Music Elements
The elements of music began millions of years
ago with other animals. We humans are just recent practitioners of the art of
sound communication. Our brains have evolved to detect and evaluate discrete
low volume sounds. Everyone who has spent time in natural environments will
know that little sounds are ubiquitous in nature. Loud sounds are unusual and
signal danger.
Human musical abilities, however, exceed the
abilities of other primates. We have the special ability to synchronize
movements so that group dancing and chanting to the beat of drums is a powerful
method of achieving group cohesion. Ancient humans made wood and stone tools,
hitting objects against each other, creating rhythmic sounds. Sticks, wood
blocks, logs and animal skins came together as percussion instruments.
Musical
information consists of pitch, loudness, timbre, location, and movement of the
sound source. A combination of sounds of different pitches produces harmony and
a sequence of pitches becomes melody. Timbre describes the harmonics in a sound
that give it recognizable qualities. You can identify a trumpet, an oboe or a
violin by recognizing different timbres. Music performance involves many
agreements about instrument design, pitch assignment, the meaning of notation
so that groups of people can produce harmonious sounds with compatible rhythms.
Music, in the original sense is
communication, a feature of group assemblies that featured drumming,
vocalization and dance. In an evolved sense, music became attached to rituals,
celebrations, theatre and entertainment.
Music Unites Humans
Music is a powerful ingredient in human
societies that facilitates group bonding and conveys feelings more poignantly
than other forms of communication. Shrock suggested:” As a college student, my
eyes would often well up with tears during my twice-a-week choir rehearsals. I
would feel relaxed and at peace yet excited and joyful, and I occasionally
experienced a thrill so powerful that it sent shivers down my spine. I also
felt connected with fellow musicians in a way I did not with friends who did
not sing with me. I have often wondered what it is about music that elicits
such emotions. Philosophers and biologists have asked the question for
centuries, noting that humans are universally drawn to music. It consoles us
when we are sad, pumps us up in happier times and bonds us to others.”
Oliver Sacks in his book Musicophilia
suggested that music is as important communication as language and gesture. I
prefer to recognize that music is language and gesture, not really a separate
form of communication. Music is feeling
is meaning.
Scholarly investigations of music will
emphasize the efforts of highly skilled professional musicians and forget that
music begins with full participation of all members of local groups. Singing,
dancing, chanting are aspects of group identity and group cohesion. An ideal human group is coordinated by rhythmic
expressions; they play instruments, sing and dance often. Music, as a
performance by skilled musician who play to silent audiences sitting in chairs
is a recent innovation that does not represent the deeper meaning of musical
communication.
Schrock suggested that music “is almost
always a communal event: everyone gets together to sing, dance, and play
instruments. Even in societies which differentiate musical performers from
listeners, people enjoy music together in a wide variety of settings: dancing
at a wedding or a nightclub, singing hymns in church, crooning with their kids,
Christmas caroling and singing “Happy Birthday” at a party. The popularity of
such rituals suggests that music confers social cohesiveness, perhaps by
creating empathetic connections among members of a group.,, music’s power stems
from its tendency to synchronize our activities.”
[i]
Karen Schrock. Why Music Moves Us. New research explains music's power over
human emotions and its benefits to our mental and physical well-being.
Scientific Amer Mind: July 2009
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