing to move-that thewhole training to develop consciousness of release is based.When it becomes a habit or a permanent attitude, you donot e~en need to remind yourself of it, let alone recur to

expedients in order to secure it. From a state of consciousendeavour to ~e released, in the beginning, you proceedtowards a desire for gentle neutrality, where you greetyour ~ands as a counterpart of your ideation-as organsdeservmg to be entrusted with your hopes, but needingcompl~te freedom even from your own thoughts. So, just asyon. WIsh for great agility and efficiency of ideation, youcultivate the feel of your hands as ethereal agents whichcan carry out the beauty of your ideation, even if you for-get that there is anything physical in them.

The age-long c~nscious~ess of a physical volit ion is grad.ually undone, until there IS scarcely a trace of feeling aboutthe physical nature of your hands. There are two conceptsconcerning them:

One is the physiological concept. It is the oldest of all theconcepts which man has been accustomed to hold since hedeveloped a consciousness. B y this concept you, and onlyyou, feel responsible for every motion of the hands andthat it depends on you and on your willingness, awake or

[20}

ANALYSIS FO R FIR ST IDEO -K INETIC EX PER IM ENTS

in a condition of reflex, to make the effort causing the mo-tion.

The other is the concept that your hands can move by awill different from your physiological will. You refuse tomake the effort. As we shall see, this is the Ideo-Kineticconcept. By this concept, you consider your hands as out-

siders to your integrated, conscious self-they are yourwards. You may wish for a certain behaviour of theirpower, but you relinquish any right of physical hold overthem. They are simply appended to you, although they par-take of your own biological activity. Thinking of yourhands is not incompatible with Ideo-Kinet ics, for there is nosemblance of magic in Ideo-Kinetics. You can look, watchand even think of the special motion of your hands. Theprecept or law is to consider and to govern your will so asto avoid Physio-Kinetic effort in connection with your hands.

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CHAPTER IV

lIITTIN G A M AR K IN PIIYSIO K IN ETIC S

I have inherited from life, which are limited by my capacityto discern them, value them and deliver them in the rightamount to my fiat. Most of the latter proceedings do notloom in my consciousness. I only perceive them en masseunder the aspect of effort. Here is the thinking individual,who summons Nature to bring about his will, engaged inthe contradictory task of demanding, on the one hand, andchecking and selecting the goods on the other. Upon hiscapacity for checking and using will his success depend. Theless he wastes of Nature's offerings, and the more he sub-merges his individual ego, the more his chances for success.Al l the experimental knowledge of mankind seems to havetaught this immutable law. The truth is that, in principle,the will of man identifies him with the will of Nature whilethe volitional act lasts. And the root of this truth is exhib-ited in the labours of N at.ure to develop reflex actions,where consciousness of will is obliterated and the individ-ual is identified with Nature.

What happens, in Physic-Kinetics after the fiat has sum-moned Nature to work? My arm moves to help the hand tohelp my finger. I rely on the eye to supply me with a senseof direction and spatial valuation. But I am not sure. Theconflict between the various elements is evident. I may reachbeyond my Mark. I may reach short of my Mark; more onone side than on the other. My aim can be too high or toolow. Is my eye deceiving me about the valuation of dis-stances? or is my hand incompetent in translating my con-cept of straight motion? However, all of these units are do-ing their best to second one purpose; but in a kinetic actionthe more factors involved, the more the need for coordina-tion. Here we are at last, the exigencies of coordination aremanifest. If I repeat my trial many times, the only helpNature can give me, since I insist on asserting myself, is totransform, gradually, the kinetic ad into a conditioned rc-flex.

How are the different energies acting during our Physio-

[23]

H ITTING A M AR K IN PH YSIO .KINETICS

I ! - IAVE ~efore me a common ohject-c-a dome-shaped con.tamer with a small ball on its top. I place the container onthe table at some distance from me but within my reachand I decide t? hit its. top ball witl~ the tip of one of m ;finge:s. } d? It first in the usual manner: according toPhvsio- Kinetics. 1 . look at the ball with the determinationto hit ~t with my middle finger. In the meantime, I summon(that IS what .my attention implies) all the physical unitsthat, should brmg success. My feeling is indefinite and com.posite. I know that I am trying. I know that there arechances of success or failure. I hope T shall be successful.

If ~ have ha d experience in the exercise (done or tried to?O It before), my sense of trying will lessen; my hope willmcrease. If I am self-reliant, and I remember that self.reliance will help, I begin to stimulate this feeling. But thevery fact that I am relying on something adventitious rcas-serts in my consciousness that , after all, I am depending 011chance an~ no~ o~ principle. It is possibility versus f~ith.

In Physio- Kinenes, all of this process of thinking willaccompany the various phases of the intended action andwill be di~lributcd to all o r its concurring factor8-' -myarms, my flI1~e:s, my eyes, my sense of general well-being.Even a bad srttmg posture or a fold in my clothing will beheld, responsible in case of failure. What happens when 1mamfest the determination to accomplish the act? There isan assembling of forces and principles at my fiat. Two setsof those forces are at play. One is composed of the eternal?rinciplcs. of Nature, always ready and automatically drawninto the [iat; the other consists of the individualized powers

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Kinetic experiment? They come from our eyes, from ournerves and muscles and from other faculties of perception.They make their appearance and try to agree upon thecourse to follow. The process is not one of pre-establishedinfallibility, as one would expect from the Majesty ofNature, but one of experiment by trial and error on thepart of the individual. When they are more under the juris-d ict ion of Nature (reflex actions and condit ioned reflexes),we become responsible not only for the physical end-resu ltsbut for the failings of the organs themselves. So, I haveblamed my eye for its deception, little knowing that my eyeis blameless; my hands for being incompetent and for get-ting tired, unaware that they can neither err nor get tired.Are they the same eyes, the same organs-those that errand those that are without blame? Apparently, in a physicalsense, they are. Physiologically they arc either governed bythe individual or by Nature. EiLher they remain physiolog-ical or become ultra-physiological. It is like having the mostperfect apparatus of precision, planned and built for ahighly efficient operator to use, and then relinquishing it to apoorly trained engineer, who, in the end, will complain ofits l irni rations.

Reiterated action, habit and training for skilled motionseem to be the necessary consequences of faulty or incompe-tent volitional ideation-a kind of remedy offered by Na-ture to compensate for the loss entailed in the wrong use ofa power which alone should prove man's supremacy in theworld.

CHAPTER V

HITTING A M ARK IN IDEO-KINETICS

[24}

W E RESUME our experiment Ideo-Kinet ical ly. I have beforeme the ball. I look at the ball. Then I close my eyes. Afterthis, someone may be calling me, asking questions which Ianswer; I may fumble in my pocket for an object of whichI have just been reminded. I may perform scores of actsentirely foreign to the unity of the proposed experiment.Now, I decide to go on, having kept my eyes shut all thistime. Accordingly, I recreate the mental image of the ballor of any symbol I choose to assign to it. It may be avisual symbol, or an object, or a numeral, or the most un-spatial symbol possible-a musical note. Of course mysymbol comprises, in addition to the Mark and its positionin space, all of my Ideo-Kinetic concepts-concepts of voli-tion, volitional ideation and of my release from physiolog-ical effort. My physiological connection with the Mark, sofar as I know, is severed. I do not know where in geometri-cal space the spot is. My choice of a symbol, substitutingthe object, has taken away even the chance of consciousvisualization. I only know that at a certain moment I shallsing "C", for instance, (if I have chosen a musical note formy fiat) and that my hand will proceed with accuracy.

Before hitting, I may agree that my hand make one ortwo loops in the air. Or, for greater caution, I may refuse

to see the Mark at all, being satisfied to just touch it beforesymboliz ing it . Thus, the chances of subconscious visua liza-tion (if that means anything) are eliminated. So, I havehad only one element of Physiological connection-a touchof the Mark, shielded from any chance of other sensoryguidance. It is the least possible connection between my in-

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distinction between a volition long since adopted by manand the volition Nature expected man to use, especiallywhen his actions need to rely on virtuosity. We call the oneNature's volition (V2), the other, the individual's volition(V ). W hen I use "V 2"in Ideo-Kinetics there is only onefiat which suffices to cause the initial movement, and thevery quality of my volition (V) is extended to all and each

of the elements concurring to the consummation of the act.So, with Ideo-Kinetics, Nature has delivered us from theobligation of supervising our voluntary acts. She has de-livered us from effort and fatigue. She has emancipated usfrom the need to supply ourselves with sensory guidance.She only expects us to provide a few mental symbols,around which she will build the fulfillment of our volition.

We start our study of Ideo-Kinetic technique with theassumption that ideation, being a cerebrative process, is en-tirely furnished by psycho-physiological activities as we al-ready know them. How ideation reaches such a state, before


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CHAPTER V I

BASIC EX PEl~ Ill1EN TSfL Y SYMBOLIZATIONand

HITTING THE M AR K

1 .

To DEMONSTRATE the exchangeability of symbols, let us tryan Ideo-Kinetic experiment on the table. Let us take four orfive objects, even varying their level on the horizontal plane,if we wish to make the experiment more interesting. Wehave found objects with closed eyes, after holding theirmental image. Now let us deliberately covenant with our-selves that each object is to be designated by numericalsymbols. So, the five objects become 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, respec ..

BASIC EX PER IM ENTS IN SYM BOLIZATIO N


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tity of objects to be hit) . Accordingly, you start on yoU!quest (remind yourself of the same Ideo-Kinetics concepts,as usual). After having visualized the image of the cipher,5, you will hit the five objects, one after the other, so longas the image, "5", is vivid in your mind. Repeat: five, five,five, five, five, accompanying the word by the mental imageof 5, 5, 5, 5, 5. It is not the symbol in itself that counts,

but the act of thinking of the symbol, which is equivalentto keeping on thinking of your intentional covenant. Inother words you are simply confirming, endorsing, youroriginal intention.

2 .

Neither a straight line nor even the shortest curvilinearline is necessary for the location of points in Ideo-Kinetics,Indeed, if, without looking, I place an obstacle between meand the Mark-a sheet of cardboard, etc.,-my hand goesover or under the obstacle in order to reach the Mark. Youwill also notice the loops, at will, even in piano playingwhen placing the notes in a wide stretch.

3 .

Here we have two objects, one at the right and one at theleft.

If the Mark, not yet seen but known to be there, is atyour right, look at the object at your left, turning yourhead to the left and so avoid looking to the right.

Then:1. Either consider the two objects, right and left, as if

they were related, abstractly, and, looking steadily at the

object to the left, say to yourself "I am hitting the otherend." You will hit the mark at the right while looking at theobject at the left.

2. Or, if you look at the object on the left, with the purpose, in advance, that the Mark at the right be hit, whileyour left hand hits deliberately the Mark at the left, yourright hand will also hit the Mark at the right. You will hit

[30]

BASIC EX PER IM ENTS IN SYM BOLIZATIO N

the seen Mark at the left and the unseen one at the right.3. Or, you need not hold an image. Looking first at the

two objects, right and left, you propose to hit the two. Afterclosing your eyes, both Marks will be hit, using, of course,both hands.

4 .

Divide the distance from starting point to the Mark into

sevel~al stretches, represented by numbers, assigning a de-termined number to the Mark. Assign, for instance, 5 to theMark. Count 1, 2, 3, 4, and hit on 5. Then, extend to asecond Mark, etc. The image need he held only before theMark numbers-5, 7, etc.

E:ra.mpte 1.

startO.

Mark

.05

2nd MaJ-'}:

o. ,,.0.'0" 2t

1

.0'. 4

5 .

A B C D E F G H1 0:4 - 03

4 0

A B C D E F G H1 02 034 0

A A-lIf I establish in my consciousness the System A where

I can hit all the Marks with closed eyes, and, if i a~ led toplace one Mark of the System, AI, I shall then hit itsMarks with closed eyes. The necessary condition is that Sys-

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NEW PATHWAYS TO PIANO TECHNIQUEBASIC EX PER IM ENTS IN SYM BOLIZATION

everyday life, tends to show in this case that it is not thevision of the vision of the object that determines the mo-tion, but the mental fixing of a point in space where theend-results of the motion must take place. So, while myphysical eye sees, passively, the objects of the outer world,my mind is interested only in a certain point of space sym-

bolized by a mental image. Indeed, if by prearranged un-derstanding with myself I substitute the symbol of a smallcross

terns A and Al be parallel and analogous in structure andorientation.

Principle. Two or more systems of points that are anal-ogous and equally orientated to an established system can beretraced in space, provided one point in each system is sen-sorily apprehended.

It is well here to formulate other principles of symbols.1st Principle. In all Ideo-Kinetic units, the contributional

value of all sensory elements can be reduced to that ofmental symbols.

2nd Principle. All of the various mental symbols of thekinetic element, originated by different sensory sources, areinterchangeable among themselves. For instance, in pianoplaying musical notes can be rendered on the instrumentwithout sensory guidance:

1. by the mental Image of the topic place.

2. by the mental image of the written note,

3. by the mental image of the name of the note,4. by the mental auditory pitch of the note.

Probably any other symbol, artificially established, wouldsubstitute for the above mentioned ones. If any of the 12sounds could be related to as many perfumes, and if amemory of the different perfumes could be developed, onemight render music by thinking Ideo-Kinetically of per-fumes.

3 r d P r in c ip le . All ofIdeo-Kinetic act can besensory symbol.

Bxample 3.

+to the Mark, so that there is no doubt as to what I mean bythinking of the cross, I shall then hit the Mark just the same,even having lost its mental image in the fog of conscious-ness. Again, for the cross I may substitute the graphic sign

@h ;mp z.4and the right resul t will always be secured. This reinforcesthe demonstration of the principle of the interchangeabil ityof mental symbols.

the mental images involved in ansubstituted, at will, by any other

7 .

I tried similar experiments on the piano. I decided tosubstitute for the C Major Chord

6 .E : X :C t m pl e 5

: @When I want to hit the Mark without looking at it. Ineed not close my eyes. I can look elsew here, provided Ikeep its mental image. So, I may be looking at somethingwith my physical eye, while I see another object in mymemory. This fact, of very common occurrence in our

[32}

the images of a flower for each note-e-n rose for C, a lily forE and a violet for C. Then, I forgot about musical notesand their corresponding plano keys, which was an easy

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ANALYSIS O F A FIR ST EX PERIM ENT O N THE PIANO


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CHAPTER V II

B-my willingness that the act be perf armed by me,physiologically, but without effort.

C-my willingness that the act be performed physiologi-cally, with effort, by me.

Still physiology will call me to order and remind methat a voluntary act is an integration, having for its conclu-sion the willer's effort in the performance; and that anyattempt to separate pure will (at a stage which is called,begrudgingly, mental) from physiological will (engaged inmaking the effort) is vain sophistry.

We must turn, then, to our experiments. I get set for theact, keeping on up to stage B above. Then, 1 do as described-1 imagine the act as if already performed-and lot it isdone. My hand did it, but I did not make any effort. I di dnot make the connection. So, here begins the parting of theways.

A. There is the will to effort with end-results always pro-portionate to the capacity for effort-physiological will.

B. There is the will without effort, with end-resul ts pro-portionate to it s idealogical content.

"A" corresponds to the typical will of man who, beingconscious of his effort, adopts his efforts as a measure andguidance for all his willful acts, and who does not hesitateto attribute his own lot to everything which in Nature ex-hibits a semblance to an act of will; and so he conceives ananthropomorphic condit ioning to the facts of li fe.

What is it that has, in the first experiments, taken theplace of both the effort and my capacity for directing it tothe consummation of the act? It was m y actual willingnessthat the act be performed. This very definition (my actual

willingness) might remain ineffective for all eternity; andif it were used as guide to end-results would help no morethan a quintessence of all the stacks of volumes writtenabout the will. We need no girding of the loins to face thecombat. We have a chance to find the only pin in the worldthat can open the mysterious lock. We have just imagined

[37]

ANALYSIS OF A FIR ST EX PER IM ENTO N TH E PIAN O

I LOOK at a chord and I will it to be struck. And I willand I will and will, but my will is powerless. Of course Ihave refused beforehand to lend my physiological help. Thecourse of my will is then two-fold:

1. Intentional (willing the act to be performed)2. Willing to lend the tools.

Notwithstanding 2 (my willingness to lend th e tools) I re-main powerless. What is it that is lacking? It is my will ing-ness to take hold of the tools; i.e., my willingness to makethe effort .

Physiology would deny a priori that I am still willing toperform the act when I behave as in stage 2. The premiseof physiology, in this case, maintains that there can be nowillingness to use my hands unless I deliberately consentthat it be so-that I make the effort. Yet 1 having, from thebeginning, repudiated all dignified reasoning, st ill maintainthat if my hands do not move it is because I must see whatwill happen if 1 do not make the effort. I know that I wantthe act to be performed. I know that I want my hand toperform it. Thus far the case is not different from one inwhich my hands were paralyzed and my will, consequentlypowerless; but with one difference: the paralyzed man

might be willing to make the effort if he were able to. YetI am still willing-I insist upon claiming that, and that mywillingness to make the effort (to make the physiologicalconnection) is a fact apart.

We can state the problem in another way.A-my willingness that the act be performed.

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that the act be performed. We have ideated the act. But-

and there is a formidable but-we had prepared in ad-vance the conditions whichcould meet favorable a will re-duced to mere ideation.

At the beginning of these discoveries, we used to be sononplussed and astonished at the marvels of Ideo-Kineticsthat we felt we would have to remit to our descendants thepossibility of explaining how a modification in the voli-tional act could bring to action an array of skill of thehighest type. Hypothesis after hypo

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