Dipolar Cosmology and Positive Thinking

What I've been trying to resolve lately is how the world, or God, can be dualistic yet unified at the same time. How can there be unification when there is chaos? Why is there far more matter than anti-matter? Why are we not merely collapsing under the merciless powers of physical forces? My "explanation" is as follows.

The world must be kept in balance by a dipolar (two-poled) mechanism. There seems to be two poles, one positive and one negative, that steer the world depending on its current state of balance. You can attribute it to something mechanical, rather like a thermostat, that keeps the universe balanced, or you can attribute it to something with judgement and volition, like God, who seeks divine justice. The idea of a volition constituting the unity of the universe is a bit extreme (Aristotle, Hegel, many others), but I think an angel of justice certainly sounds cooler than an appliance. That's all a matter of personal preference, but I will continue to argue in favor of God (whether he is a conscious deity or not).

I believe that there are good people in the world, who feel it is their God-given duty to do good. They are the direct disciples of God who attempts to restore the balance of the world. I believe in freewill, and if a good person chooses to ignore the voice, the world will continually steer in the negative direction. Freewill is the main reason why I don't think we live in a purely mechanical universe. I believe that freewill truly exists and is outside of deterministic properties. It is how chaos balances with law - they come together in the momentary decision.

Embracing positivity and only positivity seems to be the path of God. I hate senseless positivity (like saying that everything is always going to work out without taking responsibility because "God wants it") and middle of the road thinking (Every one is right and things are always OK just how they are). So, I need to qualify what I mean by positive thinking.

1. Positivity is the way. Have faith in life - there is a reason you are alive. Your true inner voice is there and must be followed.
2. Take action - life is a process of doing, then self-evaluating. You must never insult yourself and always seek higher and truer standards.
3. Your place - do not live in excess, don't take on more than you can handle. Always go on your journey.
4. Learn everything you can. Learn how everything relates, yet is separate and distinct.
   
5. Love, trust, let go, laugh, live in the now, and treat yourself right.
6. Creativity - be an artist, teach, blog, organize, write, speak, walk, listen. Allow God to reward your creativity.

Whether you are religious or not, it is the human experience that binds us all together. We can only be comforted by the words of others, we can only love when we feel the love of others, and it is our duty to help humanity.

(Further reading - Rational Mysticism, by John Horgan)
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#4. The Diminished Scale and its Harmony

I've been thoroughly enjoying the 8-tone, dominant diminished scale lately. It's also called the "half-whole" (HW) diminished scale. Here's how it's built:

root-H-W-H-W-H-W-H-W or
1 b2 b3 3 #4 5 6 b7

What's cool is that it's a symmetrical scale and all kinds of weird parallel harmonies can be found in it:

1. Diminished Seventh chords can be found on every chord tone.
2. Dominant Seventh chords (with tensions: b9, #9, #11, 13) can be found on the root, b3, b5, and 6th scale degrees.
3. Minor Seventh (or Half Diminished) chords can be found on the root, b3, b5, and 6th scale degrees.

I find this mind-boggling, that both major and minor chords are found on the main chord tones of the scale!

This is a mode of limited transposition (thanks Messaien) so there are only 3 unique diminished scales!

There are some crazy harmony tricks you can use to add a diminished sound to your compositions/improvisations. Here's my favorite: A very wacky set of triads can work over a C7 chord if you use the dominant diminished scale. Each triad will resolve to a chord tone in F major.

• C major triad
• Eb major triad (#9, 5, b7)
• Gb major triad (tritone substitution! #11, b7, b9)
• A major triad (13, b9, 3)

...bizarre, but awesome.
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REVIEW: Songs of the North & There and Back, by The Devin Arne Quintet

I'm excited to be reviewing the debut album of my good friend and fellow composer/guitarist: DEVIN ARNE

Songs of the North and There and Back is a journey through landscapes, emotional depth, atmosphere, and soulful groove. Devin Arne's debut album features an ensemble of fantastic musicians from the McGill University in Montreal, Canada where the album was recorded. Listen for elements of the styles of some of the jazz greats including Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Grant Green, Ben Monder, Jim Hall, as well as pop giants Radiohead, Zero 7, and Sigur Ros in Devin's work. One can find a dazzling variety of guitar textures and sounds accompanied by the expressive power of the trumpet and saxophone duet and stylistic brilliance of the drummer. Arne carefully balances his three-sectioned album with finely-crafted ballads and head-bopping jams. There is a feeling of continuity and unity as you listen to the album, along with myriads of harmonic and tonal variety. The album opens with "There and Back," which is one of my favorites - in a true jam style. Over a grooving ostinato that permeates the track is a unique call-and-response melody which can also be found in "Early Spring." The melodies, solos, and eventual final tutti jam all have the undertones of this awesome groove. Another favorite is "Sympathetic Vibrations" which tells of other worlds with its advanced harmonies and rich, singing melodies. One can not help but nodding their head along the bouncing 6/8 groove. "Broken Heat" opens immediately outlining the augmented scale and telling of deep, chilling sorrows. Free-flowing improvisation may catch you off-guard, but the track eventually swells to an all-encompassing depth that makes this track another favorite. The album closes with the sensitive "Ingmar," combining pensive melody reminiscent of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "How Insensitive" with some more modern harmonies. For sheer simplicity and beauty, this arrangement is another one of my favorites.

This album is available from the iTunes store and on Devin's Website:
http://www.devinarne.com/home.html
See more from Devin: http://nujazzinternational.ning.com/profile/1r0jctdse0is7
www.myspace.com/devinarneguitar
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