I'm just going to blog on my thoughts after reading a few chapters...

WTF

...So thats pretty much my synopsis of the first couple chapters. I think that pretty much explains the gist of it, right?

So you might say that I had some difficulties understanding this dude Danielou and what he was trying to say to me through this dense garrulous book of his. I dont understand many of his terms and his verbiage. After feeling confused and depressed about the first bit of the book (similar to the feeling i got from Stephen's hallucination on the home page), I decided to skip a head a chapter (or 5) to chapter 7, The western scale and equal temperament. I figured if I am gonig to understand any chapter in this book it SHOULD be this one.

This chapter actually depressed me more. I thought I was somewhat "musical" but now I feel almost ashamed to call myself a band nerd. I was baffled by all the references I still was unfamiliar with. On the bright side, I was, to my surprise, able to form a (somewhat) coherent opinion on this chapter that did not include my favorite of all phrases "wtf".

Basically in this part of his book, Danielou decides to completely bash western music (or at least thats what i got out of it). This is where i wish i knew more about music to be able to defend it, he may be completely correct in his criticisms of western scales, but i just am not knowledgable enough to know any different. He made some interesting points that I'll throw in here later, but dont really have the time now to go into too much detail. And as for the equal temperament part of the chapter, I'll have to get back to you on that as well...not really sure about that yet.

o In the first few chapters of his book, Danielou is concerned with the phenomenon by which coordinated sounds have the power to evoke feelings or images.

• “The real problem is not to know how human beings may have acquired the knowledge of musical intervals…but to find out the real nature of the phenomenon by which some sounds can be combined to represent ideas, images or feelings.”

o This cannot be found by experiment (although some say it is possible to find subtle correspondences through experimentation) so he relies on the data of traditional metaphysics.

• In the universe, nothing exists but the combination of forces and movements. And every movement generates a vibration and therefore a sound that is unique to that object.

• Since each element of matter produces a sound, the relation of elements can be expressed as a relation of sounds.

• We replicate the relation of sounds in an audible range to human ears

o If we could replicate the exact relations that constitute the natural names (the sound which is produced by the action of the moving forces which constitute it) we should then recreate beings and things.

o This phenomenon of evocation takes place not because of the physical vibrations produced, but because of the existence of metaphysical correspondences.

• “The personality of the hearer counts for nothing in the phenomenon of musical evocation because evocation takes place even if there is no hearer…”

o Story/legend of Musician Naik Gopal

• The musician was told by the emperor to sing in the mode of fire, and he boiled water and was burned alive by the flames that were coming from every part of his body.

o The comma

• There is an imperfection at the basis of the world’s existence (EG. heart is not in the center of the chest, axis of the earth is oblique, solar year does not coincide with lunar year). The difference is the comma

• Modern world tries to ignore because we like the attractiveness of rigid and simple things

• “This comma, which the modern world tries so hard to ignore, represents, for those who can understand it, the essential difference between what is finite and what is infinite.”

o Different musical systems

• Western musicians believe their musical theory and notation are sufficient to express everything

• A result of a mixture of traditions that has been simplified without taking into account the principles on which the component systems were based.

• The different musical systems (East vs. West) do not oppose one another, but complete each other because they all came from the same fundamental laws, they just take advantage of different aspects.

o Structure of musical sounds

• Mode – the group of 2 or 3 fundamental chords that contain all the notes of a melody

• Melody – composed of a succession of sounds with a perfectly definite meaning and therefore its significance is absolutely clear

• Harmony – the art of superimposing sounds.

• Tonic – the relations of the notes to a fixed sound, which gives birth to modal music.

• In modal music, the intervals are measured by the relation of the different notes to the tonic. It allows for comparisons to be made.

o This dude does not like western music.

• “The western musical system has emerged from a mixture of various, that because of complete confusion in the theoretical definitions, were brought together in a rather haphazard way.”

• Western music is only able to arouse in its audience the most basic of sensations and images.

• Danielou believes that western musicians only strive for technical progress and for extravagant theories that will make the authors famous.

• As mentioned in earlier chapters (multiple times) the modern western musical system is proudly asserted to be sufficient enough to express everything

o Contact with other musical systems immediately proves the opposite.

o The scale of Zarlino

• Scale created that was to be the basis of western modern music. Established by the Italian theorist Gioseffo Zarlino.

• Zarlino takes the first five notes of the scale of fifths and reduces them to the nearest equivalent notes in the series of relations to the tonic.

o The major mode

• When we look at the symbolism and the emotional correspondences of the notes, the intervals of the major mode indicate egotism, vanity, materialism, and the search for pleasure, a place where Danielou says, “the mentality of our times finds itself completely at home.”

o Equal Temperament

• Western music establishes a scale starting from a fundamental sound, then tries to start scale from another note in that scale, and the notes no longer coincide with those of the first scale.

• Western musicians neglect these differences and say the ear adapts itself and does not perceive the difference.

o All modes and chords are thus reduced to a series of twelve sounds, among which none has a correct relation to the others.

• I found a good note!...sorta.

• “If we carefully examine the structure of the modern Western musical system, however vague its theory may be as described in treatises on harmony, it is not impossible to find in it the elements of a logical and coherent system.”

o The need for a scale of sounds

• To compare and correctly execute different musical systems, it is necessary to create a scale of sounds that will allow a clear and accurate notation of all the normal intervals and an appreciation of their nature and relative value.

• To study and produce all the different intervals, it is necessary to have an instrument allowing their accurate execution.