what is music ??
like we are know that music and atmosphere go together. We might put on relaxing music for a quiet romantic dinner, but listen to something livelier while doing some physical work or exercise or out socializing in larger groups. You might have heard of farmers who increase production by playing music to their animals, recent studies showing that listening to fast music whilst driving increases the rate of car accidents, and the Mozart Effect claims to increase intelligence. While some claims may be exaggerated, there is no denying that music can suggest and affect our state of mind. But the reason for this is very mysterious. Why should organized sounds affect us to such an extent that billions are spent annually making music?
We think that the main aspects of music which influence us can be summed up as:
•Tempo & Rhythm
•Pitch, Melody & Harmony
•Pattern recognition
•Culture aspects
Tempo & Rhythm:
Music tends to have a steady tempo to it, often measured in "beats per minute". A simple observation is that most music is in the range of 50-200 beats per minute, the same as the extreme range of our heartbeats. In general too, the tempo of a piece of music roughly equates with the heartbeat associated with the corresponding physical state or emotion which the music suggests.
Pitch, Melody & Harmony:
Lots of things make noises but in general bigger objects make deeper noises, whether long columns of air or long strings in a musical instrument, big chests, large animal footsteps, or simply large objects generally banging together. Conversely, smaller instruments, short columns of air, short strings, small animals or objects make higher pitched noises. We tend to find large things more threatening than smaller things (part of our evolutionary heritage) so pitch on its own can affect how we percieve sounds and music, providing a basic scale from "high = light, happy, carefree" to "low = dark, sad, ominous". So Pitch on its own affects our perceptions.
Pattern recognition:
Human brains in particular seem to have a highly developed and flexible pattern recognition capability. This aspect of our intelligence has allowed us to adapt to many different climates and conditions, make the best use of available shelter and resources, and to build language and culture to communicate to each other and succeeding generations. It also allows us to appreciate and to create pattern for its own sake in the form of visual and aural Arts. The simplest form of pattern is just repetition. If we see something familiar, then it triggers memories and related thoughts, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously. The repetition needn't be exact but similar enough to trigger that familiarity.
Culture aspects :
The Cultural aspects of music are built upon these basic foundations, and evolve over time into complex conventions which are passed on from generation to generation. The relative isolation of different communities during this musical development mean that they are likely to evolve in different directions. Then later cross-fertilization between different cultures can lead to the introduction of new elements which are initially molded to fit the adopting culture and then evolve further. With increased means of communication across the globe we now have some familiarity with the music of different cultures and can perhaps recognize the region of origin, though there is no denying that many old forms of world music are being "westernized".
