• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Adam Rafferty

Funky Fingerstyle Guitar

  • Home
  • Free Guitar Lessons
  • My New Book
  • Store
  • Tour
  • Blog
    • All Posts List
  • Podcast
    • All Episodes List
  • About
  • Contact
    • NEW – “Ask Adam” Voicemail
    • Booking Contact
    • Contact (email)
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Guitar / Quantum Physics and Music: Upward and Downward Causation

Quantum Physics and Music: Upward and Downward Causation

By Adam Rafferty 4 Comments

Greets friends. As I am wrapping up my November 2009 tour, I am actually feeling a sense of relief, and finding space to dig deep once again into creativity, meditation and life’s meaning.

While touring, I have to pay attention to mundane aspects such as driving, soundcheck, and playing the gig. šŸ™‚

A thinker who I am very much enjoying lately is Dr. Amit Goswami. He was interviewed in the hit movie “What the Bleep” and has been a professor of physics at Oregon State University for 32 years.

He shares a view of history with us as to how, why and when a purely mechanical / material view of our universe came into being.

Apparently for scientists to have freedom they had to separate “mind and matter” so as not to step on the church’s toes. These are just a few of the insights and perspectives he offers into understanding our current thinking.

The big question of course is where does “consciousness” come into our life picture. Is it in the material universe, is it separate, and are events and things we see in fact solid and real?

Part 1 of 3 parts:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V6SaBflpiM]

But that is only the beginning. I can’t possibly explain in detail what he talks about – so check it out for yourself.

What struck me in this series is his description of “upward causation” and “downward causation”.

Essentially the “upward causation” idea is evident in our universe that particles make atoms, which make molecules, which make elements and ultimately make our brain. So small particles build bigger bigger bigger – from the bottom up.

But what about the consciousness we experience? Where does it come from? Is it separate from the materials composing our brains & bodies? Does it precede it or follow it. Duh. Religion & philosophy 101, I know šŸ™‚

Downward causation suggests that there is a higher reality, consciousness or God which precedes matter and that maybe the matter is even within that consciousness as a “possibility” that only seems real when we observe it. The idea of a God on a throne up high giving orders is a primitive idea, but scientific evidence is in fact showing that downward causation is real.

I considered what he was saying to see if it somehow applied to music.

What struck me is that music is more than the “assemblage” of notes built through upward causation. An unforgettable melody for example, is a perfect example of “downward causation”. Great composers regardless of genre experience this. That’s the melody being whispered in the ear, not a clever mind thinking of a melody.

“Groove” comes through downward causation too. Groove is an essence and feeling and come down from a higher, intuitive realm. You can’t build a groove that touches the soul through sheer mechanics, or metronome practice. And you can’t slap pitches together and hope that a good melody will be the result.

This also perfectly explains how a performance that touches the soul need not be technically perfect. With downward causation in music – even the simplest, least correct music can be a vehicle for emotional communication. Likewise, a technically perfect performance built through upward causation can lack the consciousness and communication that we wish to experience in a piece of music.

It is fascinating to see my musical ideals corroborated by quantum physics. It’s just so cool.

The expression “follow your bliss” now makes even more sense than ever.

Until next time…

Filed Under: Guitar, Law of Attraction, Personal Developement, Spirituality, Tour Diary

About Adam Rafferty

I’m Adam Rafferty – a guitar player born and raised in New York City, and currently spending most of my time on tour playing concerts and coaching my guitar students online at StudyWithAdam.com

Trending

  • 10 Tips for Healthy Guitar Practicing
  • Guitar Right Hand Technique – Nails vs Flesh?
  • How To Build Your Own Fingerstyle Guitar Arrangements – Part 1
  • Should You Use a Thumb Pick for Fingerstyle Guitar?
  • Don’t Use a Metronome
  • My Personal Fingerstyle Guitar Setup Measurements
  • 8 Tips for Playing Fingerstyle Guitar Without Making Mistakes
  • Critical Info for Youtube Musicians Who Perform Cover Songs
  • Youtube Recording Technique for Guitar Videos
  • The Secret to Improving Your Guitar Skills and Battling Frustration

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. zynga facebook says

    March 20, 2010 at 3:21 am

    lol one or two of the feedback folks write are so silly, time after time i wonder whether they honestly read the content pages and items before writing a comment or if perhaps they barely read over the title of the article and jot down the first thought that pops into their brain. anyhow, it’s useful to browse clever commentary from time to time instead of the same, old post vomit that i oftentimes notice on the web i’m going to enjoy a few rounds of zynga poker regards

    Reply
  2. novus13 says

    October 7, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    Yo major props man, I’ve been checking out Goswami’s work for a while and the paradigm he proposes, monistic idealism, is essentially the logic behind it all. I really dig your perspective on music, reasoning that downward causation is at play; such an insight of its dimensionality makes that muse all the more mellifluous. Kudos to you ; )

    Reply
  3. Eric Peterson says

    March 21, 2016 at 10:19 pm

    Don’t you sometimes think we lived with God before our spirits came from God, the Father of our spirits, to dwell in a physical body. If so, that consciousness you talk of would be that spirit, created long before our bodies. We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a physical experience. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee”: Jer. 1:4–5. “When God laid the foundations of the earth, all the sons of God shouted for joy”:Job 38:4–7. “We are to be in subjection to the Father of spirits”:Heb. 12:9.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Be A Visionary and Avoid Kryptonite « Adam Rafferty – Guitar and Spirit says:
    August 16, 2010 at 12:48 pm

    […] To have more fulfillment for myself, it all had to start with a dream, a vision. (See my blog on upward & downward causation) […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get private guitar coaching from me HERE.

Adam Rafferty

Copyright © 2023 Adam Rafferty and Crescent Ridge Publishing | Email Policy | Privacy GDPR, & Cookies

FREE - “Discover the 7 Tools You'll Need to Record Awesome Fingerstyle Guitar - At Home!”
Learn how you can get great results with very affordable equipment. I'll show you exactly what I used at home to record my most recent CD. Enjoy!
Start playing "Simplicity" and "Vitamin E Blues" - in just minutes...for FREE!
Your tabs will come INSTANTLY via email. Just fill out this form, grab your guitar and start learning - Instantly!
Discover 5 Powerful Techniques that Will Make You Sound Like a Full Band on a Single Guitar. Learn to play Bass Lines, Melodies and Grooves at the Same Time - Guaranteed!
Watch these FREE guitar lesson videos revealing my “secrets” to guitar technique, groove, and effective practice so that you can improve YOUR playing, INSTANTLY!
FREE - Get PDF tabs and 9 Step-by-Step Video Lessons for "Vitamin E Blues" - Instantly...
Your PDF tabs and video links will come INSTANTLY via email. Just fill out this form, grab your guitar and start learning - in just minutes!
Get the FREE PDF and Start Playing "Simplicity" for Solo Guitar in Just Minutes!
You will love learning and playing this song...and your friends and family will listen in amazement as YOU play it!
Learn to play "Silent Night" for Fingerstyle Guitar - Instantly!
You'll get a PDF and 8 Video Guitar Lessons, FREE.
Start playing "Vitamin E Blues" In Just Minutes...for FREE!
Subscribe to my newsletter and get Instant Access to the free PDF with the tabs and a 9 part video lesson, free! Grab your guitar and start learning - immediately.
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Learn to play "Silent Night" for fingerstyle guitar - Instantly!
You'll get a PDF with complete guitar tabs and 8 video guitar lessons - free.
FREE - “Discover the 7 Tools You'll Need to Record Awesome Fingerstyle Guitar - At Home!”
Learn how you can get great results with very affordable equipment. I'll show you exactly what I used at home to record my most recent CD. Enjoy!
Start playing "Simplicity" and "Vitamin E Blues" - in just minutes...for FREE!
Your tabs will come INSTANTLY via email. Just fill out this form, grab your guitar and start learning - Instantly!
Discover 5 Powerful Techniques that Will Make You Sound Like a Full Band on a Single Guitar. Learn to play Bass Lines, Melodies and Grooves at the Same Time - Guaranteed!
Watch these FREE guitar lesson videos revealing my “secrets” to guitar technique, groove, and effective practice so that you can improve YOUR playing, INSTANTLY!
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
FREE - Get PDF tabs and 9 Step-by-Step Video Lessons for "Vitamin E Blues" - Instantly...
Subscribe to my newsletter and get Instant Access to the Free PDF - and videos! The will come INSTANTLY via email. Grab your guitar and start learning - in just minutes!
Get the FREE PDF and Start Playing "Simplicity" for Solo Guitar - Instantly!
You will love learning and playing this song...and your friends and family will listen in amazement as YOU play it!
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
FREE - Get PDF tabs and 9 Step-by-Step Video Lessons for "Vitamin E Blues" - Instantly...
Subscribe to my newsletter and get Instant Access to the Free PDF and videos! Links will come INSTANTLY via email. Grab your guitar and start learning - in just minutes!
FREE - Get the Tabs and MP3 for
"Just A City Boy" - Instantly...
Your PDF tabs and mp3 will come INSTANTLY via email. Just fill out this form, grab your guitar and start learning - in just minutes!
FREE - Get the Tabs and MP3 for
"Ciao Bella" - Instantly
Your PDF tabs and MP3 will come INSTANTLY via email. Just fill out this form, grab your guitar and start learning - in just minutes!
FREE - Get the Tabs and MP3 for
"Listen to Your Heart" - Instantly...
Your PDF tabs and mp3 will come INSTANTLY via email. Just fill out this form, grab your guitar and start learning - in just minutes!
FREE - Get the Video Lessons, Tabs and MP3 for
"Shelter Island" - Instantly...
Your PDF tabs and video links will come INSTANTLY via email. Just fill out this form, grab your guitar and start learning - in just minutes!
FREE - Get the Tabs and MP3 for
"America" - Instantly...
Your PDF tabs and mp3 will come INSTANTLY via email. Just fill out this form, grab your guitar and start learning - in just minutes!
10 Tips for Healthy Guitar Practicing
The form collects information we will use to send you updates about promotions, special offers, and news. We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Almost there! Please complete this form and click the button below to subscribe to the newsletter and gain instant access.
Learn to play "O Come All Ye Faithful" for Fingerstyle Guitar, Instantly!
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Subscribe to my newsletter and get Instant Access to the Free PDF - enjoy!
Learn "Angels We Have Heard on High" for Fingerstyle Guitar, Instantly.
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Subscribe to my newsletter and get Instant Access to the Free PDF - enjoy!
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
FREE - Get the PDF Tabs for this "E7 Groove"
Instantly...
Subscribe to my newsletter and receive tips about guitar and get instant access to the free PDF.

Learn to use harmonics, slaps and percussion!
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Download The "Groove Scales PDF" and Watch Your Technique Improve Effortlessly!
Subscribe to my newsletter and receive tips about guitar and get instant access to the free PDF.

Learn this simple yet powerful warm up technique in minutes...
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Download The "4 Levels of Thumb Picking" and Watch your Technique Improve Dramatically!
Subscribe to my newsletter and get instant access to the FREE PDF!.

Full chord progression as played in the video is included in the tabs.
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Discover Lush Guitar Harmonies With a Simple
One Finger Move...
Subscribe to my newsletter and get instant access to the FREE PDF!

You'll also get the 'move' as well on D, G, C, E and A minor chords in the tabs!
Learn to play "O Holy Night" for Fingerstyle Guitar - Instantly!
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Subscribe to my newsletter and get Instant Access to the Free PDF - enjoy!
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Give Your Technique and Fretboard Knowledge a Boost - Quickly and Easily....
Subscribe to my newsletter and get instant access to the FREE PDF!

You'll get the 3 octave G scale with all tabs and fingerings - Instantly!
Learn to Play Arpeggios "Magically" on the Guitar - In Just Minutes...
It's actually so easy to understand and play arpeggios using this technique, that you'll feel like you're cheating! :-) Enjoy!
Give Your Technique and Fretboard Knowledge a Boost, Quickly and Easily...
Subscribe to my newsletter and get instant access to this free PDF. You'll get the "Boost Your Scale Chops" tabs with fingerings delivered Instantly!
We take your privacy seriously. No spam. See our terms and privacy here.
Are You Curious About the Jazz Solo from
my "Black Orpheus" Video?
Tabbed out just for you! Here's the improvised solo from "Black Orpheus" plus a lead sheet of the alternate chord changes I use. Enjoy!