music and mind i the appeal of music "…music remains…resistant to conventional forms of...

Music and Mind

I The Appeal of Music

"…music remains…resistant to conventional forms of explanation”

—Edward F. Kelly and Michael Grosso♫

March 23 – May 4, 2015

Outline of the Course

I. The Appeal of Music

II. The Sound of Music

III. The Hearing of Music

IV. The Structure of Music

V. The Making of Music

VI. The Power of Music

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Course Website

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www.mind-study.org

Topics for today

The Appeal of MusicExamples from literatureExamples from videoExperience

Appeal Theory: Why are some phenomena appealing?The appeal-benefit connectionBenefits of music: First look (fairly obvious benefits)

Aspects/Components of MusicRhythm, tone, intervals, harmony, melody, structure

Properties of SoundVibration

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Topics for today

The Appeal of MusicExperienceExamples from literatureExamples from video

Appeal Theory: Why are some phenomena appealing?The appeal-benefit connectionBenefits of music: First look (fairly obvious benefits)

Aspects/Components of MusicRhythm, tone, intervals, harmony, melody, structure

Properties of SoundVibration

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The appeal of music

• Experience

• Observations from literature

• Evidence from video

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“When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable, I see no foe.

I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.” —Thoreau (1857)

The appeal of music

• Experience

• Observations from literature

• Examples from video

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“When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable, I see no foe.

I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.” —Thoreau (1857)

Observations on the Appeal and Power of Music

• The Boys’ Choir of Harlem (Campbell 1997: 146)

• Carl Jung and Margaret Tilly (Campbell 1997:169)

• Jazz and the ending of the Cold War (Campbell 1997: 266)

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The appeal of music

• Experience

• Evidence from literature

• Examples from video– Benjamin Zander (6:03-20:29)– Congolese music

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Topics for today

The Appeal of Music

Appeal Theory: Why are some phenomena appealing?The appeal-benefit connectionBenefits of music: First look (fairly obvious benefits)

Aspects/Components of MusicRhythm, tone, intervals, harmony, melody, structure

Properties of SoundVibration

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The appeal-benefit connection

• We can explain appeal by the accompanying benefits – In some cases the appeal and the benefit are one• Water tastes good – water is good for us

– Usually, the appeal and the benefit are separate• but connected• Examples:

– Eating – close connection– Sex

• Evolutionary perspective – Disconnecting the appeal from the benefit

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Benefits of music: First look (fairly obvious benefits)

• Group cohesion– Especially with participation in performance– Alan Lomax: Prison Work Song – Secondarily, for listeners– William Benzon, Beethoven’s Anvil: Music in

Mind and Culture. Basic Books, 2001

• Relaxation, relief from tension

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Topics for today

The Appeal of MusicExperienceObservations from literatureExamples from video

Appeal Theory: Why are some phenomena appealing?The appeal-benefit connectionBenefits of music: First look (fairly obvious benefits)

Aspects/Components of MusicRhythm, tone, melody, harmony, structure

Properties of SoundVibration

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Aspects/components of music

• Music is not one thing, but a composite of several– And they don’t all have to be present together

• Rhythm• Tone

– N.B.: The appeal of a single tone

• Melody– Prerequisite: Intervals

• Harmony• Structure

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More than anything else, rhythm and melody find their way to the inmost soul and take the strongest hold upon it. —Plato

Other composites

• Songs– Music with words

• Rap– Words with rhythm

• Dancing– Usually with music– Sometimes with only rhythm– Specialized form: ballet

• Opera– Music with words, story, sets, costumes

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Topics for today

The Appeal of MusicExperienceObservations from literatureExamples from video

Appeal Theory: Why are some phenomena appealing?The appeal-benefit connectionBenefits of music: First look (fairly obvious benefits)

Aspects/Components of MusicRhythm, tone, intervals, harmony, melody, structure

Properties of SoundVibration

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Some physical properties of sound

VibrationNoise vs. musical toneFrequency of vibration Cycles per second (Hertz) Audible sound begins at 16 Hz Upper limit for humans is 18,000 Hz

(for some, up to 20,000) Each doubling is next higher octave

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Pythagoras: Ratios and Harmonics

• Pythagoras (Πυθαγόρας) – Greek mathematician, philosopher, mystic– ca. 570 – ca. 495 BC

• Properties of vibrating strings

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Ratios and Harmonics — Examples

1 C1/2 C’ (one octave higher)1/4 C”1/3 G’2/3 G3/4 F4/5 E1/5 E”1/6 G”1/7 B♭”

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T h a n k s f o r y o u r a t t e n t i o n !