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advanced Western culture, various
elements of society often seem to do
everything they can to cause stu–
dents to dislike certain types of mu–
sic, and then attempts are made to
help young people with special edu–
cational courses that sometimes only
compound the existing problem.
Our environment, with its many
facets, is a most important factor in
the way we each respond to music.
Further, these individual responses
will vary, depending on how we feel
physically on a particular day, our
mental outlook or mood, the occa–
sion, how tbe music was performed
and dozens of other factors. A piece
that is enjoyed in one setting may be
totally unenjoyable in another. And
a piece we dislike today may be one
of our favorites five years from now.
Each of us, in our own unique
Dan
J.
McCay
way, responds personally and indi–
vidually to music. But we do re–
spond! For music affects ns far more
than we generally realize.
The Power of Music
One of the most UIÜversal charac–
teristics of music is its ability to ere–
ate the atmosphere of something
40
special. It does this by the sheer vir–
tue of its presence.
That is wijy it enhances every–
thing from movies to military
marches and from protest songs to
religious worship.
The presence of music tends to
make people sit up and take notice.
People will not all react to a given
selection to the same degree, and
they may even react in opposite di–
rections. But the mere presence of
music creates an out-of-the-ordinary
situation - and sometimes, a very
special and extraordinary situation.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow
researched what he called the "peak
experiences" in human lives. Of
hundreds of cases studied, there
.were many different experiences
which people singled out as their
life's highlight. "Peak experiences"
involving music ranked second in
the list - surpassed only by sex.
This should not be all that sur–
prising, for "music is made of a stuff
which is in and of itself the most
powerful stimulant known among
the perceptual processes.... Music
operates on our emotional faculty
with greater intensiveness and ra–
pidity than the product of any other
act" (Max Schoen,
The Psychology
of Music,
p.
39).
Music can temporarily change the
pulse rate and blood pressure. It can
increase the secretions of the adren–
als and other energy-producing and
pain-fighting glands. It can affect
the outpouring of gastric juice,
thereby having a bearing on diges–
tion. lt can reduce or delay muscu–
lar fatigue and also increase
muscular strength.
In
The Doctor Prescribes Music,
Podolsky explains why. Because the
roots of the auditory nerves - the
nerves of the ear - are "more
widely distributed and have more
extensive connections than those of
any other nerves in the body ...
there is scarcely a function of the
human body which may not be af–
fected by musical tones" (p. 18).
Music is powerful! And its power
can be for evil as well as for good.
Music can inspire or depress, uplift
or degrade, ennoble or debase.
But the many diverse kinds of
music around the world have more
in common than just their ability to
create moods or a special atmo–
sphere. They also have in common
certain basic building blocks.
The Building Blocks of Music
Music can be briefty defined as
organized sound. Sorne, however,
will object and say that both organi–
zation and sound are not common
to all music.
For example, modern chance or
.aleatory music boasts of its lack of
formal organization. In fact, in sorne
circles, music is now defined as
"whatever the listener will tolerate"!
And at least one composer has writ–
ten a piece calied "Silence" in which
no sounds are made. But such far–
out exceptions need not concern us
here.
Since music is organized sound, to
what degree must sounds be orga–
nized in order to qualify as music?
Is clicking one's heels in rhythmic
patterns while walking down the
sidewalk music? And what about
those cultures which do not make a
rigid distinction between speech and
song? Though interesting, sucb
questions are obviously academic!
It
is sufficient to say that music is orga–
nized sound. But organized in what
manner?
One way is its overall structure or
form. Music must start somewhere
and end somewhere. Once it begins,
it will establish a tendency to
progress in a certain way. Music is
never completely static, but is al–
ways moving forward. As
it
moves,
it will begin to create shape and
form.
lt
will have patterns or for–
mulas or other special signals that
will be recognized by aiJ those wbo
understand the particular kind of
music being performed. This struc–
tural framework can have the sim–
plicity of a pup tent or the
complexity of a gigantic skyscraper.
PLAIN TRUTH Moy 1973