Music Is a Product of Human Intention and Perception, Research Paper Example

Music is an essential part of any civilization. It a means of a people expressing their beliefs, ideas and emotions about a given facet of life. MichealBakan’spercepyions of music are unique and portray music accurately in its form and composure. These perceptions are particularly useful in understanding certain aspects about music. He manages to encompass all aspects of music in his “Five Propositions for Exploring World Music”. The fourth proposition, “Music is a product of human intention and perception” has a particularly unique outlook towards the origin and purpose of music. I strongly agree with the statement, “Music is a product of human intention and perception”.

Identity

Music originates from a human source through generation of ideas and transforming those ideas into sounds using available instruments (Deutsch). As such, music originates from a human being with a reason, drive, reason or purpose of composing music. This also points towards the fact that music is a source of identity. This is because, every human being has their own unique style of composure, relative to the conditions within their environment.Every individual has their own ideas or perceptions of who they are and what factors unite them as a family, a society and as a nation.

A good example is Mongolian khomii (CD ex. 1-5) (Bakan). This musical piece is unique and embodies the identity of the Monglian people. The Mongolian singing employs throat singing. This unique sound is formed when different organs unite to form sound; i.e. the larynx, the tongue, the palate and the teeth. These techniques of throat singing employed by the Mongolians are quite difficult to mimic and/or perform. In order for one to get to the high tune, they have to fold or curl their tongue and use the whisper through the front teeth together with tip of the tongue

There are very few individuals who can perform this musical art. As a matter of fact, Khovadaimag is considered the motherland of throat singing, where almost everyone can throat sing. However, still very few can perform this musical art in a professional manner. This is the only place in the world with a collection of so many throat singers as the musical art is indigenous to the people of Western Mongolia. In this manner, music is truly perceived as people’s identity.

Transcendence and Spirituality

Music in numerous cultures, societies and religions is employed to assist in achieving spirituality. In this way, music has been employed with the intention of expressing faith, beliefs and religious depth. In this way, music has been formed and/or performed to trigger and instigate emotions that create a deep and consuming spiritual experience. For this purpose and reason, music becomes an essential part of human psychological well-being. In achieving transcendence, music helps on connect to worlds thatare beyond the natural into a supernatural realm where supernatural forces exist.

A good example is Orishas transubstantiation (CD ex. 3-1) (Bakan). This musical piece depicts how Hindu culture employ musical cycles as cosmological symbols so as to achieve a higher level of spirituality. The Cosmos has always been attributed to a higher and advanced level of spirituality. For individuals who are I tune with the cosmos, they realize a higher and stronger level of spirituality. Hindu cultures use musical cycles to represent distinct aspects of the cosmos, thus achieving a higher level of spirituality. In this case, the intention behind music, i.e. the musical cycles, is to achieve a higher level of spirituality.

Emotional State

Music originates from an emotional source or trigger within the composer. The composer imposes these emotions into the work of art he/she has created. The listener picks up these emotions through the impact of the vocal and instrumental chord sequence, rhythm, pitch, dynamics and the quality of sound. The emotions of the composer are solely influenced by their perception towards a given subject or object in existence or life (Juslin and Sloboda). As such, the interpretation of the listener is largely influenced by the composer’s perceptions, making the music and the composer inseparable as the music is a reflection of their perceptions.

John Cage: 4’33”is considered by many as music (Bakan). This type of music involved the composer(s) producing unintentional sounds for a period of 4 minutes and 33 seconds. This is quite different from the conventional styles of music and the listener perceives the music according to the emotions the composer will impose upon his/her composition. Music places an individual in a given emotional state, influenced by the chord sequence, rhythm, pitch, dynamics and the quality of sound. This shows that music is a product of human perception and intention.

Mental State

As much as music is meant to help the listener achieve a given emotional state, it also enables or leads one to achieve a given mental state. Music is a product of human perception that reflects a given state of mind that is imposed on the listener. There is usually an increase in the flow of air and blood to certain areas of the brain as an individual listens and/or plays music. Furthermore, different musical chords activate certain neurons in the brain, placing the one playing or listening to the music in a certain state of mind. This is the foundation of the use of music in different forms therapy, such as music therapy for children with autism to help them with their speech. Music can place an individual in any given state of mind depending on the chord sequence, rhythm, pitch, dynamics and the quality of sound.

Rhythm is an important facet of music. Rhythm is the measure of time by denoting a pattern. Music is perceived by human beings as a sequence of stressed and unstressed sounds or beats. This sequence of stressed and unstressed beats influences or determines how one perceives themselves and their environment. As such, the rhythm of a given musical piece influences one’s state of mind. It alters the way one perceives things and ultimately influence an individual’s decision making. This is because rhythm allows an individual’s brain to organize the billions of electrical impulses that are sent to the brain. This is essentially an individual’s state of mind.

Good examples are, Beethoven’s Symphony 9 (CD ex. 1-2) and “Wrecking Everything” – Overkill. Beethoven’s Symphony 9 (CD ex. 1-2) employs voices within a symphony to create a choral symphony that places the listener in a calm state of mind, an almost spiritual experience (Bakan). This kind of mental state has been achieved as a result of the structure and organization that the composer used. On the other hand, “Wrecking Everything” is also considered by music as some and musical noise by many. It is important to note that the reason as to why come consider it musical noise is that the piece employs some conventional standards off musical composition. However, it largely deviates from other standards as its vocal and instrumental chord sequence, rhythm, pitch, dynamics and the quality of sound place the listener in an uneasy and unsettled state of mind. This state of mind is similar to that of a state of chaos.In conclusion, Music is an essential part of any civilization. Music originates from a human source through generation of ideas and transforming those ideas into sounds using available instruments. Music is an indication of an individual’s identity through their culture and beliefs as engrained within their music. Music is at times formed and/or performed to trigger and instigate emotions that create a deep and consuming spiritual experience. Music originates from an emotional source or trigger within the composer. The composer imposes these emotions into the work of art he/she has created. Music can place an individual in any given state of mind depending on the chord sequence, rhythm, pitch, dynamics and the quality of sound. The rhythm of a given musical piece influences one’s state of mind. It alters the way one perceives things and ultimately influence an individual’s decision making. Rhythm changes one’s perceptions of reality or their mental pictures. Music is a source of identity. In these ways, music has been clearly depicted to be a product of human intentions and perceptions as human interaction requires communication in different ways and on different levels. Music allows for communication within the boundaries or limits set by the composer through the vocal and instrumental chord sequence, rhythm, pitch, dynamics and the quality of sound.

Works Cited

Bakan, Micheal B. World music : traditions and transformations. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

Deutsch, Diana. The psychology of music. S.I.: Academic Press, 2012. 2012.

General Music Today Yearbook Fall 2006-spring 2007. S.I.: Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2008. Print.

Juslin, Patrik N and John A Sloboda. Handbook of music and emotion : theory, research, applications. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.