Music The Timeless Communicator

Music

The Timeless Communicator

Article by Jeffrey Young

President and Founder

Innovative Piano, Inc.

It is often said that ‘music is the universal language’. I share this opinion and must point out that music is also strangely translatable throughout time as well. Consider the fact that a man in the 18th century, whose culture and even language are foreign to a listener today, has written something which can be understood, without the need for translation, universally. Such an all-encompassing fact must stand on the shoulders of an even larger truth. One only has to listen to Chopin’s Piano Sonata in Bb Minor Op35, 3rd movement, to appreciate his message of sorrow and loss. Or, consider Johannes Brahms’s Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, gute Nacht, Op. 49, No. 4 – commonly referred to as ‘Brahms Lullaby’ – and

ask yourself what he was trying to convey. It is not a coincidence that these and other works have gained wide notoriety or even cliché status in our society. Of course, all pieces of music are not so easily and directly translatable but an objective analysis of all individuals’ emotional interpretation of any piece music would lead to natural trends. This begs the question of why. And what implications does it offer?

The passage of time has produced amazing and sophisticated forms of thought and expression. From physics to philosophy and architecture or psychology – each is developing a unique means of communication to explain and pass on the findings of previous concepts. Many of these concepts are often (and justly) considered to be in the realm of genius and represent certain groundbreaking examples, such as Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. While it is not a requirement to fully comprehend a concept or invention to benefit from it, e.g. the internal combustion engine, it does add to an individual’s appreciation of it. This is not only true in respect to the sciences but also in the fields of artistic expression. Consider the study or guidance one would require to fully grasp what Shakespeare was communicating. The centuries have clouded his puns and his English works often demand a certain translation for the layperson. It is not to say that comprehending Einstein’s theories or enjoying Shakespeare’s plays is unattainable – rather, that they require a specialized set of skills to fully appreciate them. Music ascends these requirements. The layperson can interpret the meaning and essence of any piece of music with clarity.

“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.”

Ludwig Von Beethoven

"It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception."

(When asked about his theory of relativity)

Albert Einstein

Cultural variables may also affect the impact of many intellectual developments. Certain Freudian detractors have suggested that his theories were largely based on upper-middleclass individuals and therefore fail to adequately treat the issues of the rest of the socioeconomic classes. A particular Darwinian theory may counter an individual’s religious or spiritual views and is therefore translatable but unacceptable to them. These examples are only meant to illustrate the fact that modern thought is tied to individual consciouses and therefore finite in scope. This is certainly illustrated in the field of Psychology which has room for Freudian, Jungian and other models of practice – further branching off into Psychiatry. The practitioner’s (and patient’s) choice to pursue one of these fields is largely due to his/her life experiences and culture. Their dedication and study will result in their ability to interpret and put into practice these concepts. Here, too music cuts through cultural distinctions and is translatable across cultures and societies. The instruments, form, composition and inspiration of musical creations are all unique to individual cultures throughout the world – yet, their purpose is translatable to everyone. A Western listener does not have to be a Musicologist to understand the loneliness and despair in the Chinese piece, “Hu Jia Shi Ba Pai” (Episodes with HuJia) which is attributed to Cai Wenji ca. 132 Ad. But, why is this so?

Music is the audible expression of emotion. Standardized systems of intonation where certainly of great importance to our ancestors. It is safe to say that language and auditory communication have grown in complexity and evolved over time. If this is the case, its origin must have been comparably simple. Even previous to this humble beginning, communication would have been possible with only standardized intonation variations. In other words, a certain tonality would communicate fear, another sorrow, and so on; without a standardization of syllables to form words which we would now consider language. The fact that most (if not all) cultures on Earth today can interpret all musical tonalities as distinct emotional symbols is proof that this development occurred very early in our development as human beings. The benefits associated with learning these tonalities and passing them on to one’s children, are numerous. Communicating, in a standardized manner, when one is angry (and understanding that tone in others) could have meant life or death for our ancestors. Since being in pain or being injured is not always outwardly obvious, it was important to have the ability to verbally indicate this state of being. While emotion and thought have, of course evolved over time, these core emotional tonalities are still the most easily recognizable today. It is tempting to take our current understanding of present and universal communicative tonalities for granted but stop and consider what this implies. It is not a coincidence that, without speaking a word of Russian, you can listen to a woman mourning the loss of a child or a man angry at a personal offence and know what emotion is being displayed.

Musicians understand this principle well and throughout the centuries have created techniques to arrange these emotional tonalities into standardized patterns. Although music has the ability to be performed in isolation, its true purpose is to be shared on a social level. This is clearly illustrated by the fact that a majority of the tempo markings of classical music pieces refer to ancient dances. These songs and dances were important gathering events; represented across the social strata. Musicians have settled on largely Italian designations for these tempo indicators but equivalents were no doubt in use throughout the world. An Allegro piece is meant to be played quickly; an Adagio indicates a slower, root tempo, and so on. I would argue these dances were very important social events throughout pre-history as well. Remember that music is based on primary emotions and the stylized reproduction of these emotions. The appreciation and timeless popularity of music is driven by the fact that everyone is experiencing emotion and can relate, on some level, with the tonal symbolism being expressed. From an historical standpoint, I am always fascinated by what the music of ancient Egypt or Rome or some other extinct cultures sounded like. We can piece together an inkling of this by recreating musical instruments featured in their art but what they created with them is pure conjecture. Even so, based on the discussion above, we can assume that they followed the same timeless emotional tonality based rules of composition. These skills and songs were passed down through the generations and there is no proof that there was any system of recording the music in any fashion. There are vaguely written indications in cuneiform from 2000 BC, found in Iraq, which explain general music composition styles. Also, ancient Greece and the Arab world developed early ways to write and record systems of music. These early techniques lack a complete and universal explanation of methodology, though and therefore did not prove to serve as a standard. The method that we use today is based on the developments made in the 9th century, in Europe. This neum system was used to standardize ritual chants performed by monks and guide them in pitch changes. It was not until the 14th century that we see a system of musical notation which begins to resemble our current method.

Even today, as technological developments and every day life change so quickly and radically; music remains an integral part of our society. Musical genres and styles are as diverse as the people who create them – but society’s propensity to recreate and build on past musicians’ achievements is a testament to the fact that music is timeless. Past generations may not have had the ability to send gigabytes of information or explore space but their interpretation of their world was based on (and expressed through) the exact same tonalities and emotions as we use today. This holds true for our future generations as well, which will struggle to express their emotions and experiences through the same finite series of tonalities. In many ways their world will surely be as alien to us as the ancient Babylonians life experiences are today. In the end, we are all attempting to interpret our world and express our emotions through a limited number of tonal variations. This instills, in me, a sense of connectedness with all cultures and people; each person drawing on tones which are millions of years old.