From the Notebook

The Sound of Music

blogqz01 | 28 December, 2009 19:12

More than anything, music can lift the spirit. So, in the holiday season, music is everywhere. Growing up in China, I was not fond of holidays, as I can’t grasp the concept that one particular day can be set out to be different from the others. But I did sense that Christmas could make me feel different because of the lighting, the tree, and most importantly the music.

Christmas in the core, is a religious holiday, it is the celebration of miraculous birth of the son of God. Although I am in doubt of the possibility and probability of these supernatural claims, music is magical.

I was once a member of a southern Baptist Church in Miami. Reading Bibles and listening to Sermons could give me some insight, but in the end I often struggle with questions that could not find answers. However, music is definitely a draw for me, especially after I found out that I can sing after all.

My appreciation for music came a little earlier. For me the first occasion that led me to really pay attention to music is when I was a teenager in China and heard the symphony of “The Planets” was played in the radio. At that time, China had just opened up to world, and I was fascinated by Science fictions and the Cosmos mystery. Listening to the sound of “The Planets” intensified the mystery of the universe through the waking of my imagination and illustrated the power of music

Such is the quality of music. Some simple combinations of sounds that lack shape, color, smell and touch are often the perfect means for inducing a fantasy world in our mind.

Music as a form of art seems to be the most free of material or worldly reference, thus less restrain by it. Thus music is more connected with spiritual reference. As music is lack of direct relation to particular outer existence, the world that it created is often seemed unobtainable although accessible.

When we listen to speeches, we identify symbols in the speeches. But when we listen to music, the effect on us is mostly emotional. The sound effects on our minds are mostly based on the physical attributes of the sounds. The comfort or satisfactory emotions are based on physical comfort as well.

For lack of direct association with worldly existence, and for the impacts on emotions, music is often associated with certain events and emotions experienced during the events. Although mental snapshot can be linked to memories about certain events, the memories about themselves also need to be invoked. As for as convenience and distinctability, music serves as a good reminder of the precious moments in our lives.

Existence without space is void, existence without time is dead. Music basically avoided space reference and operates solely in the realm of time. While existence cannot be without space, space references are often perceived as limitations. So, people often long for a regime where life existed in the void. This is the reason why music often plays essential parts in religion.

Purely instrumental music and song are different. Words as the tools of communication often make reference to the world, thus the contextual existence related to words are often identified by words. When people talking about music, some often ask what it actually means, and critics or commentators often relate certain melody to more concrete meanings.

But I believe part of the beauty of music is that there could be no fixed links between music and our experiences. It is a realm of imagination with the least restrain. In music, one can truly feel free and let the emotion of joy overflow. As far as recuperation and recreation, there is nothing better that good music to the ear.

For me, for this purpose, there is nothing better than some classical music pieces that I like. Following the rhythm and melody, following all the twists and turns of the music, one seems to be experience a highly skilled mental exercise, without sweat, but with high degree of perfection.

As the music flow, the sound flow from the void and present us one of the best combination of world that can offer, we feel that we are close to the divine (the imagination about the divine, simply put is the best of best, or the most possible that there is, so music often bring us to the world of divine in the most possible way).

I highly suspect that the divine we defined and identified are man made because we can hardly be satisfied with the pure existence of it without making connections to ourselves. This brings me to the songs of music. If music can fly high to heaven, the words in the songs tied it to us.

In songs, words usually tell the stories (the worldly reference). But the impacts on the listeners usually are first established by the emotional connections or the conveyance of emotions, the stories are then accepted through these connections, which is the process of religious believes.

Songs heard in solitary can be different from in group settings. In solitary, songs make people to be in touch of their feelings as if in reflection. In public setting, the presences of others usually create the environment that the actions or reactions invoked by the songs are amplified and synchronized. There are similarities of these experiences with religious experiences as well.

The mechanism of music indicates its close relationship to mathematics. If we think of it, music is based on quantity and quantity alone. Although it can ignite our visions and emotions, by itself, it is in the purest form in entire worldly phenomenon, because it is the production of motions.

Human minds are prone to simplicity, and we will find comfort when we can transform complicity into simplicity. In essence, religion is mostly the effort to find simplicity in the complicated world. Therefore, it would not be of any surprise that humans are drawn to music, and it is natural that music is closely related to religion.

Music as artistic work is the result of imaginations of the creators. Through effective communication, these imaginations collectively can help to build an imaginary realm that people can visit time and then. Any thoughts that lack of worldly references are basically imaginations and speculations (imaginations basically are the creation of fictional entities, and speculations are the unverified connections between existing entities). So, from logical secular view, religion is also in the realm of imagination and speculation along with many other culture creations.

Effective communication can change the dynamic of human connection, but the views or actions of humans are most determined by internal needs. For example, technologies provide means for people to have access to music at any time (internet and ipod, etc.), but when and how to listen to music is ultimately decided by humans.

I like music, but most of time I like enjoy the silence and think. Thinking is an activity that is degraded to an alarming condition in modern days. In the internet age, there are many ways to speak out, but most of the time, people are speaking in gibberish because they don’t actually have anything unique to say.

Thinking is the most effective way a person can make a difference. In the information age, there is little difficulty to gain access to information. But how to make use of information, and present unique view of the world makes distinction from one person to another.

The market economy seems to have significant influence on human psychic. As market economy relies on quantification, the modern culture seems to embrace quantification to extreme. Things are quickly evaluated and categorized so that they can join the general flow of quantification. But quickly evaluation and categorization inevitable have their limitations and often are misleading, thus lead to many problems generated by misconceptions.

On the other hands, minds being stripped away from the most energizing and fulfilling activities, boredoms and loneliness set in, and music often become the thread that people hanging on to feel alive.

But music that is lack of contents and worldly reference can only be supplemental and as means not an end by itself. However, as an art form, it is also an indication of the sentiment of the time. The popular music is elevated to the insurmountable height also is a reflection of the “superman” symptoms of our time (please refer to my earlier post and later post for detail on this subject). Classical music emphasis structure, the formality is also the indication of an ideal. In essence, creating the God is to build a common consent for universal truth. However, as universal truth is not possible (please refer to my other posts regarding this subject), religion set out to arbitrarily assert certain truth and ignore any contradictions.

In modern days, the desires for freedom from this suppression have built different sentiment that lead to “superman” symptom, which is essentially asserting individual truth. But a society lack of common consensus will inevitably have conflicts, people often are hurt by confrontation thus withdraw more and more to their own islands, loneliness set in deep. Reflecting on music is that raw emotions that often resemble wounded animals are common theme, so is exhilaration without cause thus without staying power.

What we ought to remember is that the modern sentiment is also the result of human desire for simplicity. While simplicity in ideal is a shining destination, in reality it cannot be the obtainable goal in extreme. While we can indulge in music to rejuvenate, divine as a concept does not actually belong in this world. What we should treasure and hold on to is our sense and sensibility. Although life is short, and full of imperfection, the lack of simplicity is what makes it unique and full of possibilities. We can actually take clue from music, as even with mathematically simplicity, music indicates unlimited possibilities and potentials. In the end, it is the gift of unknown that is the gift that keeps on giving.

**Please look for my other posts regarding the modern life, religion, art, entertainment, and human conditions, about discussions related to issues in this post.