It will be interesting to see what the long-term repercussions of Tuning the Air are. Realistically, though, we don’t always get that luxury. Things unfold in larger time-frames and wider scopes than we do. Teaching has that quality as well; you set things in motion as best you can, and if the student is reasonably diligent you get to witness a certain level of progress, but you rarely get to see where it will ultimately lead. For myself, I often find that things that I noticed, or were pointed out to me, 5 or 10 or 20 years ago, that seemed unremarkable at the time, suddenly come back with a force of significance. I can only assume that for some of my students this will also be true. Some small and ignorable observation that I make now could spring back as a life-changing epiphany in 20 years, or it could just be nothing. Either way, I’ll never know.
Tuning the Air had a certain inevitability about it. The infusion of Guitar Craft-related energy into Seattle beginning in the mid-90s was going to manifest itself in some way. Actually, in a number of ways. There was a very evident critical mass. In the smaller local circles that preceded it, there had always been a need to consolidate; to get everyone on board in order to generate enough energy to make anything happen. All or nothing. Not so here. In Seattle it was possible for an array of projects and creative insights to play themselves out. I could be all-in on endeavors that spoke to me, available and involved as needed with those that I did not feel so strongly about, or generally supportive toward the ones that I had nothing to contribute to. Even when good will was stretched or failed, it was okay. There was enough to go around.
Tuning the Air was a massive undertaking, in terms of commitment and time. Seven years. 30-40 shows per year, performed weekly in two 15-20 show blocks or “seasons”. Each performance involving about 6 hours of work from arrival for staging, lighting and sound setup to departure after striking the set. Two rehearsals per week. And then there was the personal practice. In between “seasons” there was precious little break before we set to work putting together the new material for the next one. For people with jobs, careers, school, spouses, children, mortgages, and lives outside of the show – which is to say, all of us – this was a very lot to ask.
That not everyone remained with the company for the entire seven year run is not in the least surprising. What is remarkable is how many people did. I would never have predicted that. At the final performance on December 15, 2011, seven of the nine guitarists, plus the lighting artist, the designated audient, and our in-the-house “ears”, had all been part of the team that presented the very first performance on April 11, 2005. And the audience was heavily stocked with former air tuners.
I documented, through a dedicated journal, the day-to-day Tuning the Air process from August 2009 through to its closing in December 2011. Just skimming it will give a taste of what these people agreed to take on, without much in the way of rest. After many years of "work in the circle", the show was, in my estimation, the most fully realized exploration of the potential of performance in this format. The team’s performance within the context of the second Orchestra of Crafty Guitarists was one that I will always be proud to be able to say I was a part of.
Some historical data, for those interested. When I look back on it, I am amazed (and also a little exhausted):
- Tuning the Air Performances
- Tuning the Air Repertoire over the years
- Tuning the Air Company Members through history
- Tuning the Air before it was Tuning the Air
- The birth of the Tuning the Air concept
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