When I first started practicing Tai Chi, I was exposed to doing Tai Chi to music. In order to keep up with the music, I had to listen carefully, even if the movements were standard. Whether it was a performance competition or daily training, the rhythm was the rhythm of the music, and the duration was the duration of the music. I always felt like I was being led by the nose. I once joked, “It’s not like the music is accompanying us, but it’s like we are dancing to the music.” At that time, I thought it was incredible to do Tai Chi without music, until an unexpected situation triggered my thinking. That day, the speaker forgot to charge, and it ran out of power while I was doing it. Suddenly, everyone seemed to not know how to do Tai Chi, the rhythm was messed up, I felt uncomfortable all over, and my movements were wrong. I couldn’t do it anymore, so I couldn’t help laughing and stopped. I also felt at a loss at the time. The more I did it, the more uncomfortable I felt, and I just wanted to stop. Later, I thought that maybe it was because of time that I became dependent on music. As I continue to learn, I have improved my understanding. Now, except for special circumstances, I never use music when practicing Tai Chi. This special case includes when I first learn to grasp the rhythm and perform in groups. The music used is either specially made or carefully selected.

“One is to be calm: if the mind is not calm, it will not be focused. When you raise your hand, you will have no direction in front, back, left, or right, so you need to be calm.” (Li Yishe’s “Five-Character Formula”) Therefore, it is not good if the mind is not calm, and it is a taboo to be restless. The purpose of practicing Tai Chi is to put the brain in a relatively quiet state, so that the command ability of the central nervous system can be best adjusted, and it will be more stable, coordinated, complete and focused. But in reality, many people who practice Tai Chi practice to the accompaniment of music, and some even practice to the accompaniment of pop music, regardless of whether it is appropriate or not, as long as it sounds good. In order to cater to the rhythm of the music, they give up the feeling of continuous movements, and even wait for a while. When the last movement ends in sync with the music, the practitioner will smile triumphantly, and sometimes there will be applause. If it is a performance, it is barely acceptable, but daily practice is putting the cart before the horse. “The world is a big Tai Chi, and the human body is a small Tai Chi.” (“Explanation of Big and Small Tai Chi”) During the practice of Tai Chi, you should integrate your small Tai Chi into the big Tai Chi of the world, integrate your body and mind into the world, and enter a mysterious state of mind in the communication and interaction with nature. Feel the internal energy running freely in the body, return to the original nature, and integrate the whole body and mind into the natural world, and you can enter the state of unity between heaven and man. During my years of practice, I occasionally had this experience: I suddenly couldn’t feel what I was doing while practicing, as if I couldn’t find myself, and everything around me didn’t exist. When I finished, it was like waking up from a dream. I forgot what I had just done, but I just felt an indescribable joy, my breath was as fresh as after the rain, my mind was open, and I stood tall… Later, I tried to find this feeling, but it was in vain. But I firmly believe that as long as I persist, this feeling will definitely come, come often, and even stay.

More haste makes waste. When I first started practicing, I couldn’t calm down. I felt irritated when I heard the music of other people practicing Tai Chi, and my mind was distracted by the outside world. In my persistence, I changed unconsciously. I no longer felt irritated when I heard the music of other people practicing Tai Chi. Later, I heard it sometimes, sometimes not, and finally I couldn’t hear it at all. People who practice Tai Chi nearby sometimes ask me: “Are you annoyed when we play music?” I said easily: “No, I don’t hear it.” Then I saw the expression of disbelief on their faces. We played music during the performance. Some students asked me what music we played. I was mostly confused because I was so focused on Tai Chi that I ignored the existence of music.

Of course, “harmony between man and nature” is the highest realm of Tai Chi, which is not achieved overnight. There are also many discussions on the Internet about whether music should be used in Tai Chi practice. There are good and bad opinions, and they all seem to make sense, which makes people confused. Instead of being in a dilemma, it is better to feel it yourself through comparison and find the answer that suits you. I think the following situations can be used:

1, It can be used to find the rhythm when learning a certain routine, but you should pay attention to the choice of music and be moderate. When you can grasp the rhythm, you can alternate between using and not using music to avoid dependence on music, which helps to get the rhythm.

2, It can be used in performance competitions to make the movements neat and beautiful, highlight the beauty, and also play a role in setting off the atmosphere, which helps to improve the effect of performance competitions.

3, It can be used for training before performance competitions. It is best not to use it all the time in daily training. If you are willing to use music to adjust the atmosphere, you must carefully select it and pay attention to controlling the volume. Too loud sound is not good for people around and practitioners. Remember not to listen to music intentionally when practicing. One cannot do two things at the same time. It cannot be the main focus. Never let the music accompaniment Tai Chi become Tai Chi dance music. Otherwise, it is better to practice Tai Chi less and leave some time to listen to music. Of course, practicing Tai Chi also requires grasping a rhythm, but this rhythm is definitely not the rhythm of the accompaniment music, but should be the rhythm of the practitioner’s body and mind.

4, It doesn’t matter whether it is used or not. It can be used or not. In this case, people generally find their own rhythm and will not be affected by music. Playing music during training is not for themselves, but to create an atmosphere for the onlookers, which is helpful for the promotion of Tai Chi.

In the process of practicing Tai Chi, whether to use music or not is a topic of opinion. Everyone is at a different stage and has different perceptions of music. As long as you can find a way that suits you, it is a happy thing.