My friend said to me the other day that she liked words because they made different sounds that she liked. She also said she was always looking for new sounds because she thought that they were all musical things. That set me thinking for a while...just what is music? There is no definition of it in the New Harvard Dictionary of Music. So what does that mean, there isn't one?
Some people would classify music by the following definition: The arrangement of sound in time. Now that's great. It's a very wide ranging definition that would fit pretty much all types of music.
But wait a second...the arrangement of sound in time can mean many things...think about it...wouldn't the sound of a jackhammer, or even better, a piledriver, or other sorts of machinery that do a task evenly, be music? They do sound like they were working to some tempo programmed into their nuts and bolts.
So does that mean that anything that does that can be considered music? Your car engine has it's own rhythm. (I know all about the "timing chain" after having to take it off to replace my water pump!!) In fact, if your car is not in rhythm...it doesn't run!!! What's going on here? Are we saying Ford and Chrysler can make music just as easily as Mozart did?
Well...if you will indulge me for a moment as I get a bit philosophical, and say someone in the 5th century A.D. was already thinking about this, and gave us a method to help us out. As it turns out, music used to be classified as a science, not an art because of the fact that they believed that the entire universe made music!! And would that be so incorrect? Think about the sounds we get from deep space pulsars when we tune them in on radio telescopes?
The old philosophers believed as we do now, that everything is in balance and harmony, and that's why they work together. We get the name "Musica Mundana" from our buddy in the 5th century, Boethius. It essentially means "the harmony of the universe", and while our primitive ears can't necessarily hear the sound of the entire universe singing together in an intergalactic hymn, we can know it's there, and take comfort in that. When the universe is in balance, it's a good thing.
This whole thing may be pushing the eastern philosophy thing a bit, but Boethius wasn't Asian...he was European. What's that say? It says that the truth is the truth, no matter where you are. Boethius also talked about "Musica Humana", or "the harmony of the body and soul". An eastern philosophy calls it Ying and Yang (which actually can be perceived as musica mundana, as well). We in the empirical sense call it metabolism, but that's not really accurate. Metabolism deals with the workings of the body, but not the soul. In fact, metabolism, in the strict empirical sense, doesn't take a soul into account at all.
We are definitely missing something there. We know that performed music (i.e. musica instrumentalis) can make us feel emotions, and put us in states of mind that we wouldn't normally be in at that moment. Perhaps this is our body's musica humana's sympathetic vibrations for the sounds we hear? What about all of those new "nature" tapes with the sounds of birds, or the ocean on them. They're supposed to provide relaxation, but do they? Some people say they work. I personally sleep better with some background noise, like a fan going on. Perhaps our bodies are also having sympathetic vibrations for the natural world (i.e. musica mundana). Do you ever feel this breath of exhilaration when it snows, or when you're at the beach, on a mountain? We could all be hearing the majestic rumblings of nature in our souls, and not even know it.
Perhaps we should take comfort in that, since maybe there are sounds we wouldn't want to hear. We just know how certain things (like music, all kinds) affect us, and we delight in such sympathetic vibration. After all, what could be more natural, more fun, and more relaxing, than nature?
Pax perem musicum.
Ok y'all...this is your chance, tell it like it is...you have a band you're just dying to tell everyone about? (if it's your own, that's ok too). You just heard an album by someone new, or someone dead that's driving you bonkers every hour that you play it? Tell us!! We want to know!! This is a place to share good stuff that you think others might just enjoy. No negative reviews, please...we don't do that here. You think someone sucks? Tell them to their face, and see how well everyone takes constructive criticism...Oh..by the way...tell us when and where a band/solo artist/ensemble is performing, or where we can find the album/single/soundbyte, some of us just might want to check it out. Also, if anyone has music they want to share via the Net, send it here...we'll give it a listen...but we make no promises..
I want to send in my ideas to the Music Clinic!
I want to send you my Music Reviews! I know that all responses will be considered, and those selected for the article will be duly credited to the author.