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