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The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth
"Michael Spitzer has pulled off the impossible: a Guns, Germs and Steel for music." --Daniel Levitin
A colossal history spanning cultures, time, and space to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species.
165 million years ago saw the birth of rhythm.
66 million years ago was the first melody.
40 thousand years ago Homo sapiens created the first musical instrument.
Today music fills our lives. How we have created, performed and listened to this music throughout history has defined what our species is and how we understand who we are. Yet music is an overlooked part of our origin story. The Musical Human takes us on an exhilarating journey across the ages – from Bach to BTS and back – to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. With insights from a wealth of disciplines, world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer renders a global history of music on the widest possible canvas, looking at music in our everyday lives; music in world history; and music in evolution, from insects to apes, humans to AI. Through this journey we begin to understand how music is central to the distinctly human experiences of cognition, feeling and even biology, both widening and closing the evolutionary gaps between ourselves and animals in surprising ways.
The Musical Human boldly puts the case that music is the most important thing we ever did; it is a fundamental part of what makes us human.
A colossal history spanning cultures, time, and space to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species.
165 million years ago saw the birth of rhythm.
66 million years ago was the first melody.
40 thousand years ago Homo sapiens created the first musical instrument.
Today music fills our lives. How we have created, performed and listened to this music throughout history has defined what our species is and how we understand who we are. Yet music is an overlooked part of our origin story. The Musical Human takes us on an exhilarating journey across the ages – from Bach to BTS and back – to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. With insights from a wealth of disciplines, world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer renders a global history of music on the widest possible canvas, looking at music in our everyday lives; music in world history; and music in evolution, from insects to apes, humans to AI. Through this journey we begin to understand how music is central to the distinctly human experiences of cognition, feeling and even biology, both widening and closing the evolutionary gaps between ourselves and animals in surprising ways.
The Musical Human boldly puts the case that music is the most important thing we ever did; it is a fundamental part of what makes us human.
466 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2022
179 people are currently reading
1865 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
December 26, 2020
“Listening to music is when we’re most aware of time consciousness; of when we catch ourselves living. I listen, therefore I am.”
I cannot imagine a world without music. I have been surrounded by it since I was born. However, whenever I listened to music, I thought of sound and artist, and the pleasure I get from it. I never thought of its etymology, history, or application. I do now. The author teaches us how to ‘see’ it, to perceive its nuances and tones. It gets dissected by the emotion it induces in us and no matter the genre, happy, sad or angry, music has the same structure.
After reading this book, you'll never perceive music the way you did before, I guarantee you that. Whether you're into classical music, rock, pop or whatever other genre, you'll definitely 'see' it with new eyes. I most certainly 'see' now differently classical music and I will try to listen to it more in the future.
Daniel Levitin has hit the nail with his statement: "Michael Spitzer has pulled off the impossible: a Guns, Germs and Steel for music."
Indeed. It's that comprehensive but the writing is not as tedious, as is the case with the first one. The author's writing style is highly enjoyable, very easy to follow, despite some really hard concepts (for me, at least), with numerous examples of music customs all over the world and timelines, and even when hard topics are touched, his dry English humor is present here and there, making the reading a real pleasure.
There are numerous points which I wanted to write about, but they are simply too many, so I will mention just a few:
- music used as a mean of communication and social interaction for children on the autism spectrum;
- music used as a weapon: “When General Noriega was holed up in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City in 1989, the US army blasted him for fifty-one days with irony-tipped bullets of rock: U2’s ‘All I Want id You’; The Clash’s ‘I Fought the Law’; Van Halen’s ‘Panama’, and many others. The opera-loving general surrendered on 3 January 1990. Music is still used as a technique for interrogating prisoners at Guantanamo Bay; according to one report, ‘it fried them’. And in the Iraq War the American military used Metallica to disorient prisoners held in shipping containers. In the words of US PSYOPS Mark Hadsell: ‘These people haven’t heard heavy metal. They can’t take it. If you play it for 24 hours, your brain and body start to slide.’”
- the author 'debunks' Mozart’s 'genius' myth through a serious of facts and observations. The parallel with Venda children is both extremely interesting and funny;
- differences in perceiving ‘music’ in various cultures around the globe are astonishing. “In Africa, where the musical human was born, there is a common assumption (explored later) that everyone is musical. And yet the puzzle is that hardly any indigenous group in Africa has a word for what the West calls ‘music’. The Vai of Liberia have words for ‘dance’ (tombo), ‘song’ (don) and ‘instrumental performance’ (sen fen), but no all-encompassing concept of music as organised sound. For the Tswana of Botswana, singing and dancing mean the same thing (gobina), and the Dan in Côte d’Ivoire, while lacking a single term for music, name a variety of songs, such as dance song (ta), praise song (zlöö), and funeral laments (gbo). By comparison, no indigenous African language has managed without a word for song, dance or indeed language. Africans don’t tend to separate sound from song and dance, from words and movement. The absence of a word for ‘music’ resonates with the Namibian philosophy of ngoma, which describes the interconnectedness of the arts in sub-Sahara Africa. Another aspect of ngoma is the inseparability of composing, performing and listening, three other activities which have split apart in the West.”
And I cannot agree more with his statement: "For atheist like me, the ritual of attending a concert delivers a spiritual experience." Same for me, the only difference is the genre of that concert: classical music for the author, rock/metal for me.
I never thought that there is a strong connection between hearing music and walking; well, there is, and it’s scientifically explained too. And this is just one example of how we are connected to music, not only through our hearing.
The book is packed full with information, but none of it is infodump. All there is to know about music is extracted through facts from biology, history and evolution. We also get to know about music and language of animals, from insects to birds, whales and apes. There is even a parallel between crickets chirping and jazz, explained through ‘entrainment’ - highly interesting.
There isn’t a single topic in this book that I did not find captivating: from the oldest-known musical instrument, a flute from about 40,000 years ago, to the music composed/performed by ‘machines’, such as Neil Harbisson, Hatsune Miku, AIVA and Imogen Heap’s Mi.Mu gloves, and everything else in between - I have relished every word.
It was such an incredible reading; one of those rare books for which the rating system of five stars can’t do it justice.
>>> ARC received thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc via NetGalley <<<
I cannot imagine a world without music. I have been surrounded by it since I was born. However, whenever I listened to music, I thought of sound and artist, and the pleasure I get from it. I never thought of its etymology, history, or application. I do now. The author teaches us how to ‘see’ it, to perceive its nuances and tones. It gets dissected by the emotion it induces in us and no matter the genre, happy, sad or angry, music has the same structure.
After reading this book, you'll never perceive music the way you did before, I guarantee you that. Whether you're into classical music, rock, pop or whatever other genre, you'll definitely 'see' it with new eyes. I most certainly 'see' now differently classical music and I will try to listen to it more in the future.
Daniel Levitin has hit the nail with his statement: "Michael Spitzer has pulled off the impossible: a Guns, Germs and Steel for music."
Indeed. It's that comprehensive but the writing is not as tedious, as is the case with the first one. The author's writing style is highly enjoyable, very easy to follow, despite some really hard concepts (for me, at least), with numerous examples of music customs all over the world and timelines, and even when hard topics are touched, his dry English humor is present here and there, making the reading a real pleasure.
There are numerous points which I wanted to write about, but they are simply too many, so I will mention just a few:
- music used as a mean of communication and social interaction for children on the autism spectrum;
- music used as a weapon: “When General Noriega was holed up in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City in 1989, the US army blasted him for fifty-one days with irony-tipped bullets of rock: U2’s ‘All I Want id You’; The Clash’s ‘I Fought the Law’; Van Halen’s ‘Panama’, and many others. The opera-loving general surrendered on 3 January 1990. Music is still used as a technique for interrogating prisoners at Guantanamo Bay; according to one report, ‘it fried them’. And in the Iraq War the American military used Metallica to disorient prisoners held in shipping containers. In the words of US PSYOPS Mark Hadsell: ‘These people haven’t heard heavy metal. They can’t take it. If you play it for 24 hours, your brain and body start to slide.’”
- the author 'debunks' Mozart’s 'genius' myth through a serious of facts and observations. The parallel with Venda children is both extremely interesting and funny;
- differences in perceiving ‘music’ in various cultures around the globe are astonishing. “In Africa, where the musical human was born, there is a common assumption (explored later) that everyone is musical. And yet the puzzle is that hardly any indigenous group in Africa has a word for what the West calls ‘music’. The Vai of Liberia have words for ‘dance’ (tombo), ‘song’ (don) and ‘instrumental performance’ (sen fen), but no all-encompassing concept of music as organised sound. For the Tswana of Botswana, singing and dancing mean the same thing (gobina), and the Dan in Côte d’Ivoire, while lacking a single term for music, name a variety of songs, such as dance song (ta), praise song (zlöö), and funeral laments (gbo). By comparison, no indigenous African language has managed without a word for song, dance or indeed language. Africans don’t tend to separate sound from song and dance, from words and movement. The absence of a word for ‘music’ resonates with the Namibian philosophy of ngoma, which describes the interconnectedness of the arts in sub-Sahara Africa. Another aspect of ngoma is the inseparability of composing, performing and listening, three other activities which have split apart in the West.”
And I cannot agree more with his statement: "For atheist like me, the ritual of attending a concert delivers a spiritual experience." Same for me, the only difference is the genre of that concert: classical music for the author, rock/metal for me.
I never thought that there is a strong connection between hearing music and walking; well, there is, and it’s scientifically explained too. And this is just one example of how we are connected to music, not only through our hearing.
The book is packed full with information, but none of it is infodump. All there is to know about music is extracted through facts from biology, history and evolution. We also get to know about music and language of animals, from insects to birds, whales and apes. There is even a parallel between crickets chirping and jazz, explained through ‘entrainment’ - highly interesting.
There isn’t a single topic in this book that I did not find captivating: from the oldest-known musical instrument, a flute from about 40,000 years ago, to the music composed/performed by ‘machines’, such as Neil Harbisson, Hatsune Miku, AIVA and Imogen Heap’s Mi.Mu gloves, and everything else in between - I have relished every word.
It was such an incredible reading; one of those rare books for which the rating system of five stars can’t do it justice.
>>> ARC received thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc via NetGalley <<<
April 27, 2022
Part of me wants to trash this book for what I see as a lack of focus and coherent narrative, the other part of me is too busy screaming, “Holy shit, is this stuff cool.” A lot of randomness but packed to the rafters with fascinating bits about how music is embedded in everything around us. As a half-assed musician who came to it late in life, just about everything having to do with making music interests me. Part of me wants to kick myself for not starting earlier while the other part is enjoying the party.
It just seems that the author bites off more that we can chew, but I think it's important to simply do as our parents told us and chew slowly. Take your time, read this a few chapters at a time instead of gobbling it all down quickly, linearly.
What was it about Western classical music that made it so viral, akin to Shakespeare, the English language, capitalism, technology, even cricket?
He needs an entire chapter for this?
The 1905 cover of the first edition of Claude Debussy’s orchestral score La mer borrows from Katsushika Hokusai’s (1760–1849) woodblock print, Under the Wave off Kanagawa.
Quite often, I found the author’s passion of inclusivieness a bit absurd, his whole concept or “We Are the World,” while not mentioning MJ, tries too hard. He’s a little too insistent on pointing out that Western music is not superior. OK, but it’s sort of like Jarred Diamond’s question in Guns, Germs, and Steel: why didn’t the rest of the world conquer Western Europe musically instead of the reverse? Sure, every art form has a thousand parents, but he never convinces me that there was a bigger revolution in music than what occurred in Europe between about AD 1550 and the 1800s.
It just seems that the author bites off more that we can chew, but I think it's important to simply do as our parents told us and chew slowly. Take your time, read this a few chapters at a time instead of gobbling it all down quickly, linearly.
What was it about Western classical music that made it so viral, akin to Shakespeare, the English language, capitalism, technology, even cricket?
He needs an entire chapter for this?
The 1905 cover of the first edition of Claude Debussy’s orchestral score La mer borrows from Katsushika Hokusai’s (1760–1849) woodblock print, Under the Wave off Kanagawa.
Quite often, I found the author’s passion of inclusivieness a bit absurd, his whole concept or “We Are the World,” while not mentioning MJ, tries too hard. He’s a little too insistent on pointing out that Western music is not superior. OK, but it’s sort of like Jarred Diamond’s question in Guns, Germs, and Steel: why didn’t the rest of the world conquer Western Europe musically instead of the reverse? Sure, every art form has a thousand parents, but he never convinces me that there was a bigger revolution in music than what occurred in Europe between about AD 1550 and the 1800s.
March 23, 2021
This is such a fascinating book exploring the connections between music and human beings. It is divided into three parts: Life, History, and Evolution. All three parts are packed with detail and I found it all an interesting read. I particularly enjoyed learning about the development of music in babies, the misalignment of music and musical education, the whole of the history section, and the 'Eleven Lessons on Musical Nature' at the end. Thank you to Michael Spitzer, Net Galley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 15, 2025
I received a copy of The Musical Human as a Secret Santa gift at work, and it was certainly a good pick on the part of the buyer. This is a non-fiction work with an interesting premise, looking at human history through the evolution of music. The book is split into three parts and I was fully engaged through parts one and two. The final chapters I found a little less compelling and I noticed I was starting to skim-read at certain times towards the end. I thought a few of the author's ideas were a bit of a stretch, but for the most part it was intriguing and thought-provoking reading and I learnt a few new things along the way. I am giving it four stars. Recommended for music fans who also enjoy a bit of history on the side.
April 3, 2021
I read this book with the Pigeonhole. I have to say it’s a bit of the departure from the norm for me, because I don’t read as much non-fiction as I could (should?) and this really tested my powers of concentration and thought.
Divided into three parts this is a kind of backwards history of music. I think if I had held a real copy in my hands I might have gone back and read different parts at different times - it’s the kind of book you might wish to pick up and refer back to.
I’m not terribly musically educated either, so some of the musically technical bits probably went over my head, but I still found much to enjoy. I found the parts about conditions in which music can develop really fascinating- from thinking about needing certain bird bones to make flutes, or needing a settled non-nomadic existence to start to develop bigger instruments. Thinking about animals and birdsong and what constitutes music was really interesting too.
Definitely worth seeking out if this is something you have an interest in.
Divided into three parts this is a kind of backwards history of music. I think if I had held a real copy in my hands I might have gone back and read different parts at different times - it’s the kind of book you might wish to pick up and refer back to.
I’m not terribly musically educated either, so some of the musically technical bits probably went over my head, but I still found much to enjoy. I found the parts about conditions in which music can develop really fascinating- from thinking about needing certain bird bones to make flutes, or needing a settled non-nomadic existence to start to develop bigger instruments. Thinking about animals and birdsong and what constitutes music was really interesting too.
Definitely worth seeking out if this is something you have an interest in.
November 18, 2021
Oh dear, this isn't going well. Where to begin?
Animal Music?
No. Animals don't make music. Music is an entirely human concept which we project on to animal sounds. Yes, music has evolutionary roots which we share with animals, but what doesn’t? To speak of Animal Music ( and I'm banging on about it because Spitzer bangs on about it a lot) is like speaking of Animal Philosophy or Animal Mathematics.
Making science accessible is good. But abandoning any semblance to scientific discipline ...?
I mean, I'm delighted that the Spitzer family enjoyed the Rossini concert, but to move from toddlers bouncing along to William Tell (with no prior knowledge of the Lone Ranger) to 'Emotion is converted to Motion' and then build an important part of your thesis on that conclusion ...? Was it at all possible, Mr Spitzer, that those toddlers were being bounced on the knees of parents who had indeed heard of the Lone Ranger?
Where has all the hype come from? I paid £13 for this on Kindle, largely on the strength of the BBC running it as a serial, so I will finish it. But my teeth will be grit.
Animal Music?
No. Animals don't make music. Music is an entirely human concept which we project on to animal sounds. Yes, music has evolutionary roots which we share with animals, but what doesn’t? To speak of Animal Music ( and I'm banging on about it because Spitzer bangs on about it a lot) is like speaking of Animal Philosophy or Animal Mathematics.
Making science accessible is good. But abandoning any semblance to scientific discipline ...?
I mean, I'm delighted that the Spitzer family enjoyed the Rossini concert, but to move from toddlers bouncing along to William Tell (with no prior knowledge of the Lone Ranger) to 'Emotion is converted to Motion' and then build an important part of your thesis on that conclusion ...? Was it at all possible, Mr Spitzer, that those toddlers were being bounced on the knees of parents who had indeed heard of the Lone Ranger?
Where has all the hype come from? I paid £13 for this on Kindle, largely on the strength of the BBC running it as a serial, so I will finish it. But my teeth will be grit.
September 24, 2021
The Musical Human takes a fascinating look at human history. From mankind's earliest social development right up until current times, music has been an important part of human existence. It comforts and inspires, tells a story and predicts a future, records ideas and shares them with listeners.
In this book, Michael Spitzer shows how sometimes the forward momentum of civilization led to the development and use of different instruments while, at other times, discoveries of various musical instruments imply a great deal about how civilization was changing.
Music has many forms. While Westerners are comfortable with the 8 note scale and the various ways it's used to create chords and other musical devices, the music of other cultures holds different beauty based upon the differences in each culture's perception of what makes music.
This book is altogether fascinating. While some have been critical at some of Spitzer's deductions and his assertions, he does a good job of documenting the things that lead him to conclude as he does about things. I have to admit that at times, I too felt that he was reaching just a little further than the evidence supports, but I found it easy to accept his assertions as possibilities if not facts.
If nothing else fascinates a reader about this book, its broad range of research and attention to detail and nuance have to command a reader's appreciation.
This is one of those books that I picked up on a whim without seeing a review or anything else about it and then found myself very pleased that I took the risk and bought the book.
In this book, Michael Spitzer shows how sometimes the forward momentum of civilization led to the development and use of different instruments while, at other times, discoveries of various musical instruments imply a great deal about how civilization was changing.
Music has many forms. While Westerners are comfortable with the 8 note scale and the various ways it's used to create chords and other musical devices, the music of other cultures holds different beauty based upon the differences in each culture's perception of what makes music.
This book is altogether fascinating. While some have been critical at some of Spitzer's deductions and his assertions, he does a good job of documenting the things that lead him to conclude as he does about things. I have to admit that at times, I too felt that he was reaching just a little further than the evidence supports, but I found it easy to accept his assertions as possibilities if not facts.
If nothing else fascinates a reader about this book, its broad range of research and attention to detail and nuance have to command a reader's appreciation.
This is one of those books that I picked up on a whim without seeing a review or anything else about it and then found myself very pleased that I took the risk and bought the book.
June 21, 2021
Fascinating read, sometimes the focus was a bit too broad for me. But along the way, insights into all areas: eg the connection between rhythm and man's evolution from ape to walking on two-feet ( one-two,one-two) , the first musical instrument was a bone flute made 40,000 years ago , how birdsong can be slowed down to be understood etc.....
Not short of opinions either, eg how Western art music idealised and abstracted the form eg through polyphony & notation whereas elsewhere eg in Africa,Asia, music kept its connection with the natural world.
It was broadcast on BBC 4 as a podcast.
(Didn't have a bibliography,so some of his reeading were hard to follow up as they were buried in the notes which again were difficult to consult).
Not short of opinions either, eg how Western art music idealised and abstracted the form eg through polyphony & notation whereas elsewhere eg in Africa,Asia, music kept its connection with the natural world.
It was broadcast on BBC 4 as a podcast.
(Didn't have a bibliography,so some of his reeading were hard to follow up as they were buried in the notes which again were difficult to consult).
November 27, 2022
Awful awful book. If Spitzer just stuck to talking about music it would be fine, even considering his clearly biased and terrible representation of western music. However, he decided to venture into biology and evolution and language, and many other fields- for which it is extremely clear all Spitzer did was search up random studies that included music, gave it a cursory look- then quoted them to further his incoherent argument. Absolute waste of time.
December 30, 2021
Interesting project but it is exhausting in many ways. You notice the author’s tendency to remain academically correct. I don’t know that’s a good thing. Less words and a more coherent message would be nice.
October 2, 2023
Mūzika ir visur. Mūsdienās varam klausīties jebko, kas mums patīk, jo iespējas ir praktiski neierobežotas. Var pat apjukt no tā, cik daudz ir variantu, ko klausīties, kā arī iespējas, kā atrast sev tīkamu mūziku. Cik liela nozīme mūzikai ir tavā ikdienā?
M. Spicers grāmatā "Homo musicus. Dzīvības vēsture uz Zemes" lasītājus aizved aizraujošā piedzīvojumā uz pagātni un iepazīstina ar mūzikas rašanās vēsturi, dažādiem nezināmiem faktiem un mūzikas attīstību saistībā ar evolūciju. Autors interesanti stāsta par to, kā mūzikā atspoguļojas cilvēku paradumi un daudz kas cits.
Grāmata ir sadalīta trijās daļās- dzīve, vēsture un evolūcija. Autors runā par to, ka mūzika ir klātesoša mūsu apziņas struktūrā jau no pašiem pirmsākumiem. Viņš piedāvā dažādus piemērus gan no senās mūzikas, gan mūsdienām. Grāmatā iekļauta tik daudz informācija, ka, lasot šo grāmatu tikai vienreiz, būs grūti visu uztvert un izsekot daudzajiem pavedieniem. Noteikti vari sevi izaicināt grāmatu izlasīt vismaz divreiz, lai apsmadzeņotu faktus un interesantākās teorijas. Lieliski piemērota grāmata visiem tiem, kam gribas izzināt - kas, kā un kāpēc.
📝"Ja arī mūzikas rezumējums nepieļauj iespēju patiešām doties atpakaļ pagātnē, tas tomēr rada ilūziju par garīgu ceļošanu laikā. Klausīties mūziku nozīmē sērfot starp atmiņām, mirkļiem un gaidām, starp pagātni, tagadni un nākotni." (364.)
📝"Gremdējies mūzikā, klausītājs uzsūc no tās emocijas, tās būtību, paceļoties virs ikdienišķām sajūtām."(32.)
📝"Mūsu galvaskausu iekšienē mūzika regulē mūsu noskaņojumu, atmiņas un identitāti, palīdz veidot paštēlus, kādus mēs vēlamies projicēt uz apkārtējiem."(77.)
M. Spicers grāmatā "Homo musicus. Dzīvības vēsture uz Zemes" lasītājus aizved aizraujošā piedzīvojumā uz pagātni un iepazīstina ar mūzikas rašanās vēsturi, dažādiem nezināmiem faktiem un mūzikas attīstību saistībā ar evolūciju. Autors interesanti stāsta par to, kā mūzikā atspoguļojas cilvēku paradumi un daudz kas cits.
Grāmata ir sadalīta trijās daļās- dzīve, vēsture un evolūcija. Autors runā par to, ka mūzika ir klātesoša mūsu apziņas struktūrā jau no pašiem pirmsākumiem. Viņš piedāvā dažādus piemērus gan no senās mūzikas, gan mūsdienām. Grāmatā iekļauta tik daudz informācija, ka, lasot šo grāmatu tikai vienreiz, būs grūti visu uztvert un izsekot daudzajiem pavedieniem. Noteikti vari sevi izaicināt grāmatu izlasīt vismaz divreiz, lai apsmadzeņotu faktus un interesantākās teorijas. Lieliski piemērota grāmata visiem tiem, kam gribas izzināt - kas, kā un kāpēc.
📝"Ja arī mūzikas rezumējums nepieļauj iespēju patiešām doties atpakaļ pagātnē, tas tomēr rada ilūziju par garīgu ceļošanu laikā. Klausīties mūziku nozīmē sērfot starp atmiņām, mirkļiem un gaidām, starp pagātni, tagadni un nākotni." (364.)
📝"Gremdējies mūzikā, klausītājs uzsūc no tās emocijas, tās būtību, paceļoties virs ikdienišķām sajūtām."(32.)
📝"Mūsu galvaskausu iekšienē mūzika regulē mūsu noskaņojumu, atmiņas un identitāti, palīdz veidot paštēlus, kādus mēs vēlamies projicēt uz apkārtējiem."(77.)
April 22, 2024
Ma ootasin lugu muusikast läbi erinevate ajastute. Teoreetiliselt see seda oligi. Lugu eksles aga täiesti süsteemitult läbi erinevate ajastute ja teemade, nii et väga raske oli millestki aru saada. Miljoneid aastaid tagasi toimunud arengutele pühendatu rohkem aega kui viimasele 2000 aastale. Mulle vähemalt tundus küll nii.
Väga segane lugu.
Kirjutan ka blogis: https://midaheliluges.blogspot.com/20...
Väga segane lugu.
Kirjutan ka blogis: https://midaheliluges.blogspot.com/20...
February 21, 2021
Music has shaped our culture and even our brains.
An exploration of the impact of music on humans, from our first appearance on earth to the present day.
Spitzer posits we are defined by music and it helps us understand who we are. The author clearly articulates his argument, drawing on expert opinion and evidence from diverse fields, including evolution, astronomy, anthropology, the creative arts, myths and religion, zoology, and artificial intelligence.
Extensive and thought-provoking.
My thanks to NetGalley and to Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC.
An exploration of the impact of music on humans, from our first appearance on earth to the present day.
Spitzer posits we are defined by music and it helps us understand who we are. The author clearly articulates his argument, drawing on expert opinion and evidence from diverse fields, including evolution, astronomy, anthropology, the creative arts, myths and religion, zoology, and artificial intelligence.
Extensive and thought-provoking.
My thanks to NetGalley and to Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC.
May 8, 2021
A wide-ranging global history of music
A fascinating non-fiction book by world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer . He splits his 165m years global history of music into three. He moves from nature (insects to birds), across a solitary human life, world history and our cultural evolution. All the while exploring the complex relationship between the humans and music. He also explores the future impact of AI too. Every so often the book came over like a relatively dense textbook for me. But it was a decent read, nonetheless.
A fascinating non-fiction book by world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer . He splits his 165m years global history of music into three. He moves from nature (insects to birds), across a solitary human life, world history and our cultural evolution. All the while exploring the complex relationship between the humans and music. He also explores the future impact of AI too. Every so often the book came over like a relatively dense textbook for me. But it was a decent read, nonetheless.
July 8, 2021
A fascinating, detailed, and insightful history - clearly told and with creative and interesting imagery.
The author covers the subject matter well and draws connections from a huge resource of information, but in style it was a little academic for me - a little like a lecture, but it is a supremely interesting and absorbing topic nonetheless.
This book has all you need to know about how we interact with music, past, present, and future.
The author covers the subject matter well and draws connections from a huge resource of information, but in style it was a little academic for me - a little like a lecture, but it is a supremely interesting and absorbing topic nonetheless.
This book has all you need to know about how we interact with music, past, present, and future.
August 4, 2025
Inconsistent, ideological, tedious, contradictory, misleading, speculative, out of focus... A major disappointment coming from the author of Metaphor and Musical Thought, one of my favourite books on music.
The book is a compilation of indeed very interesting facts and research on everything music: from whale song to Quantum Music, to the Navajo conception of history and its relation to their music making. Two stars for that.
But it gets very tedious at times with the authors pontificating tone and his biased, relentless denunciaton of everything related to 'Western (Classical) Music colonialism'. The abuses of Western powers and their popular music, social engineering, global, ultra-capitalist industry in the 20th and 21st centuries get a free pass; as do the cultures who sacrificed thousands to the sound of 'sophisticated rhythms', or who employed 'highly trained slave girls' throughout their empire spanning three continents, 'putting the 'misogynist West' to shame. (I am only slightly paraphrasing).
But the last chapter, a praise for the 'transhuman future of music'...
After 400 pages of ranting about globalisation, standardisation, and imposition of cultural norms, the author makes a passionate (but shockingly unsubstantiated for an academic of his stature) discourse about the inevitable merging of man and machine. And he delivers it without thinking about the implications of the fact that the 'posthuman music making technologies' are, for the most part, in the hands of a clique of transhumanist lunatic billionaires (also mostly white and Western, by the way) who don't seem to care much about humans, let alone their music.
After hundreds of passages of very relevant but at times tedious discussions on human and animal anatomy, Darwinian evolution, bipedalism, the vestibular system etc., on how human biology enabled musicality, he goes on to claim that 'the musical transhuman is really an enhancement of the musical human', and that 'relieved of its biology, the AI composer might shoot off into infinite conceptual space, converse with a galaxy of other uploaded composers and soak up the entirety of the world’s knowledge'.
The cult like, end of days AI fanaticism of Elon Musk, with suggestions to get microchipped and everything! Sillicon Valley's speculative algorithms will make the best music ever! will solve all of the cultural conflicts and inequalities! and will make trillions of immortal musical geniuses, too!
The author of Metaphor and Musical Thought, who has written another work on music and emotion, goes as far as to tell us at one point that 'emotions too are a kind of algorithm [lol], so the issue is not that machines can’t feel emotions.'
The issue is perhaps that even those who have importantly contributed to the understanding of emotion and meaning in music, of how music is an essential and exclusively human activity, are not immune to the end of days, AI cult like narrative of enhanced music making machines perfecting the faulty expression of human animals. Spitzer's oblivion is mind-blowing, It happens from one chapter to the next.
The book is a compilation of indeed very interesting facts and research on everything music: from whale song to Quantum Music, to the Navajo conception of history and its relation to their music making. Two stars for that.
But it gets very tedious at times with the authors pontificating tone and his biased, relentless denunciaton of everything related to 'Western (Classical) Music colonialism'. The abuses of Western powers and their popular music, social engineering, global, ultra-capitalist industry in the 20th and 21st centuries get a free pass; as do the cultures who sacrificed thousands to the sound of 'sophisticated rhythms', or who employed 'highly trained slave girls' throughout their empire spanning three continents, 'putting the 'misogynist West' to shame. (I am only slightly paraphrasing).
But the last chapter, a praise for the 'transhuman future of music'...
After 400 pages of ranting about globalisation, standardisation, and imposition of cultural norms, the author makes a passionate (but shockingly unsubstantiated for an academic of his stature) discourse about the inevitable merging of man and machine. And he delivers it without thinking about the implications of the fact that the 'posthuman music making technologies' are, for the most part, in the hands of a clique of transhumanist lunatic billionaires (also mostly white and Western, by the way) who don't seem to care much about humans, let alone their music.
After hundreds of passages of very relevant but at times tedious discussions on human and animal anatomy, Darwinian evolution, bipedalism, the vestibular system etc., on how human biology enabled musicality, he goes on to claim that 'the musical transhuman is really an enhancement of the musical human', and that 'relieved of its biology, the AI composer might shoot off into infinite conceptual space, converse with a galaxy of other uploaded composers and soak up the entirety of the world’s knowledge'.
The cult like, end of days AI fanaticism of Elon Musk, with suggestions to get microchipped and everything! Sillicon Valley's speculative algorithms will make the best music ever! will solve all of the cultural conflicts and inequalities! and will make trillions of immortal musical geniuses, too!
The author of Metaphor and Musical Thought, who has written another work on music and emotion, goes as far as to tell us at one point that 'emotions too are a kind of algorithm [lol], so the issue is not that machines can’t feel emotions.'
The issue is perhaps that even those who have importantly contributed to the understanding of emotion and meaning in music, of how music is an essential and exclusively human activity, are not immune to the end of days, AI cult like narrative of enhanced music making machines perfecting the faulty expression of human animals. Spitzer's oblivion is mind-blowing, It happens from one chapter to the next.
August 8, 2021
A fascinating and well-written look at music and its role in evolution (both human and nonhuman). As I mentioned in a comment, though, this book demands a soundtrack. I'm not familiar enough with music to be able to "hear" the things he describes in the evidence he discusses. I'd love to be able to read a sentence - "X is an example of Y" - alongside an auditory example.
That aside, I highly recommend this book.
[Yes, I know. It's 2021 and I could google or search YouTube and find literally millions of samples of myriad styles of music but it would be nice if future editions were accompanied by a flash drive keyed to follow along with the book. And/or the e-book edition could come with samples.]
Favorite quote:
That aside, I highly recommend this book.
[Yes, I know. It's 2021 and I could google or search YouTube and find literally millions of samples of myriad styles of music but it would be nice if future editions were accompanied by a flash drive keyed to follow along with the book. And/or the e-book edition could come with samples.]
Favorite quote:
The musical human is music minus nature. Reducing music to fractal self-similarity profiles a remainder, everything that is left out. And what is left is everything that is not mindless or dispassionate, the elements of music that depend on our bodies, minds, energies and emotions. A musical pattern doesn't move from statement to repetition like a mathematical theorem, just through its internal logic, it requires all our efforts, desires and intentions.... (p. 364)
April 3, 2021
A comprehensive, wide-ranging and meticulously researched global history of music and its centrality to human experience. It’s an ambitious book and an academic one, and on occasion I did feel a bit bogged down with all the information being thrown at me, but this must surely be the definitive text about music and humankind.
February 4, 2023
A brilliant and insightful book into how music has shapes human history and it's aspects of evolution, and why music is really only a human thing. So many wonderous insights into music itself.
This is a must read of anyone who has an interest in music and wants to learn about it in a deeper level
This is a must read of anyone who has an interest in music and wants to learn about it in a deeper level
February 12, 2023
Brilliant Book, a deep discussion on the origin and evolution of music through various civilisations, and how music relates to our emotions, our evolutionary history and philosophy.
November 1, 2022
A deep and highly interesting history of sounds on earth.
I learned a lot about the different kinds of sounds living organisms produce on earth. The reasons, the possibilities, the limits.
Entertainingly and amusingly Spitzer takes us through the different kinds of music we know about. Finally a book that does not focus on western, classical and pop music, but widenes the view for all the cultural approaches to music we know about.
I do not agree with all of his conclusions, but this book is so interesting and enlightning - I can only recommend for everyone - not just lovers of divers music and human history.
I learned a lot about the different kinds of sounds living organisms produce on earth. The reasons, the possibilities, the limits.
Entertainingly and amusingly Spitzer takes us through the different kinds of music we know about. Finally a book that does not focus on western, classical and pop music, but widenes the view for all the cultural approaches to music we know about.
I do not agree with all of his conclusions, but this book is so interesting and enlightning - I can only recommend for everyone - not just lovers of divers music and human history.
November 4, 2024
Abandoned on page 64 of 394. It would clearly help if I knew more about music but also the author jumps about too fast. He has some overall plan but it seems too complex for a book.
June 9, 2021
What could be more human than music? From babies to football crowds to concern performers and Spotify listeners, almost all of us participate or partake in music in some way. And few animals have anything remotely comparable. And yet, music has been overlooked as part of human evolution, dismissed by some as “auditory cheesecake”, “a delightful dessert” in contrast to the “main dish” of language. This fascinating book sets that record straight - piling up layer upon layer of compelling evidence that music is in fact fundamental to humanity.
We're given three timelines - the human life, from infancy to old age; the history of music from the earliest humans to the present day; and an evolutionary scale, from animals to AI. Each on its own is fascinating, and could easy have formed three separate books. But the combination of all three together makes this stand out as a remarkable achievement - the culmination of many years of study as one of the world's leading musicologists.
Beyond the broad sweep of history, the book is also endlessly rich in the detail. The nature of whale song and bird song, the musical story of Liverpool of a city, and the description of non-western contrapuntal music stood out for me, though I'm sure other readers will find their own favourites in this vast and rich pool.
As a keen amateur musician with a passable prior knowledge of music history, I found the book (mostly) accessible and clear. A few times, however, the author's academic background showed through in dense and obtuse prose that pushed the limits of what can be demanded of the "intelligent general reader". As a result, I was sometimes left in doubt as to whether a particular leap of logic was truly justified by the evidence.
Nevertheless, even the challenging passages leave me wanting to know more. I will surely be coming back to this book for years to come.
Early on, the author invites us to ask Beethoven, Duke Ellington and Nusrat Ali Khan where their music came from. "Their answers would not be as far apart as you might think," we're told. "It doesn't mean a thing if it doesn't swing, says Ellington. From the heart, may it go to the heart, answers Beethoven. According to Khan, One must be willing to release one's mind and soul from one's body to achieve ecstasy through music. They are saying that music is about life, emotion and the spirit. That what pours out of music can't be pinned down to the notes. That music is essentially human, and that it makes us human."
- - - -
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy provided in return for an honest review.
We're given three timelines - the human life, from infancy to old age; the history of music from the earliest humans to the present day; and an evolutionary scale, from animals to AI. Each on its own is fascinating, and could easy have formed three separate books. But the combination of all three together makes this stand out as a remarkable achievement - the culmination of many years of study as one of the world's leading musicologists.
Beyond the broad sweep of history, the book is also endlessly rich in the detail. The nature of whale song and bird song, the musical story of Liverpool of a city, and the description of non-western contrapuntal music stood out for me, though I'm sure other readers will find their own favourites in this vast and rich pool.
As a keen amateur musician with a passable prior knowledge of music history, I found the book (mostly) accessible and clear. A few times, however, the author's academic background showed through in dense and obtuse prose that pushed the limits of what can be demanded of the "intelligent general reader". As a result, I was sometimes left in doubt as to whether a particular leap of logic was truly justified by the evidence.
Nevertheless, even the challenging passages leave me wanting to know more. I will surely be coming back to this book for years to come.
Early on, the author invites us to ask Beethoven, Duke Ellington and Nusrat Ali Khan where their music came from. "Their answers would not be as far apart as you might think," we're told. "It doesn't mean a thing if it doesn't swing, says Ellington. From the heart, may it go to the heart, answers Beethoven. According to Khan, One must be willing to release one's mind and soul from one's body to achieve ecstasy through music. They are saying that music is about life, emotion and the spirit. That what pours out of music can't be pinned down to the notes. That music is essentially human, and that it makes us human."
- - - -
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy provided in return for an honest review.
August 24, 2021
A very fascinating work combining research in musicology, music history, anthropology, and philosophy to provide an overview of the interactions between humans and music. The book is divided into three sections that respectively cover the development of music within one lifetime, the development of music within recorded human history, and the development of music within evolutionary history. Spitzer convincingly argues that musical development follows fractal-esque repetitions within repetitions. The human history section in particular is excellent and offers more insight into the global history of music than some complete books written on the subject.
Spitzer is unquestionably knowledgeable and well-intentioned, but some of the book's claims are a bit off. There's an eyebrow-raising claim towards the beginning of the book that, while everyone reads new novels, concerts are struggling to find audiences. I don't think either statement is true, and the latter assertion belies a narrow, Eurocentric view of music that seems to contradict the rest of the book. I understand what Spitzer is getting at, but it's disconcerting when he asserts that, in a great historical irony, Western music is now "colonized" by African and Asian influences. (A simple change of phrasing would have made all the difference.)
As to be expected in a music book written by a musician, the science isn't 100% accurate, either. The genus Paranthropus is erroneously referred to as Homo paranthropus, for instance. To be clear, I'm also a musician by training, so there may be other errors that slipped past my radar.
An excellent work for the reader who is interested in how music has developed on a global scale, or how the philosophy and functions of music have changed over time. Despite some idiosyncrasies in the text, Spitzer absolutely accomplishes what he set out to do.
Spitzer is unquestionably knowledgeable and well-intentioned, but some of the book's claims are a bit off. There's an eyebrow-raising claim towards the beginning of the book that, while everyone reads new novels, concerts are struggling to find audiences. I don't think either statement is true, and the latter assertion belies a narrow, Eurocentric view of music that seems to contradict the rest of the book. I understand what Spitzer is getting at, but it's disconcerting when he asserts that, in a great historical irony, Western music is now "colonized" by African and Asian influences. (A simple change of phrasing would have made all the difference.)
As to be expected in a music book written by a musician, the science isn't 100% accurate, either. The genus Paranthropus is erroneously referred to as Homo paranthropus, for instance. To be clear, I'm also a musician by training, so there may be other errors that slipped past my radar.
An excellent work for the reader who is interested in how music has developed on a global scale, or how the philosophy and functions of music have changed over time. Despite some idiosyncrasies in the text, Spitzer absolutely accomplishes what he set out to do.
April 1, 2021
“It is not going too far to define music as a space in which we negotiate interactions between all these aspects of ourselves: the human, the animal, the machine. Music is a playground in all senses” - ‘The Musical Human, Chapter 12.
My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Musical Human’ by Michael Spitzer in exchange for an honest review. I also took part in a group read hosted by The Pigeonhole. The author joined us and provided background as well as responded to questions.
This fascinating work of nonfiction by world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer takes his readers on a fascinating journey across the ages to explore the relationship between the human species and music.
It is a global history of music that examines music not only in our daily lives but in world history as well as how it manifests in nature from insects to birds, and on to mammals including whales, apes, and humans. He also explores the relationship between music and AI.
As might be expected given Michael Spitzer’s academic background this is quite a scholarly work with plenty of notes with sources. The book also contains a number of illustrations.
I have to admit that I am not very musically inclined though for the most part I found this quite accessible. I certainly felt that reading it increased my knowledge and my appreciation of music.
Throughout the book Michael Spitzer referred to a wide range of music and I was grateful for my Alexa Echo that allowed me to call up various musical selections to complement my reading experience.
My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Musical Human’ by Michael Spitzer in exchange for an honest review. I also took part in a group read hosted by The Pigeonhole. The author joined us and provided background as well as responded to questions.
This fascinating work of nonfiction by world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer takes his readers on a fascinating journey across the ages to explore the relationship between the human species and music.
It is a global history of music that examines music not only in our daily lives but in world history as well as how it manifests in nature from insects to birds, and on to mammals including whales, apes, and humans. He also explores the relationship between music and AI.
As might be expected given Michael Spitzer’s academic background this is quite a scholarly work with plenty of notes with sources. The book also contains a number of illustrations.
I have to admit that I am not very musically inclined though for the most part I found this quite accessible. I certainly felt that reading it increased my knowledge and my appreciation of music.
Throughout the book Michael Spitzer referred to a wide range of music and I was grateful for my Alexa Echo that allowed me to call up various musical selections to complement my reading experience.
April 5, 2021
Well written and readable but not a light read; it is densely packed with information which takes some concentration and focus. For the perfect experience it’s very satisfying to listen to the suggested musical illustrations - I enjoyed such diverse examples as whale song, Pygmy polyphonic singing, Ravi Shankar on the sitar, Sonia M’Barek and Hayden’s surprise symphony to name but a few. Herein lies the book’s appeal - it is a truly global look at the life, evolution and history and of music and I learned so much about the musical traditions of other cultures. I found the evidence for music in prehistory interesting, especially the discovery of a 40,000 year old bone flute (you can listen to replicas being played on YouTube). Michael Spitzer also covers evidence for music in animals and birds and the future in a digital age. I read the book with The Pigeonhole book club in twelve instalments and I am sure a lot of this book went over my head but it is well worth a read even if you don’t consider yourselves especially musical.
November 8, 2024
I'm conflicted about this one. It is packed full with extremely interesting facts, and the author has some cool insights to add, but there are some serious problems which troubled me more the farther I read. First, the structure of the text felt chaotic and that really took away from the experience of reading it. There were points where I had to go back several times to remind myself which historical period we had moved to because they went past so quickly and often not in chronological order. Then there was the fact the author, apparently eager to demonstrate he had no special bias towards Western music at the beginning, sounded vehemently anti-Western by the end and determined to hammer the point home at every opportunity. Finally, I really want to ask him author what Gregorian chant ever did to him, because he sounds like a guy with a grudge on that topic. Overall, a better structure and less idealogical pontificating would have allowed the obviously copious amount of research into this fascinating subject to shine through more effectively.
February 10, 2024
Teos on jaotatud kolme ossa - muusika inimese elus, muusika maailma ajaloos ja muusika evolutsiooniline areng. Meelde tasub jätta, et meie kõigi hälliks peetavas Aafrikas oli 14. sajandil olemas võimas Mali impeerium, mille kaudu muusika läbi Egiptuse ja Mesopotaamia Lääne-Euroopasse levis. Kui paljud tänapäeval teavad sellise Mali impeeriumi olemasolust? Egiptusest ja Mesopotaamiast aga teatakse küll.
Muusika ajalugu on keeruline uurida. Luust flöödi killud ja üleskirjutatud noodid ei anna meile teavet, kuidas muusikat tegelikult esitati. Muusika esitus on aegade jooksul muutunud ehk Mozarti sümfoonia ei kõla tänapäeval enam samamoodi kui kirjutamishetkel. Fakt on aga kindlasti see, et muusika on saatnud meid aegade algusest ja on midagi ürgset. Autor kirjeldab, kuidas käis oma paariaastasega lastele mõeldud sümfooniakontserdil, kus filmis "Uljas ratsanik" kõlanud muusika saatel hakkas saalitäis lapsi oma vanemate põlvedel hoogsalt galopeerima. Järelikult sisaldub muusikas midagi, mida tajub ka kultuuriliste teadmisteta inimene ehk väikelaps. Viimane on ka hea näide sellest, kuidas muusikaga kaasa liigutakse, samas kui teistel juhtudel liigub muusika kuulajast üle, nii et tema ise jääb paigale. Ja kui hoolikalt järele mõelda, siis kui olulisel määral paljude muusikainstrumentide põhiolemus siis aja jooksul ikkagi muutunud on? Kui ürginimene tagus omavahel kive vastamisi, siis samamoodi taotakse tänapäeval taldrikuid või trumme. Neidsamu lõigu alguses mainitud luust flööte ei saanud aga teha piirkonnas, kus puudusid seest õõnsate luudega linnud.
Päris palju pühendatakse tõigale, et erinevalt maailma muudest muusikastiilidest on lääne muusika läinud erinevat rada, muutes inimesed loojatest muusika passiivsetest tarbijateks. Seda võib täheldada nii jäikade reeglitega klassikalise muusika kontserdisaalis kui ka muusika tarbimises taustahelina kiirtoiduketist ostes. Muusika loomise ja osalemise asemel oleme muutunud pelgalt selle kuulajateks, mille individualistlikkust suurendab veelgi helikandjate levik ja lihtsustumine - kui kõik kodus kõrvaklappidest saadaval, miks siis minna kontserdile. Huvitava võrdlusena oli siinkohal välja toodud Odysseuse kohtumine sireenidega, kus ta palus end oma laevameeskonnal masti külge ahendada, jäädes nii sireenide kutsuva laulu suhtes passiivseks kuulajaks.
Seda, et muusikat on kasutatud ravitoimel, teame ilmselt kõik, kuid huvitav oli lugeda vastupidisest mõjust ehk muusika kasutamisest piinamiseks ja terrorina. Tõepoolest, kui ooperilauljast kindralile lasta päevade kaupa iroonilise sõnumiga (All I Want is You) popmuusikat või konteineritäiele heavy metaliga mittetuttavatele vangidele just seda muusikat, on allaandmine või keha ja meelte hullumine üsna tõenäoline. Tänapäeva tagasi pöördudes, mis see ostukeskuste külastamise ja suurürituste korraldamisega kaasnev popmuusika mürafoon tundlikumale kõrvale muud on kui terror, rääkimata autoga ja üle küla tümpsutajatest.
Kindlasti saab teosest teada põnevaid fakte erinevate maailmakultuuride kohta. Erinevalt lääne kultuurile iseloomulikust lineaarsest käsitluses kulgeb indiaani maailmas aeg kihiti, minevik-olevik-tulevik asetatakse üksteise peale, muutuse asemele saadakse kogemus.
Veel üks huvitav fakt minu jaoks: Biitlite Yesterday algne pealkiri oli Scrambled Eggs - Lennon ei pidanud seda siiski sobivaks.
Hakkasin seda teost lugema alguses tegelikult üldse koolitöö jaoks, et sinna veidi teooriat juurde saada. Julgen aga täitsa kõigile lugemiseks soovitada. Ka neile, kes muusikast kuigi palju ei tea (nagu ma ise), sest autori käsitlus on üldinimlik ja huvitav.
Muusika ajalugu on keeruline uurida. Luust flöödi killud ja üleskirjutatud noodid ei anna meile teavet, kuidas muusikat tegelikult esitati. Muusika esitus on aegade jooksul muutunud ehk Mozarti sümfoonia ei kõla tänapäeval enam samamoodi kui kirjutamishetkel. Fakt on aga kindlasti see, et muusika on saatnud meid aegade algusest ja on midagi ürgset. Autor kirjeldab, kuidas käis oma paariaastasega lastele mõeldud sümfooniakontserdil, kus filmis "Uljas ratsanik" kõlanud muusika saatel hakkas saalitäis lapsi oma vanemate põlvedel hoogsalt galopeerima. Järelikult sisaldub muusikas midagi, mida tajub ka kultuuriliste teadmisteta inimene ehk väikelaps. Viimane on ka hea näide sellest, kuidas muusikaga kaasa liigutakse, samas kui teistel juhtudel liigub muusika kuulajast üle, nii et tema ise jääb paigale. Ja kui hoolikalt järele mõelda, siis kui olulisel määral paljude muusikainstrumentide põhiolemus siis aja jooksul ikkagi muutunud on? Kui ürginimene tagus omavahel kive vastamisi, siis samamoodi taotakse tänapäeval taldrikuid või trumme. Neidsamu lõigu alguses mainitud luust flööte ei saanud aga teha piirkonnas, kus puudusid seest õõnsate luudega linnud.
Päris palju pühendatakse tõigale, et erinevalt maailma muudest muusikastiilidest on lääne muusika läinud erinevat rada, muutes inimesed loojatest muusika passiivsetest tarbijateks. Seda võib täheldada nii jäikade reeglitega klassikalise muusika kontserdisaalis kui ka muusika tarbimises taustahelina kiirtoiduketist ostes. Muusika loomise ja osalemise asemel oleme muutunud pelgalt selle kuulajateks, mille individualistlikkust suurendab veelgi helikandjate levik ja lihtsustumine - kui kõik kodus kõrvaklappidest saadaval, miks siis minna kontserdile. Huvitava võrdlusena oli siinkohal välja toodud Odysseuse kohtumine sireenidega, kus ta palus end oma laevameeskonnal masti külge ahendada, jäädes nii sireenide kutsuva laulu suhtes passiivseks kuulajaks.
Seda, et muusikat on kasutatud ravitoimel, teame ilmselt kõik, kuid huvitav oli lugeda vastupidisest mõjust ehk muusika kasutamisest piinamiseks ja terrorina. Tõepoolest, kui ooperilauljast kindralile lasta päevade kaupa iroonilise sõnumiga (All I Want is You) popmuusikat või konteineritäiele heavy metaliga mittetuttavatele vangidele just seda muusikat, on allaandmine või keha ja meelte hullumine üsna tõenäoline. Tänapäeva tagasi pöördudes, mis see ostukeskuste külastamise ja suurürituste korraldamisega kaasnev popmuusika mürafoon tundlikumale kõrvale muud on kui terror, rääkimata autoga ja üle küla tümpsutajatest.
Kindlasti saab teosest teada põnevaid fakte erinevate maailmakultuuride kohta. Erinevalt lääne kultuurile iseloomulikust lineaarsest käsitluses kulgeb indiaani maailmas aeg kihiti, minevik-olevik-tulevik asetatakse üksteise peale, muutuse asemele saadakse kogemus.
Veel üks huvitav fakt minu jaoks: Biitlite Yesterday algne pealkiri oli Scrambled Eggs - Lennon ei pidanud seda siiski sobivaks.
Hakkasin seda teost lugema alguses tegelikult üldse koolitöö jaoks, et sinna veidi teooriat juurde saada. Julgen aga täitsa kõigile lugemiseks soovitada. Ka neile, kes muusikast kuigi palju ei tea (nagu ma ise), sest autori käsitlus on üldinimlik ja huvitav.
March 26, 2023
Imaginați-vă că peste câteva miliarde de ani, probabil la multă vreme după ce Pământul va fi fost mistuit de Soare, extratereștrii deschid sonda spațială Voyager 1, lansată acum patru decenii de NASA, și ascultă Discul de Aur, înregistrat cu douăzeci și șapte de mostre de muzică de pe Pământ, precum și saluturi în cincizeci și una de limbi . Presupunând că extratereștrii noștri ar putea să descifreze instrucțiunile de operare hieroglifice încastrate pe discul de metal, ar putea să aleagă
dintr-o serie uluitoare de sunete: „Concertul Brandenburgic nr. 2“ de Bach, gamelan de curte din Java, percuție din Senegal, „Johnny B. Goode“ a lui Chuck Berry, „Simfonia nr. 5“ de Beethoven, naiuri din Insulele Solomon și multe altele. Ce ar putea spune acești extratereștri? Comedianul Steve Martin zicea în glumă că ar fi fost recepționat și decodificat un mesaj extraterestru: „Trimiteți mai mult Chuck Berry!“. E mai probabil că nu vom ști niciodată, dar lecția grăitoare a acestui experiment de gândire este că reunește geniile muzicale și pune în lumină micile dispute teritoriale ale muzicii. Văzut de la o distanță interstelară, Pământul s-ar putea să nu aibă un singur limbaj muzical – așa cum este improbabil să fie un singur limbaj extraterestru, dar putem lua în calcul posibilitatea de a fi ceva ireductibil uman în legătură cu toată muzica de pe Pământ. Un demers util ar fi să ne imaginăm cultura umană din perspectiva unei specii non-umane. Filozoful Thomas Nagel a făcut asta în cadrul teoriei conștiinței într-un faimos eseu intitulat „Cum este să fii liliac?“. Deci ce pot extratereștrii să ne spună despre cum e să fii un om muzical?
dintr-o serie uluitoare de sunete: „Concertul Brandenburgic nr. 2“ de Bach, gamelan de curte din Java, percuție din Senegal, „Johnny B. Goode“ a lui Chuck Berry, „Simfonia nr. 5“ de Beethoven, naiuri din Insulele Solomon și multe altele. Ce ar putea spune acești extratereștri? Comedianul Steve Martin zicea în glumă că ar fi fost recepționat și decodificat un mesaj extraterestru: „Trimiteți mai mult Chuck Berry!“. E mai probabil că nu vom ști niciodată, dar lecția grăitoare a acestui experiment de gândire este că reunește geniile muzicale și pune în lumină micile dispute teritoriale ale muzicii. Văzut de la o distanță interstelară, Pământul s-ar putea să nu aibă un singur limbaj muzical – așa cum este improbabil să fie un singur limbaj extraterestru, dar putem lua în calcul posibilitatea de a fi ceva ireductibil uman în legătură cu toată muzica de pe Pământ. Un demers util ar fi să ne imaginăm cultura umană din perspectiva unei specii non-umane. Filozoful Thomas Nagel a făcut asta în cadrul teoriei conștiinței într-un faimos eseu intitulat „Cum este să fii liliac?“. Deci ce pot extratereștrii să ne spună despre cum e să fii un om muzical?
May 16, 2021
We all love music, whether it's a Beethoven symphony or the latest album by Ed Sheeran, but where does music come from and what makes music 'music'? Michael Spitzer presents a fascinating and multi-layered approach to understanding how music has evolved and its ties to cultures, beliefs, and evolution.
Music is far more than just a group of notes - it provokes strong feelings, can make us happy or sad, and awakens memories long-buried. We are all born as musicians but the majority of us lose our ability to participate as we grow older, in other words we become passive. Yet, music never loses its ability to move us.
I found out that music has evolved over time in surprising ways. Sometimes it depended on living conditions or what raw materials were to hand, the level of communication existing between people within a society - spoken, sung, visual, gestural. The language of animals helps us to understand this evolution.
What is particularly interesting is the way in which the book divides into three sections - a human lifespan, music in world history and, finally, evolution itself. This helped separate the various strands of the narrative and open the focus gradually outwards, from a specific period in time to the broadest span.
This is a rewarding book but not one to be rushed, and whilst fairly academic in its writing style, you don't have to be a trained musician to appreciate it.
I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Bloomsbury Publishing, in return for an honest appraisal.
Music is far more than just a group of notes - it provokes strong feelings, can make us happy or sad, and awakens memories long-buried. We are all born as musicians but the majority of us lose our ability to participate as we grow older, in other words we become passive. Yet, music never loses its ability to move us.
I found out that music has evolved over time in surprising ways. Sometimes it depended on living conditions or what raw materials were to hand, the level of communication existing between people within a society - spoken, sung, visual, gestural. The language of animals helps us to understand this evolution.
What is particularly interesting is the way in which the book divides into three sections - a human lifespan, music in world history and, finally, evolution itself. This helped separate the various strands of the narrative and open the focus gradually outwards, from a specific period in time to the broadest span.
This is a rewarding book but not one to be rushed, and whilst fairly academic in its writing style, you don't have to be a trained musician to appreciate it.
I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Bloomsbury Publishing, in return for an honest appraisal.
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