André 3000 Flute and Walk Day
Designed by Bearmore
Inspired by André 3000When did you stop being a beginner?
Give yourself permission to be a beginner again. A long, unhurried day inspired by André 3000's New Blue Sun reinvention: a slow walk with no aim, playing an instrument you have no skills with, and some stillness.
The runsheet
Music and breathing
André found the flute by accident, hearing one played in a breath-work class and following the sound. Start here the way he did, with a few rounds of slow, deliberate breathing to drop out of your head before anything else begins.
10 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing breath work before being in nature
This can be a good pairing because regulated breathing and any calm can enhance your sense of connection with the natural world.
A walk with no destination
André walks for miles most days, often through ordinary streets or tracks, with no aim beyond being out in it. Walk without a destination or a step count, slowly and a little aimlessly, and let where you end up surprise you.
60 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing being in nature before creating music
This can help because nature's restorative effects might leave music-making feeling more inspired, though the link is gentle.
Play it badly, but just play it
André describes New Blue Sun as 'me discovering a thing,' learning the flute in public with no plan to be good at it. Pick up an instrument you can't really play and make sound for its own sake. It doesn't need to be impressive or in public.
45 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing creating music before open awareness
There's a useful connection here because open awareness can integrate any emotions stirred up by creating music.
Meditation
André frames the practice as pausing rather than chasing a result, and his concerts read as sound-meditation built on stillness. Finish by sitting with no agenda and letting the music you made settle before you get on to other things in your day.
15 min activityTime well spent.
2h 30m that belonged to you — not the inbox, not anyone else.
The breakdown
Burst evaluation
Wellbeing focus
About this Burst
André 3000 (André Lauren Benjamin, born 1975) is the OutKast co-founder widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. In 2023 he released New Blue Sun, an instrumental ambient album played almost entirely on flute and nominated for Album of the Year. He's known for walking and playing flute in nature for hours, a deliberate emphasis on presence and stillness, and candour about anxiety. He came to the flute after hearing it in a breath-work class.