The Principles of Riyaz: Creating Sacred Space with Music

- What is Riyaz? -

Music is a powerful tool that has been used for centuries to create healing and prayer. The word "Riyaz" in Arabic means spiritual practice or discipline, which can also be translated as "spiritual exercise." It's an artful way of developing your voice culture, musicality, creativity, and longevity. When we listen to music, it seems as though it penetrates deep into our soul and touches us in a way no other form of art can.

When musicians practice regularly, they create this sacred space with their music where only peace resides and all else is forgotten.

This blog post will discuss how you can start creating your own Riyaz and become more mindful about how you spend your time practicing musical instruments.

In music lies the potential of creating an atmosphere where we can feel the presence of divine energy within. Through our Riyaz, we create and maintain this sacred space through devotion to a music practice with commitment, consistency, and humility.

In order for us to guide you through a rewarding, high-quality musical learning experience, we first offer guidance on how to build your Riyaz.

- Three Principles of Riyaz -

The first principle of Riyaz is that it is both a practice and a space. It is the practice of developing voice culture, musicality, creativity, and longevity. Creating a Riyaz is itself like building an inner sanctuary. It becomes an artist's sacred space, a sadhana in which the musician creates a relationship between herself/himself and music.

The second principle of Riyaz is that it takes time and commitment. It is a growth process that calls for both patience and dedication, but once established, music has fertile ground to rise from. Establishing your Riyaz at home creates an atmosphere conducive to creativity and longevity.

Committing yourself to praciticing voice culture will help you polish the diamond of your own voice. Committing yourself to developing musicality will help you learn how to play and sing with other musicians.

Committing yourself to creativity will inspire your unique mind's impulses and desires for beauty, melody, rhythm and form - which may be constantly evolving or changing - come into fruition.

Committing yourself to longevity means that your Riyaz will serve as a lifelong resource for you. It evolves into a practice of deep, inner listening.

The third principle of Riyaz is that it is a process, not just an activity. Whether our aspirations are to develop as professional musicians or to deepen our spiritual practice through music, Riyaz is a process of listening. It's an ongoing commitment to creating and maintaining the relationship between ourselves and music in whatever form it takes.

If you want to develop your Riyaz, check out The Devotional Power of Voice, where Tahir shares the different exercises to include in your regular practice.