I had a tremendously enjoyable time performing at the Bliss Basin today. It’s amazing how the setting can alter a performance. In therapy, we often talk about context. Things said in one context can have vastly different meanings in another. Sure, it’s obvious, but it is often the things that are obvious that are consistently ignored or missed.
In this case, the setting of a virtual world can have a major impact on how music is perceived by the audience. As a result, it also has a tremendous impact on the performer as well. The entire performance experience is a unified situation where the performer and audience feedback upon one another. For example, the feelings of joy that can occur during a particularly good performance is shared between audience and performer.
Bliss Basin is an idyllic garden of grass and waterfalls hidden in a valley that carries elements of Nature and fantasy. The surreal imagery seems to harmonize well with the music. As the music is an attempt of meditation in Nature and the natural rhythms of mind, it makes sense that they should complement each other.
I have been invited back, and I am eager to return.
