<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <TITLE>Message</TITLE> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space"> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I had the opportunity once to sit and meditate, all by myself, in the anechoic chamber at UCLA. Can't say as I actually remember hearing my heart beat, or blood rushing around, but I do remember becoming aware of a very low level sort of white noise that I otherwise had never heard. And yes, there was also a little high frequency whine, (tinnitus?), mixed in. I sort of felt like it was just my own internal system background noise.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I also became aware of how utterly dependent we are on the reflections of sound off of our surroundings. In the anechoic chamber, there are no reflective surfaces. You can't hold a conversation with someone unless you are looking directly at each other. If they look away from you their voice literally disappears and never reflects off of anything to bounce back at you. It's the closest thing to being deaf that I ever want to experience. </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Right next to the anechoic chamber there was also the ultimate echo chamber. I've used echo chambers in my recording work, but this one was huge and optimized for maximum reflection. Couldn't hold a conversation in there either. After the second or third word everything just turned into this wash. It was pretty funny actually.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>-- Geoff Sykes</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>-- Assoc. Los Angeles</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=624330201-15052007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV></DIV> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>David Andersen<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, May 14, 2007 10:02 AM<BR><B>To:</B> Pianotech List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: Are there many piano techs who are veterans?<BR><BR></FONT></DIV><BR> <DIV><SPAN class=Apple-style-span> <DIV>On May 14, 2007, at 6:10 AM, Porritt, David wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 16px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=5>A question from the other side....Can anyone here say that they can go</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 16px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=5>to a perfectly quiet place (say, a high end recording studio) and</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 16px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=5>actually hear nothing??<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space>  </SPAN></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>Not me....</DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 16px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=5>I have personally never met anyone who didn't</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 16px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=5>seem to have a little tinnitus that they could hear when it was</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 16px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=5>perfectly quiet.<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space>  </SPAN></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE>Me neither.<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 16px Helvetica" face=Helvetica size=5>Are there any people with silence in their head??</FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE>Nossaman seems to have met a few.<BR> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>Fascinatin' topic....some people----mostly spiritual adepts---would tell you that the "ringing" is just the first layer or level of sound that has been called "the music of the spheres..." the actual sound of the energy that keeps everything buzzing and alive. And that to connect to the <SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">feeling</SPAN> of that sound and energy is a catalyst for joy.</SPAN></DIV> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=Apple-style-span>David A. <BR><BR></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>