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MUSIC IS BOTH MAGIC AND SCIENCEI can show you formulas that would make Carl Gauss blush, shelves of books to enchant every bibliophile, theorems that would confound NASA on the subject of music. A popular saying among rocket scientists, I'm told, is "It's not music theory."
I cannot explain to you why the chorus in that song you used to sing with your mother as a child causes a biological reaction (tears). There is no way to discern why it is that certain music makes you drive faster, or love more intimately, or be overwhelmed with sadness. Many have tried, including such luminaries as Oliver Sacks, but the fact is that, much like sleep, we are at a loss to completely explain the why and how of music's hold on us. It is, for all intents and purposes, a kind of magic. The magic is you, dear listener. The audience. What a blessing it is, and will continue to be! Dr. Bob Fuson, Music Director he/him/his |
Magic does not supersede science; we understand the science of childbirth and it is no less magical to mother and father. The Greeks built a musical system purely on fractions, the major chord you hear to open your favorite pop song is derived from an overtone series found in nature, and principles of acoustics can be measured by ardent physicists. We know the science.
Because music does not exist until you hear it. It is nothing more than waves, traversing invisibly across the air, until the cilia in your ear grasp it and your brain interprets it. How wonderful! That your body has this ability, finely honed through years of evolution, to pick up the universe's invisible signals and bring them into your head. And maybe also your heart.
In this faith community I have looked out over my saxophone to see people overcome with excitement, clapping and dancing as if possessed. I have peered over my piano bench to see tears falling, eyes glistening, hearts moved and chests heaving. We love each other, and that love is strengthened with every note, every measure, every chorus, every last piece of music that drifts across those invisible waves into you. We love each other and we love music; the opposite is also true.
Because music does not exist until you hear it. It is nothing more than waves, traversing invisibly across the air, until the cilia in your ear grasp it and your brain interprets it. How wonderful! That your body has this ability, finely honed through years of evolution, to pick up the universe's invisible signals and bring them into your head. And maybe also your heart.
In this faith community I have looked out over my saxophone to see people overcome with excitement, clapping and dancing as if possessed. I have peered over my piano bench to see tears falling, eyes glistening, hearts moved and chests heaving. We love each other, and that love is strengthened with every note, every measure, every chorus, every last piece of music that drifts across those invisible waves into you. We love each other and we love music; the opposite is also true.
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