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Consider that the following was written in 1922:
Music is a part of life. It is not merely an accomplishment or a hobby,nor yet a means of relaxation from the strenuous business of earning a living. It is not an addendum or an excrescence: it is an actual part of the fabric of life itself….Music, and indeed Art in general, has woven itself into the pattern of our lives, and how intimately it may influence and fashion the design.
These words written by H. Ernest Hunt have absolute resonance today. The subject is being taken up by an increasing number of writers and in the last few years where music is also being studied from the lens of neuro-science. Most influential among these writers is Daniel Levitin who first wrote This Is Your Brain On Music a few years ago. In the book, he covers ideas about how the human mind processes music and how the brain is involved with that processing. Among other things we learn why we emotionally attach to music we listened to as teenagers, why jingles get stuck in our head and why it takes 10,000 hours of practice to produce virtuosos. But, at the heart of the book, is the fact that our biology-and by extension our human experience is inexorably linked to music.
Levitin has now come out with a new book in which he posits that:
Music…is not simply a distraction or a pastime, but a core element of our identity as a species, an activity that paved the way for more complex behaviors such as language, large scale cooperative undertakings, and the passing down of important information from one generation to the next.
He also narrows music down to 6 types of songs:
songs of friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love. His thesis indicates that music is bound with the evolution of humanity. As in Hunt’s observation in 1922, his claim is not that music is a separate entity that we incorporate into our lives for entertainment, amusement and comfort but that music is a necessary component of evolution and human survival.
Oliver Sacks, in his book Musicophilia, by sharing stories of his patients that overcame disabilities because of music provides an extension and gives credence to Levitin’s books. Sacks provides insights into several of his patients. In the book, one learns the story of surgeon who developed a passion for listening and playing music after he was struck by lightning, the story of a British conductor who developed amnesia after his brain became inflamed. He has the the memory and ability to conduct and sing music, but he can’t remember anything else.
These books provide fascinating reading because of the scientific examination given to the subject of music. My great hope is that political leaders, State Departments of Education, and local school leaders recognize, once and for all, that the study of music- far from being a frill- is at the core of what is essential to a proper Education.
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Filed under: daniel levitin, education, learning, music, music education, oliver sacks
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