Insights in Music and Culture
The Physics of Sound: How Science is Changing the Way we Think about Music.
An article called “Scientists Discover a Jewel at the Heart of Quantum Physics” by Natalie Wolchover describes the amazing scientific discoveries, emerging from universities such as Harvard and Cambridge, that challenge the way we think about ourselves, the world, and consequently, music. We tend to think of our world as the fundamental reality, but new scientific discoveries suggests otherwise - that there is another source from which our reality emanates, one outside the realm of our material universe. The article describes the discovery of a geometrical form existing outside of space-time, called the amplituhedron. This paradigm shift has important implications for the way we think about music and its effects, and how we approach composition and performance.
How we Hear: Recreating the World through Sound
Summary
Contrary to what you may expect, sound is not ‘out there’ in the world but a product of our brains. In fact, sound develops through a recreation of vibration information from the external environment. This poses interesting questions about the nature of perception and reality, and the way we experience the world. The article starts with a discussion about the biological nature of sound and hearing, and then moves to a Philosophy of Sound that challenges the way we think about the world and our role within it.
The Hidden Patterns in Music: How to Use Archetypes
An archetype is a psychological pattern contained in the worlds myths, stories, in art and music. Learning to recognise these archetypal patterns is vital for creatives, giving their works power and the ability to connect at a deeper level. This article describes the Hero Archetype and its relation to ritual process, and shows how it is used in music to aid transformation of consciousness.
“I Make Content, not Art!”How we Traded Deep Musical Experience for Consumerism, and How to Revert the Trend.
Today, music is often considered ‘content’, used to satisfy social media algorithms and streaming platforms. This modern development not only affects musicians ability to earn, but devalues many of the traditional views of music used for health, social cohesion, and spiritual development. In this article, we explore the development of music since the Enlightenment, suggesting that the role of music in the West has drastically changed with modernity. The article offers ways to bring our intuitions about music back into harmony with the most pressing issues of our times, offering a new vision of music’s function based upon an understanding of the past.
