The Search for Music in other Species
by groovedwhale on Feb.07, 2010, under Interspecies research, Whale Research, music
When I look at the many different avenues I have explored over the past decade in my search for music in other species, one of the main differentiators I see between us and other creatures is that the human species has many songs and we have to create each and every one of them.
How is a song brought into being? Why is it brought into being? What is its lifespan? Why do some outlive others? Can everyone create music? What is the ratio of creators to listeners? Why do composers compose? Why do I compose?
What would the human species look like if we only had one song? Would we still consider ourselves be a musical animal?
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May 20th, 2010 on 4:11 am
How is a song brought into being? Wheee. Like a picture’s worth a 1000 words, one good question’s worth a whole lot of answers. . . here’s one.
I hear voices– both vocal and instrumental. I hear the songs– or more often, parts of them, and then have to work with what I got until I can hear the rest. Once in a while the whole song flows through and I just write it down. Usually it’s a dialogue though, ’cause the voices aren’t always right. . . they ain’t “the word from on high”, so to speak, so we co-write.
I’m a wordsmith, so usually the cadence and flow of the lyrics “tells” me the melody. Sometimes it’s the other way around and the music tells me the words– or simply doesn’t have any.
Be that as it may– if I’m listening, who’s singing? Who’s playing that melody I hear that’s so pretty I’m going to learn to play it too? Telling people “I wrote it” is a conversational convenience, not a description of what actually happened. There’s something more than me involved in the experience.
In the Baha’i teachings, there’s a letter that Baha’u'llah wrote in response to a question about the station of the soul after death. After saying a bit about how indescribably great the next life is for a sanctified soul, He says:
“The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement of its peoples. They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the world of being, and constitute the animating force through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest. Through them the clouds rain their bounty upon men, and the earth bringeth forth its fruits.”
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 155)
I mentioned that passage to a Lakota flute player and hoop dancer friend of mine. He smiled, and said, “So you know why we reverence our ancestors.”
In its classical Latin meaning, your “genius” (derived from the Persian “djinn”, or “genie”) is a spirit you’re in touch with, not something you are yourself. The same applies to the Greek “muses”.
I have a song that a court minstrel wrote long ago, and dropped it down the tube of time to me one day. We eventually wrote one together too– but that’s a tale for another time. Suffice it to say that I’ve gotten comfortable with the idea that I’m not alone “in here” after all. . . And since we’re not the only spiritual beings in the world, I wouldn’t be surprised if Whale Spirit has been by– inside as well as outside– to give you some music to play with.
That’s my by no means definitive response to your question. Does it resonate with your experience with bringing songs into being?
Regards,
Alan James