What is music? If you had asked late philosopher Roger Scruton, he would have said, “Music is something that is in this world, but not of this world.” It’s not particularly helpful but a good point to start, nevertheless. It tells us about the transcedental nature of music.
You must have noticed how easy it is to connect with music, feel it in the depths of your heart, and yet, when it comes to explaining it, you don’t know where to begin. It is this mysterious nature of music that makes it unique among various art forms. You can’t see it, but feel it — that sounds a lot like love.
It was Schopenhauer who first said that all arts aspire to the condition of music. He was thinking of the abstract qualities of music; in music, and almost in music alone, it is possible for the artist to appeal to his audience directly, without the intervention of a medium of communication in common use for other purposes. The composer of music is perfectly free to create a work of art out of his own consciousness, and with no other aim than to please. This is why many consider music as the purest form of art.
It is worth noting that the art of music lies not so much in creating, but in listening. We can hear music in the song of the nightingale, but it is music that no nightingale has heard. So, it’s the listener’s perspective that matters while judging a piece of music.
What is it, then?
The term music has evolved since its birth in ancient Greece, where poetry, music and dance are unquestionably known as unified art. The definition of music and non-music has become more sophisticated in recent times. Therefore, in order to distinguish sounds from music, let’s start with sounds.
When you play the above video, you hear natural sounds. They are pleasant and therapeutic, but we don’t call it music, not formally at least. Why? Because what we call music, it is an ordered combination of sound that is pleasant to our ears.
Now that we have sounds, let’s proceed further. Accoustic material is sounds and noises that people can hear. Music arises from them. As stated previously, music is the organised form of sound events. This material is subject to physical laws such as the overtone series or specific numeral ratios. However, it can also be created by humans.
Music instruments, electric tone generators, or other sound sources are among the tools which can be used to create music. The volume and timbres can vary. Scales are formed from the supply of a sound system. Rhythms arise from the temporal sequence of sounds and noises of different durations. When pitches vary, a polyphony appears, and the relationship between the tones develops the harmony. That is how music is created.
What is music for?
Music, like any artistic event, is a cultural product with many goals, among other things to create an aesthetic experience for the listener, to express feelings, emotions, circumstances, thoughts or ideas and the increasing fulfilment of an essential therapeutic function through music.
Music also plays an essential role in human cognitive development. Among other things, it works on mathematical-logical thinking, language acquisition, psychomotor development, interpersonal relationships, learning foreign languages and improving emotional intelligence. Music is an impetus that influences the field of individual perception. For this reason, it should be included in all forms of education.
Music affects every one of us. It changes our heartbeat, blood pressure, respiratory rate and muscle tension. Furthermore, it affects hormonal balance. Depending on the type of music, different hormones are released — adrenaline with fast and aggressive music, noradrenaline with soft and calm sounds.
Music does a lot of things to us, some can be explained, while some will always remain unexplainable. It is our redemption in this otherwise tragic world. As Kurt Vonnegut said, “No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our religious & charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful.”
Reference books:
Kalampedia 