From three successive tours of the Baltic Province of Russia, with audiences of the Ideo-Emotional and Dogmatic-Emotional types.
From Concert and opera tests in Germany and England.
From Concert and opera tests in the Eastern States of U. S.
From Concert and opera tests among the revolutionary elements of New York City, including Coney Island tent life for five months, lower East Side social work for five years, Brooklyn Working Girl tests, church, political, and society study among actual audiences represented by these classes.
More than two hundred thousand people were observed during these tests as to the effects of music, and the results suggested the following needs, which the author believes may be extended to the treatment of many diseases of the mind. Abnormally heightened or abnormally lowered bodily agitation, or inward motion, “needs” rhythmic stimulus from highly agitated motion, as in music; the like state of highly agitated motion in the body responds to the stimulus in calmed motions; the abnormally lowered bodily agitation responds to the unlike stimulus in the highly agitated motions of music, in excitation: a perfectly normal body “needs” no music (but such do not exist).
(1) Those social and individual bodies manifesting abnormal states of agitation “need” contact with such a body of rhythmic musical vibration as will calm and impose a normal rhythmic motion upon the disturbed motion represented by the agitation.
(2) Those social and individual bodies manifesting abnormal states of phelgma “need” contact with such a body of rhythmic musical vibration as will excite the low motion states, and impose a normal rhythmic motion upon the sub-normal motion represented by the phlegmatic states.
Above conclusions are offered as a result of the following types of experiments.
Experiments Upon the Ideo-Motor to Ideo-Emotional Type.
Desiring to try the effects of music combined with lectures of a political character, among the lower elements of Coney Island dwellers, we set up a 60×90 ft. tent at the foot of Ocean Parkway, in May, 1909; 600 chairs, a decorated platform, a grand piano and gay flags of all nations were distributed in their proper places. The subject of all lectures was Woman’s Suffrage, a theme most unpopular at that time and especially distasteful to a Coney Island mind. The prevailing religion of the district was Catholicism. The first week was devoted to suffrage lectures without music. Crowds filled the floor space of our big tent each night, and from the beginning we distinctly felt the murmurs of intended trouble. Our speakers were men high in public favor, but one of these made the following unfortunate remark: