FOOTNOTES:
[7] Part II, p. 375: “The true song however of most birds and various strange cries are chiefly uttered during the breeding season, and serve as a charm, or merely as a call-note to the other sex.”
[8] Vol. II, Chap. 19.
[9] Chapter 9.
[10] If, as Haekel says in “The Riddle of the Universe,” p. 116, “When the mimosa roots are shaken by the tread of a passerby, the stimulus is immediately conveyed to all the cells of the plant,” may not the far stronger stimulus of musical sound be similarly transmitted to the human cells not directly concerned in hearing?
[11] The octave of half-tones sung by the Hylobates Syndactylus is merely an effort at speech.
[12] American History and Encyclopedia of Music.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] It will be noted that the reference to ideas as “disturbances of purely physical, molecular rhythm” is used throughout this book, for it is here claimed that just as the unconscious cessation of breathing for a few seconds during the writing of an idea, expresses the check of mental action upon heart action and the circulation of the blood, so also does the continual reception of new impressions into the mind, affect the original regular rhythmic movement of the entire body. Hence thought is a real disturber of rhythm within the body. Similarly, any burst of anger, fear, or joy is immediately registered in the pulse.
[16] We are aware that Darwin stresses the element of sexual selection in the bird’s song.
CHAPTER II.
Music and Motion.
Music, a recognized but still undirected agent for rhythm maintenance, is sought and produced in accordance with the disturbance of a body politic or of a body individual. The musical products of a nation mirror that nation’s history far better than pen and ink can laboriously spell it out. Music reaches down into physiological and psychological needs, and tends to reestablish rhythmic equilibrium, whether applied to physical organs, or to members of a national body. And as the aggregates of matter and motion in human bodies combine all of their unequal, complex, and yet distinct rhythms under one mean rhythm, which becomes the characteristic rhythm of the whole, so do the musical products of a nation, during a given time or age, combine their unequal motions under a mean motion or characteristic, which includes all rhythmic products and which we see as a characteristic “color,” or “temperament” in the national Music of that period. And as the mean governing rhythm or pulse of one being, individual or national, cannot be mistaken for the mean of any other combination than its own, so the “color” or “temperament” of the musical products of one country, is clearly distinguishable from that of the Musical products of other countries.
In like manner, humanity, that larger aggregate of human molecules, shows a mean color in the united products or motions of its parts, the nations. The “tone” of the Music of the Nineteenth century, is more complex than that of the Eighteenth century, although Spain still re-establishes her Eighteenth century disturbances with Eighteenth century Music. England, with few deeply disturbed emotions is satisfied with doses of early Nineteenth century Music. France applies her own vivid intellectual sound pictures to her psychological and political disturbances. Germany finds the panacea for her disturbances in colors of soul tragedy and strong sentimentality. Italy, until her recent steps toward modern methods in stimuli productions, sipped her delightful comedy and her flowery tragedy, from graceful old-fashioned musical cups. Nineteenth century musical productions in England, France, Germany and Italy are, we may say, pictures of their several national “disturbances,” and exact quantitative measurements of the depth to which the mean national rhythm was disturbed. All of these musical productions again react upon humanity’s aggregate, and are combined under what is known as the Nineteenth century mean rhythm, or age characteristic.
As has been noted above, there are too few data indicative of the habits of primitive man, for us to learn aught of his Music, but it is safe to assume that its comparative simplicity or complexity corresponded with the comparative simplicity or complexity of his mental and physical life. Undoubtedly, the earliest group complexity arose with roving habits, the entrance into new environments, and the subjection of man’s psycho-physical system to new “strains” of disturbing stimuli.
According to this theory we must define “disturbances” as, such responses to varying stimuli as unduly accelerate or retard bodily pulse motion, changing the normal rhythm of the pulse. Examples are to be found in sudden migrations, outbursts of enthusiasm, wars, revolts, and even in certain eager intellectual pursuits.
Music is a phase of the evolutionary process. Musical evolution has also its order: (a) in appreciation,[17] when the primitive human mind becomes conscious of existing rhythm, of sound combinations; (b) in utilization, when its seemingly magical effect suggested its association with the festivities and rites of worship; (c) in characterization, when it stands on a pedestal of its own, recognized as a human necessity perfectly adapted to its environment; and (d) in socialization, when its end as an agent in self-realization shall be entirely comprehended. Characterization is the mode which Music has reached today. Socialization is just beginning, and is yet more fully to be developed with greater understanding.
Again in Musical Evolution there has been an ideo-motor stage of development.[18] This forceful, aggressive, persistent motor stage was shown in the rude drums and other rough-hewn instruments of early man. In its convivial imaginative aspect it has answered to the need of the ideo-emotional type. The dogmatic emotional need has drawn forth from that type’s resources the austere musical products of master genius. Do we not find today in France, Germany and in modern Italy a national rhythm disturbed by critically intellectual[19] stimuli, which in turn call forth critically intellectual Music of the most distinct complexity? Music is both a social and a socializing force, which, although created by society, reacts upon its creator.
Reviewing the stages of Musical Evolution do we not discern concerted volition? Does not the mean tone of national musical types show concerted acceptance of that which answers to national tastes and needs? The very applause which establishes the modern type, is the outward sign of an inward intent to embrace that product. Cool and restrained judgment precedes that acceptance. Any audience manifests resembling sensations of resembling individuals in that oneness of criticism so generally exhibited. Clearly indeed in this latter case do we perceive that reflective sympathy which shows us how like to our neighbor we are. Then there is the evidence of organic sympathy which establishes that liking or disliking for certain Music, according as the mean motion or the rhythm of the Musical sound vibrations, correspond to a similar combination of motions and rhythms in our own systems. And is not the affection for a rhythm similar to our own, stronger than is our liking for one dissimilar? Can a dogmatic emotional[20] type experience a true affection for, or feel a sincere need of, ragtime ditties? Could Italy in the early part of the Nineteenth century feel affection for the Music of a von Weber? Could Germany in the fever of Franco-Prussian emotionalism feel affection for the works of Verdi? Paris disliked Wagner’s operas until very recently.
Lest this should seem like an attempt to stretch sociological terminology to cover territory other than its own, let us continue our examination. Even in the progress from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous, Music, in its national parts, though highly heterogeneous like the integrated parts of the body, is yielding to the social passion for homogeneity. This is indicated by the increasing similarity of its ideals. Even Italy in her new awakening is reaching out toward musical equality with the most complex modern ideals, illustrating the tendency of all inequality toward final equality.
The Music which answered to the needs of an Ethnic Society could not possibly re-establish the disturbed rhythm of political groups. The “gentile family” system for a long time successfully counteracted the effects of heterogeneous motion attacks upon the calm nervous structure, by a Music suited to its needs. Only with the decay of the patriarchal system did groups come to demand complexity in the re-establishing agency, Music.
Internal disturbances must have been rare in all clan life, surrounding stimuli being relatively homogeneous, simple and diffused. Paleolithic man, with his unchanging external environment, had little reason for internal disturbance. What slight disturbances he suffered were probably remedied by simple rhythmic composition of some kind: even babies create a pronounced sound rhythm with any instrument at hand, and indicate real pleasure derived from what to us seems mere noise.
Sounds produced by non-human beings are mere discharge of surplus energy, in a creation of rhythmic stimulus, and not conscious sound combinations in song. Music is a “natural” product of human society. It must be as old as those integrations of parts in the human body, which became aggregates of matter and motion, to take care of new stimuli colliding with the motions already contained. Through lower, middle, and upper savagery,[21] even before the beginning of speech, Music must have been at hand, although in its simplest conceivable form. Music kept pace with the comparatively simple external stimuli of each period.
With the use of fire and of the bow and arrow in upper savagery, came a new heterogeneity in the stimuli entering the organism; disturbances were still simple, but with the domestication of animals, with the cultivation of plants by irrigation, with the use of adobe brick and stone in architecture, Music must have gradually increased in its complexity in order to cope with the new disturbances of bodily motion consequent upon those changes in man’s reaction to his environment. Then, with the use of iron in upper barbarism, Music began anew to exhibit its needed usefulness, as in the Grecian tribes of the Homeric Age, and in the German tribes of Caesar’s time.
By these times Music had passed well out of the stages of “appreciation,” into those of “utilization.”[22] Strongly rhythmic, it contributed to the recreation (re-creations indeed) of bodily equilibrium! It calmed intense inward motion, or stimulated flagging circulation in its union with religious rites. From such accomplishments of later barbarians as poetry, mythology, fine temple architecture, walled cities, ship building, wine manufacture, woven fabrics, implements for grinding corn, the side hill furnace for smelting ore, and many other early mechanical contrivances,[23] civilization evolved its phonetic alphabet and its literary records, building the rhythm-disturbing stimuli of civilization. In the meanwhile the family develops to the point of monogamy, and individual property rights usher in a new political system. An advanced form of municipal life in fortified cities having already created the ideal of city treasure to be protected, the step was ultimately taken from this to individual property rights distinct from those of the gens.
The fact that Music as we first encounter it is already somewhat complex, is not surprising when we regard it in terms of motion, duplicating in principle the construction of the human body. The latter may also be regarded in terms of motion; for what are bodily organs but integrations of molecules in motion? The rhythm of a bodily organ is like a note composed of periodic motions.[24] The various organs of differing masses and motions, acting together under one chief rhythm, are but chords of various notes, while that average of averages, the pulse, registers the governing rhythm of all of these together, as does the time in music.
With the differentiation of the Aryan race from those barbarians who were not active in making and utilizing new inventions, certain re-arrangements of bodily motions resulted which could not fail to “disturb” old life habits. With artificial rhythm already at hand, instinct alone would be sufficient to prompt its application. Appreciation of Music at this stage would mirror only the satisfaction derived from the hearing of rhythmic sounds, sufficiently varied to inflame or calm inward motion, without carrying it too far from the norm. The “gens” system as found in Greece, Rome, and among American aborigines, as also among the Irish sept, and Scottish clan, would tend to restrain complex emotions. Such gentes, being consanguine bodies, descended from the same common ancestor, and having a gentile name, and held together by actual or fictitious ties of blood, were compact bodies with institutions comparatively simple. They were like primitive bodily forms, consisting of motions contained within an outer crust, and with few distinct inward integrations.
Music, as simple rhythm agreeable to the ear, would fulfill all disturbance needs of that time, and would itself be a mere contained motion, with few integrated parts. Only with the beginning of “rational” thinking or the “interposition of new ideas between stimulation and the consequent muscular action,”[25] does such complexity of mental effort induce the integration of new parts with new motions in order to meet the added strain.