Noteworthy

(Originally published in my blog “Undertaken Seriously” on January 29, 2017)

Think for a moment about how momentous music is, has been, and will continue to be. Music is recognized globally, even if the genre isn’t your cup of tea. It’s often touted as the “universal language,” and for good reason. Music can make us think and feel things that other relationships or experiences cannot come close to stimulating: there is no true limit to music’s potential to influence our reality when you consider its history, the science behind it, its cultural ties, and its potential as a means of expression that other media lack. Let’s unpack some of these ideas, and more.

What is it, exactly? Turns out that’s a tricky question. The variety of answer you receive is wholly contingent on whom you ask (we call that subjectivity). The Oxford English Dictionary offers a solid ground on which to base our further definition:

The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds to produce beauty of form, harmony, melody, rhythm, expressive content, etc.; musical composition, performance, analysis, etc., as a subject of study; the occupation or profession of musicians.

Simple, concise, to the point. I especially like the description of music as “the production of a beauty of form.” Yet music is so much more than that. We encounter so much noise in our day-to-day, and I always wonder what compelled ancient people to take this noise and harness it. Not to mention that modern noise is exponentially more than ancient noise would be. For much of the time, they must have experienced such a quiet that cannot be found outside of the most remote places today. Silence can indeed be loud, and if they lacked much stimulation from interactions with each other, what did they think about? How did they make sense of the expanse of natural wonder that they must have been met with? Perhaps the invention of music, like other ancient systems (religion, for example) was a way for them to find harmony, some sort of profound expression of their spirit that could not be released elsewhere. Imagine how it would nag on your soul, to be confronted with a world sans art, sans music. The expressive fire burns in all people, and it yearns to be freed. So, they did the only thing which made sense, which was to let it out. Such was the birth of art.

Certain cave paintings depict people dancing, so we can be sure that this expression was invented relatively early in our hominid existence. But what is dancing without music? (Silent, awkward-looking body contortions, that’s what) The two are inseparable art forms. Dancing sans music is still as rhythmic as with music: the body movements flow and react with each other in a way that craves the accompaniment of a beat. Music, sans dancing, can stand alone more strongly, yet it has the same effect on a listener. Rhythm invites movement in sync to it; dancing, swaying, even tapping one’s foot. Our bodies, naturally want to evaluate first, adapt, and then respond to incoming stimuli, positive or negative. Whether or not the cave-people understood this is beside the point. If there was dancing, there simply must have been music to accompany it.

Moving on from origins, which are mainly speculative, we can address the “core values,” if you will, of music. One such aspect is rhythm, or some sort of beat laid out in a predictable and measurable pattern. Have you ever used a metronome? That’s rhythm. Yet the metronome is artificial; rhythm is not. Take a moment and put two fingers to the side of your neck, tucked up almost into your chin. If you’re alive, reader—which I assume you are, and not just AI who reads obscure blogs—you just felt the prime example of natural rhythm. Is it something of our heart which draws us to rhythmic expression? The unwavering consistency of a heartbeat is both inspiring and sublime. It is a part of all animals, not only people, and thus bridges an aspect of life between nature and ourselves.

Along with this connection to nature, we can consider the duality of many of our perceptions (light/dark, “good”/”evil”, warmth/chill, “masculinity”/”femininity”, and other such dialectics) as rhythmic. Yet the world is not so simply black and white (sorry, more dialectics), and these competing perceptions lie on a subjective continuum (sorry, more big words); especially those like “good”/”evil” or “masculinity”/”femininity.” A middle ground is clearly present, and there is room for both extremes within a single entity. So how is this rhythmic, and what does it have to do with music?

In the case of clear-cut duality, rhythm is found in the back-and-forth between the two extremes. Tick-tock. Up-down. Ebb-flow. You may have even found yourself reading those expressions with different emphasis on either word (i.e. rhythm). In the case of the subjective dialectical pairs, rhythm is found in a more wave-like manner. Rather than a stark contrast from one to the other, the movement to and from both extremes is a sine wave. Since elements of both extremes exist at all times, it is the movement encompassed between them that is rhythmic.

If you could follow the break-down of that last paragraph into abstraction, I appreciate you.

Along with rhythm, a central element of music must be harmony. This phenomenon is what makes certain combinations of musical notes sound pleasing. First, before we explore this idea, enjoy some background in musical theory for reference:

The common musical scale follows a seven-note pattern— A-B-C-D-E-F-G—then begins again. There also exist intermediate “half-step” notes between the lettered ones called “accidentals,” or sharps (#) and flats (♭). A sharp represents one half-step after a “letter” note, and a flat represents the same exact note, only in terms of the next “letter note.” The only exceptions to this are B-C and E-F, between which no accidentals exist. Still following along? Thus, if one produces the musical scale, moving forwards, the result is such: A, A#/B♭, B, C, C#/D♭, D, D#/E♭, E, F, F#/G♭, G, G#/A♭, A… etc. Twelve notes in all.

So what does this scale have to do with harmony? In terms of physics, this means the vibrations produced by a number of means (strings, wind, percussion, vocals, etc.) disrupt the air, travel as sound waves, are received by our ears, resonate against the organs of our inner ear, and send a signal to our brain that recognizes that specific vibration as unique. Without delving into too much detail, the waves of certain pitches of sounds react with one another, and if the pitches have related enough frequencies (e.g. 3rds, 5ths, etc.) the waves enter the ear in concert with one another in a way that produces a harmonic frequency, mathematically.

In other words, naturally-occurring and pleasing combinations of pitches have been studied, over time, to inform our modern understanding of acoustics, harmonics, and other elements of sound theory. The notions that arise out of this fact are incredible. We accept that”music,” as we determined earlier, is an invention of humankind; borne from a natural identification with rhythm and nurtured by a deep passion for self-expression of all people. Yet music is not a true invention, so much as a discovery; stumbled upon by some audial pioneer. Scientists or musicians did not create the harmonic nature of certain pitches reacting with one another. They did not place some idea in the mind that these sounds were pleasing: these phenomena were present in the universe long before the nomenclature so deemed them “pitch” or “harmony.” Music, then, is captivating in its utilization of natural “resources,” akin to the synthesis of plant pigment, animal hair, imagination and technical skill to create a painting. The idea that music is of nature is what makes it such an important part of the human experience.

As the national parks are admired and revered, so shall music be for all time. The philosophy is the same between the two: national parks are preserved so that all people, present and future, may bear witness to the enigmatic sort of beauty that only undisturbed nature can exhibit. Music is as natural as the wind, the sun, or the rain; since it is borne of nature, so should it command the same reverence as the natural wonders. Music is so ubiquitous that it is taken for granted. It is easy to multi-task with music, whether that be studying, reading, exercising, etc. Music is so nuanced in genre that one can pair it well with a variety of moods, activities, or company. However, music alone deserves devotion. To truly understand a piece of music, to truly experience it, requires full attention and a degree of sensory deprivation. How moving is the listening when one is laying down, eyes closed, and completely focused on the piece? Compare that sensation to the listening in a casual setting. One can’t afford the time to devote all of that energy to music alone, at all times, hence the source of listening that is mainly casual. My point is to inspire you, reader, to really take a second look (or listen, actually) at some of the music in your life: take the time to listen to it again, I mean really listen. Close your eyes, breathe calmly and deeply, and let your mind focus on the music alone. It will make a difference in your level of appreciation, I promise you.

Music comes in all forms, and that is another example of the extremity of its value. With a diverse taste, one can begin to pair music with life in pleasing ways, as a chef might pair together different ingredients and seasonings. I am certainly guilty of rejecting certain genres or artists because they aren’t to my taste, and there are pieces out there that try to pass themselves off as “music” and fall short. Yet even the shittiest music has some sort of strange value. Rebecca Black’s “Friday” nostalgic, even though objectively, the music is trash. RiFF RAFF doesn’t make anything that makes me think or feel anything profound, yet he makes me laugh, and “TiP TOE WiNG iN MY JAWWDiNZ” is a banger, hands-down.

My point is, appreciation can be found in all music, and its worth considering other genres for the value they bring to others; rather than shutting them out completely and rejecting their surrounding culture because it isn’t your own (I’m looking at you, Country music. I’m sorry for making fun of you my entire life). Metal, country, jazz, soul, funk, rock, blues, hip-hop, electronic, punk, bluegrass, disco, and all genres have something in common to appreciate. “Alternative” music defies genre so much that it can’t even be contained within one (side note: while “alternative music” exists, “alternative facts” do not) Even pop has something to offer: music that is a genre simply because a lot of people like it. Whose idea was this??

If I may leave you with one succinct point from this entire tirade, it is this: appreciate music. There is nothing more fitting to accent our existence. Next time you listen to music, think about the fact that the aspects that create it are naturally. occurring. No matter your religion or philosophy, if you think that it was bestowed by something, that alone should blow your mind. Music is present everywhere in our universe for us to manipulate, create, and most importantly enjoy; and enjoy it we will, forever.