Thought it would be a good idea to begin a series of posts about music by making a couple of general observations about music.
The first – it takes three people to have music – a composer/arranger – a performer – a listener – or – a creator – a re-creator – a receiver. I am able to assure you from personal experience that sometimes all three of those people are one person. When I am composing or arranging I always imagine the music, offer a presentation in my mind, which I also hear.
The second – three elements are present in all music – melody, harmony, and rhythm.
Often melody is referred to as a tune but some melodies are not very tuneful. I was taught that a melody is a succesion of pitches with a beginning and an end over a continuous period of time that is able to be comprehended by the mind as a whole. It is important to understand that a melody that is composed of a series of non-definite pitches (think percussion instruments) is every bit as much of a melody as a series of definite pitches that we remember as a wonderful tune.
Rhythm is the horizontal relationship of the pitches in time, while harmony is the vertical relationship of the pitches as they progress through time.
Sometimes all three elements are contained in a single melodic line. Sometimes the music is constructed with all three elements in a very complex relationship – both horizontally and vertically.
Composer John Cage is very famous for his Silence 4:33 – a work for piano where the performer is instructed to sit at the piano keyboard for 4 minutes and 33 seconds without playing a single note. Of course each presentation of this work is very different as a result of the other sounds that are audible – or become audible – to the receivers – the listeners – the audience.
My goal for this post is simply to stimulate your thought processes about how you understand music. It has been my experience that often our preconceived definitions limit the possibilities for music making – which, in turn, also limits the power of music to communicate through sound and silence.
Please tell me about your understandings of music and its power to communicate.
Remember – this blog is now found at http://humanbeingsanon.com. I hope you will join the conversation of this community.
tmitchellmusic 
Tom,
What a thought-provoking post.Three thoughts came to mind as I read through this article.
I always have music playing around me. What a wondrous gift that technology has brought to my life. I can listen at work, in my car, anywhere, anytime. Music brings life to a dull room just as light and color do. I cannot comfortably concentrate with out the radio in the background. My life would be equally dull and colorless without music.
Secondly, I remember a sermon where the pastor asked the congregation to recite a familiar poem or phrase with him. He then asked them to sing the song associated with the poem to illustrate how music and learning were intertwined. This was the way the psalms were originally passed from person to person, and generation to generation. It is a very old practice to cement learning by combining words with music and its benefits are well documented.(And you thought I wasn’t listening).
Thirdly: as I enter middle age, I find myself listening to “The Oldies” station. I can still remember most of the songs, the artists and the words. And the nostalgic memories come in a flood, some welcome, others not so much. The feelings and emotions that come back are almost as fresh as they originally were. I can still remember the place and the people I associate with a particular song when I hear it. This is especially true when I hear my mother’s favorite old hymns in church. She was a soprano at Ohio State with a beautiful, operatic voice. Even now, I can hear her voice when we sing those hymns. A bittersweet feeling as she has been gone nearly thirteen years.
As for my own musical prowess, I comprehend rhythm best. A drummer by training and a somewhat competent percussionist after much practice; I was never good at reading music. I could learn the cadences of our marching band better by listening and playing along than I could by reading. I could develop a feel for how the rhythm should sound. I can still play those cadences, after all these years.
So, how do I understand music and its power to communicate?
It has always been present in my life and likely always will be.
Richard
Thank you so very much for your thoughtful reply to “A Pair of Threes”. You have actually further opened the door for a couple of topics that I have planned to write about in the next week or so – so please keep reading and commenting and also invite others you think might enjoy being part of the community to join us. Grace and peace – Tom Mitchell