Jurth, Attila Why Music (2018)
Jurth, Attila Why Music (2018)
Jurth, Attila Why Music (2018)
WHY MUSIC?
© Attila Jurth
IPSWICH, AUSTRALIA, 2018
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© All rights reserved. Attila Ferenc Jurth, 2018. The copyright holder of this work allows anyone to
use it for any purpose under free and open licence provided that the authorship of the copyright holder is
expressly acknowledged and credited.
Word count: 2343
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WHY MUSIC?
WHAT MUSIC?
Good music, of course. Great. But what is good music when people's taste
differs from one another? One's trash is someone else's treasure. Is there any
common denominator?
Yes, there is. If you are undecided, or, in spite of your established taste, you
want to know what is good music in absolute, or at least in generally accepted
terms, you may consider the following aspects:
For most important and festive occasions, in order to enhance the event's
magnificence, elegance, dignity, and/or spirituality, – in one word: significance –
you would logically be looking for the most beautiful fitting music ever created.
What sort of live or recorded music has most frequently been played say, at
coronations and inaugurations – but closer to you and me – at solemn ceremonies
like weddings and funerals? From Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) to Michał Lorenc
(1955–), for example, there are a wide range of genres as well as a large number of
genial works of different styles, lengths and instrumentations including the human
voice. In between you will find names like Purcell, Vitali, Albinoni, Mouret, Händel,
Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin,
Schumann, Erkel, Wagner, Verdi, Gounod, Bruckner, Brahms, Bruch, Saint-Saëns,
Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Widor, Mahler, Rachmaninov, Giazotto, Lisznyai, Vavilov,
Marciak, J. T. Williams, Pärt, Saint-Preux and many more. (Not belonging to this
group of all-time greats, I also wrote three short pieces for the weddings of one of
my daughters and sons respectively.)
Who are missing from the above list? Twentieth-century composers who
wrote dodecaphonic, atonal, serial, minimalist and, of course, “postmodern” music;
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rock, rap and pop; as well as authors of “music” of industrial noise, music for
prepared piano, and instrument smashing. Some of them bluntly declared that art
is a mirror of society: their music is ugly because life full of wars is ugly.
Whilst contemporary music deserves attention, let's for the time being leave
that to the musicologists as they have acquired the necessary expertise that we
haven't. We should rather concentrate on particular works by the above or similar
calibre composers that can best be described as “heavenly”. This is the kind of
music you, your partner, your children and grandchildren should listen to. Go to
concerts, dial classical radio stations and make portable devices (CD, memory stick,
SD card &c.) for your car's sound system and your computer.
You may have noticed that my concept of “beautiful music” is exclusively
Europe-centered. Yes, that's true. This is the music I know best. However, my
personal and private insight into good music should serve merely as a guide, and I
emphasise my words in the previous paragraph: “we should concentrate on ... the
above or similar calibre composers”. This will cover the rest of the world.
Once you have made your shortlist of the pieces that exceptionally appeal to
you, you may explore the other movements (if any) of the same work, then other
works of the same composer, then other composers from the same era and so on –
as long as you feel blessed and spiritually enriched by your listening experience.
Music which will invariably speak to you is the folk music of the geographical
region (or – in case your parents come from different parts of the world – regions)
of your heritage. This is your musical mother tongue. This music in its original form
or in adaptations (e.g. arrangements for different instruments) with or without the
original texts (lyrics), if there are any, will always be close to your heart.
In folk music (sometimes also termed as traditional music) we do not know
the composer of the tune, the author of the lyrics, or the choreographer of the
dance movements. In most cases there are multiple and successive authors. Hence
such music took a long time – centuries or even millenia – of oral transmission
from generation to generation until it may have been committed to paper (sheet
music) or “frozen” by a recording device. Folk music items generally have several
variants originating from different locations and/or different times.
Folk music in its original or arranged forms is always good music.
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WHEN MUSIC?
and secondary schools, especially the compulsory ones (with a history of less than
a minuscule 150 years or five generations), have progressively killed off the
extended families' impact on the children's genetically programmed emotional
(spiritual) connectedness to their rightful heritage: their loved ones, their tribe,
race, and, since the twentieth century: their nation. (Globalisation and
inclusiveness are the current ideological catchphrases.) There are no curricular
and quality music lessons (periods) in preschools and schools for the masses
unless the parents pay extra.
The relevant government authorities know full well and they have full access
to the findings of science in developmental neurology, psychology, pedagogy and
even kinesiology (incl. Brain Gym®). They know full well how music is literally
instrumental in the interconnectedness of the brain's two hemispheres. They know
full well how music making in groups (ensembles and orchestras) quasi
automatically teaches children to become disciplined, cooperative, empathetic and
elegant persons. Educators know, they must surely know, that basic skills of active
music making – similarly to that of ballet, circus art, or accent-free language(s)
other(s) than the mother tongue – have to be conveyed to young people up to a
certain age, usually not beyond eight years. And yet the music education in the so
called developed countries generally (not speaking of some very expensive and/or
highly specialised schools) remains in an apalling state of under-development and
inertia. Please note: costly equipments, instruments and all sorts of gadgetry, while
they look good on governments' balance sheets, do not necessarily mean better
education. (If anything, such showy displays are rather counterproductive.) It
seems governments are not interested in cultured, smart citizens in (too) large
numbers.
Since WWII general education standards have been falling in industrialised
countries, followed by a gradual decline of curriculum requirements, though the
falling trend is not immediately detectable. The most prominent victim of this
fiasco is music: the abysmal state of the early musical development (correction:
lack of development) in the age group of three to eight years. Prospective
kindergarten and lower primary school teachers are no longer required to be
musically literate. They use recorded audio and video (mostly trash) music. In
schools there is no place for theoretical and practical knowledge of Renaissance,
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Baroque, Classical or Romantic styles. Genuine folk music for children is cultivated
only in a handful of countries worldwide. (Thorough knowledge about infamous
rulers, dirty international and domestic political conflicts is apparently more
important.)
The good news is that, in intact and harmonious families, the destructive
social trends can and must be counteracted. As soon as children can handle a
musical instrument, they should be taken to quality music teachers for quality
music lessons in order to receive their general musical education. In the home
active music making and music appreciation is of paramount importance. Children
should listen to good music instead of watching idiotic, mindless TV shows, or
playing lengthy, volatile computer games. In developed countries children spend a
lot of time in cars. They should be listening to good recorded music while
travelling. Please note: loud disco music (like pop, rap, rock &c.) is the opposite of
good music in my definition.
Musically literate children are better learners because they instinctively
combine physical movements with cognitive tasks. Musically literate adults are
more aware human beings because they experience all the virtues of the nobility of
a higher consciousness music alone is capable of conveying. We all should cultivate
good music in some way every day.
Music is fundamental.