Music Mysteries

Originally posted by crestone

Didn't you ask about A=440Hz? Did you follow my link

Yes, but with the increase of attention-grabbing threads on ATS, peppered with trillions of links, Id prefer for someone to explain it to me in their own words, in summary and in a language I can understand

Originally posted by ceman43
As to jazz music, I have always heard that the effect on the brain is a bad one, due to the "double melodies" of the jazz. Could anybody say whether it's true or not?

I doubt it. Improvised jazz sessions probably increase intelligence, not lessen it. But I could be wrong.

Originally posted by freight tomsen

P.S. How do you block quote text on ATS? I'm supposed to do something special when I post a quote but what do you do? If I click the "I" Italics button it erases my quote and replaces it with the word "text." What do you click to make a quote look different from everything else? Thanks

Answer: If you mean quoting external sources you use the button EX. Type in a text. Press OK. Now you have two EX-Tags in your post. All words that you put IN BETWEEN TWO EX-Tags are in external-source-boxes.

If you mean quoting other members you dont click "reply", you click "quote". Everything between the two quote-tags is now in quoets.


Concerning your other text: I still think you overdo it, but your stuff makes for very interesting reading. I never made the connection of SOL-diers being SUN warriors.

reply to post by Bashibozkedi


Amazing sound-weapon. First time Ive ever seen this!

As to your marching-drum question, I agree with what others here answered. "Drumming up the troops".

This is amazing, since I get a kick out of producing music at 60 BPM.
So 120 BPM is slight exhiliration and 60 BPM relaxation. And 20 BPM maybe near-death.


Thanks for the info.

Well, there you have it...!
There's no better proof than one's own "pudding".

Perhaps you have noticed a particular affinity to certain notes (tones), too?
I know that I can't stand anything in "minor" when I am sad (not surprisingly), whereas the major scale has a wonderfully uplifting effect on me.

I even thought of creating my own "music genome" (and since "Pandora" is now unavailable in Europe, I'll have to... ). Right now, I am at the stage where I am collecting all the chords and tones that "get" me.

And as for violins (inducing euphoria and/or hysteria)... I challenge anyone to maintain their composure while listening to Wagner's Liebestod (violin version), preferably played by Isaac Stern...

When I was a little child, that was practically the only thing that could make me cry - out of sheer excitement (not "sadness").



[edit on 20-3-2008 by Vanitas]

reply to post by Bashibozkedi

Hey, I've tried it on google maps, but it's denying me access to a zoom-in, it's directly south of Bournemouth (Uk) right?

Going back to music, try The Lark Ascending by Vaughn Williams, it's one of the most moving pieces I've heard, beautiful.
I'm also into what's referred to as Doom(metal), really slow stuff and very down-tuned (mostly around the low C) - I'm into a lot of the trippier/more psychedelic bands in this vein, like Esoteric or Winter, I'd also like to mention a UK band called Scorn, who are an absollute must (they're on Youtube). I find this music (especially on headphones) gets me into an almost out of body experience, where I'm in a state between being conscious of my psyhical surroundings yet my connection to them is very blurred, almost transient - in a nice way. It can get to the point where you can be in touch with every part of your body, you can feel sweat-beads forming, like some hyper-sensitivity of self.

Sorry, just realised this is a little rambling, but it's early. Just want to thank everyone for one of the most interesting threads I've read.

For a slight digression (maybe), check out the audio of the Cthulhu "Bloop", it's on youtube, there's a version of about 5 minutes duration and it gives an incredibly eerie feeling.


...as an addendum, I'd suggest that jazz, especially free-jazz would be "mind-expanding", it's akin to reading very elaborate works, yet possess' phrases that are repeated yet varied. It's not always my choice of listening material, but when it is I find it incredibly rewarding. Someone mentioned earlier that nature/the universe correlate to formulas that can be interpreted as music, (which I agree with, heartily). I liken jazz to insect life, can seem very erratic, yet under scrutiny there's a very distinct method.

[edit on 21-3-2008 by jokei]

Originally posted by jokei
reply to post by Bashibozkedi

 

Hey, I've tried it on google maps, but it's denying me access to a zoom-in, it's directly south of Bournemouth (Uk) right?

Going back to music, try The Lark Ascending by Vaughn Williams, it's one of the most moving pieces

I have rechecked my co-ordinates and they seem to be correct. South of Bournemouth is nothing but sea so I suspect you typed them in wrong.

If you get no luck type "Cerne Abbas" into Google Earth and zoom in search in the countryside immediately NNE of the village to see an amazing
weapon!

I love Vaughan-Williams too, he is one of my very favourite classical composers. As a lot of his music is based on English folk music so maybe it resonates with my DNA.

I also like psychedelic music though I am more familiar with it in its original 1960s form, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Jefferson Airplane, Greatful Dead etc.

I will check out the modern psychedelic bands you mention, thanks for this.

Any further suggestions as to modern psychedelic music worth listening to will be gratefully received.

[edit on 21-3-2008 by Bashibozkedi]

Dude, that's terrible, although it's making me laugh, how's it sonic?
Jefferson Airplane rock... I'll do you a proper reply later, but maybe consider checking out Dalek too.

You can have a star for that.

reply to post by jokei


I didn't say it was sonic did I? I just said it was an amazing Weapon, which it is.

Thanks for Dalek. I will give them a listen too.

I do believe our own energy field react to different sound wave/frequency.

For example I was lying relaxing one afternoon in my friends house and I could actually feel my body energy vibrating with Buddhist chants that was going on in the TV at that moment. It can't be my brain imagining it since the vibration is so mild yet felt so strongly that it is impossible to be done consciously.
Out of curiosity I downloaded monk choir chants and try to meditate on them. I could actually feel a very 'uplifting effect' like energy traveling up from shoulders to head. It actually nearly blow me off my consciousness but was a very serene, peaceful feeling.

Also, I guess many of you have seen the documentary 'Superhuman' on Discovery channel where some people can smell sound frequency. They got them together to listen to a opera singer and they come up with the same taste with the different intonations. Seems like this is a world of energy, interesting indeed!
[edit on 22-3-2008 by clemonte]

[edit on 22-3-2008 by clemonte]

That is absolute nonsense. Blues developed from slave music of the 1700s. Very far from Masonic influences. The Blues originally referred to "blue devils" and so to "have the blues" is to have devils (AKA problems). That eventually came to be interpreted as depression.

Sure, you can apply Masonic imagery to both early and current American music. These things such as stones and rocks are basic human architypes. The reason Masonic imagery is so stunning and appealing is because it uses very basic architypes that are universal.

I think you are looking at the situation backwards, and confusing the issue. Masons knew chakra colors???

Edit: This is a reply to freight tomsen's long post on page 1 of this thread. I tried to rely with quote but as soon as I start trying to shorten the quoted text it all disappears. This computer at work sucks.


[edit on 22-3-2008 by spaznational]

Originally posted by Skyfloating
All the questionmarks I have on the topic of music justify opening a thread. If any of you out there have the answers to some of these questions, im interested in hearing them.

2. The standard 80-120 BPM we hear on the radio everyday was, in ancient times, used in magic rituals to invoke trance and spirits. How are we affected by pop, R&B, hip hop, rock that we hear on a daily basis?

Some of the metal I listen to goes well beyond 120 BPM.

But really, there is a practical reason these tempos are standard: The tempo is dependant on where the listener notes the beat. A song at 160 BPM could also be at 80 BPM... In the standard 4|4 time a beat is a quarter note, 4 per measure: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. A 8th note is half of a quater note in duration. Now let's say the song has a high-hat plaing 8th notes with a tempo of 80 BPM, BUT... you as the listener decide that these 8th notes are quater notes, and that makes the tempo 160 BPM.

The point is, the higher the tempo goes the more likely the listern is to decide that it is at half that speed. So really rediculously quick tempos are not practical for notation. Also, it would be hard for a human to keep time.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
3. How are "binaural sounds" and "brainwave entrainment" or "hemisphere synchronisation" sounds produced? What is the technique of making so-called "alpha, theta, delta-state-inducing" sounds?

Someone has already explained this, but I will add my experience:
I actually made one of these in Audacity (sound editing program). I had a slighty different frequency in each ear to create a binaural beat at 12 Hz. It pulls me into alpha state, and 10 minutes of that gives me the feeling of having done a hard-core meditation session.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
5. Do you think that messages encoded into a song that we cant hear or are played backwards so that we dont recognize them (subliminals) really have an effect? I somehow doubt this.

No. This was just anti-rock music propaganda.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
6. Do you think the music-industry is controlled to suppress mind-freeing pieces of art while disseminating junk? Or are they simply responding to the highest demand?

No. The good art is available. The industry pushes what sells best. Most people these days don't really appriciate musicianship; they just want something that gets drunk girls in the mood.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
9. How is the military wanting to use sound as a weapon?

Certain ultra-high frequencies can cause disorientation and nausea. Great for crowd control so it is more of a law enforcement tool rather than military.

I would like to introduce you to my two friends below who have walked the path of music with me for the last ten years. When I was twelve something about the low fidelity sounds from the bass guitar struck a chord in my heart and still does today after almost 14 years.

My high school music theory teach always said, “Music is the barometer of our society”. There is a private school in NY City where it teaches, I think, K-12. Music is the core of their curriculum and standard testing proves these students have some of the highest test scores in the country. If you learn to play an instrument it will help you academically.

When you play an instrument you are teaching yourself to speak in a different way. Instead of communicating verbally you are speaking through your hands. When you learn to read and write music you are learning a new language, where instead of reading Spanish from a textbook, you are reading music and speaking it with your hands through your instrument. This I believe opens new pathways that you may have not used before in your brain. Its like flexing a muscle for the first time and it keeps on getting stronger and stronger the more you use it.




[edit on 22-3-2008 by jojoKnowsBest]

[edit on 22-3-2008 by jojoKnowsBest]

What about spontaneous music? You are playing with a group of five or six people and you jam. You must be in sink with your fellow musicians predicting where the song will go next, taking turns shaping the song feeding of each other. To do this seamlessly and be all in the middle of it, apart of it, is an indescribable sensation. You are at a level of connection you’re not usually exposed to in your daily life. The closest example would be playing on a sports team.

Sometimes you sink so well with other it seems you can anticipate what they will play next. I have played with many awesome drummers where, for me, this seemed to be the case. I remember in one of my high school bands, the drummer and I were in the basement jamming with each other. The rest of our band was upstairs taking a break, all of a sudden we started kicking out quite a rhythm, then all of a sudden a cascade of band members came running down the stairs, seamlessly picking up their instruments and joining right in. Something struck a chord in them, and I can’t tell you what it was or how it works, but it a beautiful and amazing thing.

You can just play an instrument, and sometimes when you play the same song over and over you get bored with it and it has less meaning. When this happens it transcends into my playing. When I can dig up passion and emotion it speaks through my playing.

Vibrations are very important. The wood a bass and many other wooded instruments use dramatically affects the sound. How those vibrations, not only goes through strings but resonates through bubinga or rosewood give an instrument its fingerprint-like sound. The many ways you can bend, pluck, mute, pop, or thump a string also creates a multitude of different sounds by altering the vibration of the string. A computer can only go so far in recreating what you can do on a stringed instrument.

Pro-tools and the modern recording industry has over refined our music, and damaged the sound quality of many great albums so they can sound good on your ipod or MP3 player. A CD or DVD can only recreate music to a certain extent, where the grooves in a vinyl record is still far superior in reproducing recorded sounds. Analog is still superior to digital, and the most expensive guitar and bass amps use vacuum tubes because nothing digital can still come close.

A DJ once said that when he scratch’s he likes to imagine he speaking in an alien language. When I play I sometimes like to imagine other beings listening, even though we may not speak the same language, they can understand the emotion I transmute through my bass. The best advice I can give anyone who truly wants to learn music, is to learn how to play music. You can read all the books you want about sailing, but you will never understand what it’s really like until you get out there and do it yourself.




[edit on 22-3-2008 by jojoKnowsBest]

[edit on 22-3-2008 by jojoKnowsBest]

Originally posted by spaznational
Someone has already explained this, but I will add my experience:
I actually made one of these in Audacity (sound editing program). I had a slighty different frequency in each ear to create a binaural beat at 12 Hz. It pulls me into alpha state, and 10 minutes of that gives me the feeling of having done a hard-core meditation session.

Audicity (which I know is available for free) actually has a feature to produce binaural beats? How exactly did you go about it?

reply to post by jojoKnowsBest


I just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading your two posts a lot. Lots of wisdom in them

reply to post by jojoKnowsBest


Those two of your friends are quite beautiful, the 4-string looks quite well loved. I've not played my bass for a year or so now due to relocating for work and I'm really starting to miss it a lot.

There's so much pleasure to be derived from sitting down, taking some time out from the real-world and playing something, it can help work through the days troubles just to get home crank it up and let rip. It's a great stress relief to be able to do something creative that you can totally let your emotions flow, even if you're really angry, 10 minutes chills me out. Also, I don't meditate or anything like that (just never got into it), but for me if I spend a long time playing, I can just zone-out and I get to a place where I'm just flowing with myself (?), not thinking about what I'm doing and sound is just coming out.

As for playing in a band or jamming with mates, when you get a good jam going it's amazing, I used to play in a prog/post-rock band and we'd do some weird stuff with time signatures, I used to have this bass riff in 5/4 and the drummer played straight 4/4 over it, then started bringing in a 3/4 pattern on the ride cymbal, the guitarist just played some crazy jazz chords over the top, the first time we did this it was just spontaneous and it just kept building and building, it got to the point when we stopped, we just sat around (sober) laughing at each other with joy, like little kids. We did it once when I was a bit stoned and it just made me feel sick, just gave me this weird motion-sickness feeling...

Music affirms our humanity, it's in all of us, people can't help but respond to it. I used to work in a record store and our area manager was a little unpleasent, so we'd always play Bowie when he came in, which he hated, he'd never stay for more than an hour - I'm not proud of using music as a weapon, but it was a humanitarian gesture. I still work in a music shop and we play quite a diverse range of stuff, there's nothing that makes my day more than for someone to buy something that I like, if we're playing something like Nick Cave or Tom Waits there's no greater kick for me than someone to ask who it is and be able to take 5 minutes and chat to them about it. I'm a fairly heavily tattooed guy and most of the time have very short hair - I may look a little unapproachable, but there's loads of little old ladies that come and find me to ask about Tom Waits or some crazy African music and have a cup of tea. I've met so many good people that I otherwise wouldn't have done and realised I share common bonds with people I'd never have otherwise... getting a suited office guy in his late 40's chewing my ear off about psychedelic rock is always amusing.

As a little comment on the analog vs digital argument, here's my tuppence worth, with the state of the mp3 format, compressing the hell out of stuff and generally being "hyper-digitised" it seems to have less (to me) of an earthy, human/humane quality. We're analog creatures for now and I think we tend to relate better with analog sounds even if they don't have the "quality" of digital - stick on some Leadbelly or Townes Van Zandt, hell, Small Change by Tom Waits was recorded live on 2-track tape - it's not what you listen on, it's what you're listening to - you can have a £5000 stereo and still listen to crap and of course there's a flipside to that.

With regards Masonry (did they invent rock music, Sorry:dn. I don't agree with the blues argument. It would seem to me that the blues was an indigenous music stemming from black African/American culture. Amazing that for a people so suppressed at the time to have made such an important contribution (gift) to modern culture.

I may have wondered off topic a fair bit hear, but I feel my comments still bear relevance to the OP. D'oh, out of space...

Methinks this thread deserves a bump.

Yeah, I'll second that. In light of more depressing issues at the moment, it's good to look back at something less harsh.

reply to post by resistor



"if music be the food of love play on"
"william shakesphere"