I'd like to present a very interesting article I read recently - "Music and Early Language Acquisition" by Anthony Brandt, Molly Gebrian, and L. Robert Slevc: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3439120/
I find it quite fascinating how such a seemingly abstract form of art - arranging sounds into patterns - can convey emotions, tell stories or evoke memories. Music is often thought of as a universal language but it is in fact not and this article shows why. It shows the relationship between first language acquisition and musical development during the first years of life. According to the authors, the way we understand music totally depends on the culture we grew up in - just like natural language. In this sense eg. Japanese music is as foreign to a Westerner as is the Japanese language.
The article gives a few examples of ambiguity in music: Parallel seconds that sound dissonant (and thus unpleasant) to Westerners are widely used and considered beautiful in Bulgarian folk music, in Javanese music notes that are perfecly in-tune are seen as bland and lifeless, Indian music uses rhythms rarely used in the West, the Chinese use quartertones etc.
Even Western music has changed its meaning over the centuries.
The authors also mention one of my favorite composers - Dmitri Shostakovich - and how he used irony in his music to fool the Soviet authorities.
Have you ever listened to music from a different culture or era and felt as if someone spoke to you in a foreign language you didn't understand?
I had that feeling while listening to European medieval music. It sounded to me like a long-forgotten language. I sort of feel the same when I hear Far-Eastern music. It may sound interesting and intriguing but I just can't understand what it's all about.
On the other hand, music by the Italian 17th-century composer/murderer Carlo Gesualdo was considered insane by his contemporaries but sounds pretty modern by today's standards.
What are your views on this?
It's a bit hard to answer to your questions. I have listened music from different culture and from different era, but i haven't felt anything special :) Just a good piece of music.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just me. Hard to tell. I belive someone with better understanding of the music and the history can feel it differently.
"Have you ever listened to music from a different culture or era and felt as if someone spoke to you in a foreign language you didn't understand?"
ReplyDeleteThe easiest answer would be: when I was a kid, it happened all the time. I always preferred American and British music, so I didn't understand a word. Definitely, it was different era (late 70's, early 80's)... :)
I guess you're asking about classical music. To me, although it conveys many emotions, I don't hear any "different language" (unless somebody is actually singing). Ethnic music could also be interesting and sound "different", but even though I can often identify the origin, I can't say it sounds like a foreign language.
It is just different perception, I guess.
Not necessarily classical (BTW, it's hard to define precisely what's classical and what's not). And by "different era" I actually meant something more distant than the 1970's :-)
DeleteAlso, what we consider "classical" is still Western (usually tonal or 12-tone) music with certain relationships between notes etc. We perceive pieces of music as "sad", "happy", "angry" or whatever but it's not universal. People from other cultures (like Asian, for instance) may hear them differently.
The article gives an interesting example of a Jewish song that's in a minor mode (sad-sounding to the Western ear) but its lyrics are “Let’s rejoice! Let’s rejoice and be happy!”.
You made a very good point about ethnic music. Why does it sound "different"? It's not just because different instruments are played. It's also because they use different scales or rhythmic patterns. This makes it sound "Polish" or "Pakistani" or whatever.
Every time I listen to the music or listen to any conversation in foreign language or from different culture I always find myself trying to pick up any word. Anything. I'm trying to find a way to decode the words. I'm carefully and intensively paying attention where words are stressed or emphasized. Always trying to match it with facial expression of the speaker/musician. Though it may sound bit insane, but I'm trying to break down it syntactically - perfectly understand your question.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I listen to the music or listen to any conversation in foreign language or from different culture I always find myself trying to pick up any word. Anything. I'm trying to find a way to decode the words. I'm carefully and intensively paying attention where words are stressed or emphasized. Always trying to match it with facial expression of the speaker/musician. Though it may sound bit insane, but I'm trying to break down it syntactically - perfectly understand your question.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about music the way authors of your article write about it. I always perceived it (like you said) as a universal language. When I was a kid I liked listening to music in English and French – it is funny because now when I hear some of this old songs I realize that I learned whole phrases phonetically without knowing the meaning. I quite liked music form Tibet – it is very different so maybe it can be compared to listening to another language but I didn’t have impression that I am not getting it.
ReplyDeleteIn general I listen to music that I feel and that I can understand. For these two reasons I avoid other music that is not my type. I think that music is a universal language specifically for people who love the same type of music, it can help them feel the same emotions. In the other hand certainly age, culture can determine how we perceive music. For this reasons two people listening to the same music may receive it differently.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteMy favourite type of music is Hip Hop and I listening only Polish Hip Hop so I don't have a problem with language in music, but in my opinion in the world we have
two kinds of people. First group of people listen music for entertainment and fun but second listen music for lyrics . I know people which listen music in foreign language and don;t understand lyrics . but their like this music. Some people listen radio which play music from different country and different culture because their like music in the work or when their learning something.I personally respect all the above mentioned group of people, but I do not think that it was necessary to understand text like as melody is good.
To be honest I'm the perfect person to answer on this question. I love music but I can't "hear" it :) By that I mean that I never hear the smallest details. Of course I can recognize some patterns related with culture but I think that this is my tops. I don't have a feeling of different languages. For me it is "just" music, I can like it or not.
ReplyDeleteA child with a significant delay in language acquisition, the parent often feels helpless. This can help a child waiting for a consultation with a specialist in initiating the music.
ReplyDeleteMusic promotes concentration, stimulates memory and greatly facilitates the learning of language. It affects all dimensions of global development: emotional and social, moral, cognitive, language, motor and physical.
Language specialists often use sound games to increase the level of attention and the child's sensitivity to the world around him. We forget the words and the interest is focused on the child's ability to identify what he hears.
Well, music is not my strong card, but from some articles I have read on the subject, a lot of child psychologists are supporting this thesis. There was an interesting experiment made at the Minnesota University to measure the correlation between classical music playing and 2 year-olds capabilities of learning languages. It proved the positive influence of classical music on improving the language abilities. Kids who were exposed to hours of such music learned more words in more than 1 language, than children who didn’t listen to any music.
ReplyDeleteI've heard before that some kinds of music can positively stimulate young brains and thereby help in language learning processes. On the other hand, in case of children there are much more things with similar influence on learning about the world.
ReplyDeleteI can't honestly answer the question about music from different cultures. Usually, all I care about is whether I'm enjoying the sound from particular track or not. For sure I'm not big fan of traditional music from far east.
See? That confirms what the article says. You just grew up in another part of the world :-)
DeleteYes sometimes when I am listening to foreign music especially from far East I feel quite strange, maybe it is just because I hear different kinds of instruments for example Sitar this kind of an instrument is not very popular in our country and Central Europe.
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes it is very strange when I am listening to some european music and I don't understand anything and that is because they are using very old and very rare language.
Sometimes it depends on scales which musicians use, some are very different from our region and I must say this is very weird.
Exactly. Different scales, different tonality, different everything.
DeleteSome time ago I saw an interesting film featuring a French violinist who traveled to India to play with Indian musicians and learn about Indian music. They explained to him the logic behind their (rather complex) rhythms, how improvisation is important etc. and he told them he played music from scores written by someone else. They were pretty surprised.
Music must be inextricably linked to culture, as it is the immanent part of it. I agree with opinion that it has much in common with language. Language is just a stream of sounds with attached meanings and at the beginning those sounds was the first musical pieces accompanied by first beats - the sounds of tapping, clapping or sound of a hit hollow tree trunk.
ReplyDeleteI haven't really thought about it before I read your post and the article that you recommended but it makes sense. While we grow we are accustomed to various aspects and elements that are considered good or bad in our society. Since societies differ this implies that those elements can differ too (in the context of being positive or negative). One of those elements is surely traditional music. I am curious to see if the same rule applies to other forms of art (i.e. paintings, architecture, etc.). Common sense suggests it does.
ReplyDeleteHonestly speaking, when I sometimes hear music from popular radio stations I don't understand it. Also when I listen to classical music I sometimes feel that I don't catch all the nuances.
ReplyDeleteI think that music is very important in children's development, but I don't believe in so called Mozart effect - theory that listening to Mozart improves brain performance.
For me it's hard to agree with author's view that without the ability to hear musically, it would be impossible to learn to speak, but as stated in the article, music definition is ambiguous.
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ReplyDeleteI can not say that the music is my life. I am trying to understand the lyrics if the song is in english. It is not simple, but sometimes I think that I have a problems with understanding polish songs :). Features like:
ReplyDelete- rate,
- singer accent,
- melody
are critical to understanding .
If song is in any other foreign language I am not trying to understand artistic message. If melody and singer voice fall in my ear – I am checking out lyrics in google.
I always feel like this while listening to music from a different culture or era and basically I do not understand it. I grew up in a different era and I am familiar with other sounds.
ReplyDeleteI am keen on the modern and sometimes classical music composed hundreds of years ago. For me it seems that classical music is more popular than folk music so it sounds more understandable.
Honestly, I do not explore the music if it pushes me away from the first sounds or arouses concern.
I decided to write a little off topic. I sit on a train and look at two teens while listening to music. Willingly or not, I hear it too. The rhythm is on three. English Lyrics. Sense is simple. It is rather a few monosyllables repeated over and over again. What you hear is definitely not for me, "tell stories or evoke memories". For me, this is just listening to music from another culture. Culture, I do not understand.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about music as a language.
ReplyDeleteI don't often listen to music from different cultures or different times, but sometimes I do. I don't always like it (but sometimes yes).
Mostly, I admire it, with having the knowledge that it was created by a person totally different than I am, but it is certainly not the same feeling when I hear some unknown language.
Actually even in a modern European music differences are quite big and can evoke many emotions.
Article “Music and Early Language Acquisition” was very long and very boring for me. I admire people for whom it was interesting. As I put down in a few sentences earlier I like listening to music and I listen to music every day. I listen to slow or fast music. It depends on my mood. But generally I like modern music and music from our culture circle. I like listening to rather guitar music then electronic music. Several times in my life I have listened to music from other country and Polish folk music. For me this music sounds horrible. I hate Polish folk music and folk music from other countries. I don’t understand this music and listening to this kind of music is a mental cruelty for me. Moreover I generally don’t like listening to music which is sung in German and also in some exotic languages . Therefore I don’t agree with the statement of authors of the article that we understand our childhood music. In my opinion people have their own free will and taste and they like listening to music from other countries.
ReplyDeleteBut it's not necessarily about folk music from your country. It's about what you heard as a child. You learn certain concepts like consonance-dissonance, tonality, rhythmic patterns etc.
DeleteIn my opinion we are accustomed to certain standards in music. If we turn to music from another era or a different culture it is something unknown to us, sometimes it suits us despite other patterns sometimes not. If we think at about folk music is music which listened to the people (ordinary citizens) tens - hundreds of years ago. This music is different because there was no globalization. I think that in a hundred years - two hundred years, most of today's music charts is also going for folk music - only global ...
ReplyDeleteI love listening to music for a long time I am also passionate about audio equipment. Sometimes I meet the plate by somebody I can't wade. This is particularly so in the case of Jazz - such as love Diana Krall glad rag doll, Włodek pawlik night in Calisia but it's hard for me to listen: Diana Krall Live in Paris. It is a very extreme. It is very interesting because I can't explain the reason. Eg I like Indian music, but the sounds of China isn't pleasant for me.
ReplyDeleteI have never perceived a spoken language as a special type of music. This is why the opinions presented in this article are quite surprising for me, but also interesting. I must admit that the fact of liking or not liking a sound of a language influences a lot my ability to learn it. Funny thing is that I might like or not the sound of a foreign langue. Even if I learn the language I can hear its melody. But I cannot hear the melody my mother tongue, Polish , and say if I appreciate it or not of. Foreigners say Polish sounds like a squeezed paper. I would never think about it this way. As for music I think it conveys emotions in a much wider manner then words of any language. Although we might sometimes need time to get used to certain rhythms or sounds from some remote cultures.
ReplyDeleteI have also heard Polish sounded like someone walking on dry leaves :-)
DeleteAnd I kind of agree with that. But maybe that's because I grew up in two cultures. Not that far apart but still...
I totally see what you mean about not being able to learn a language you don't like the sound of. For this very reason I've never really learned German.
I have never perceived a spoken language as a special type of music. This is why the opinions presented in this article are quite surprising for me, but also interesting. I must admit that the fact of liking or not liking a sound of a language influences a lot my ability to learn it. Funny thing is that I might like or not the sound of a foreign langue. Even if I learn the language I can hear its melody. But I cannot hear the melody my mother tongue, Polish , and say if I appreciate it or not of. Foreigners say Polish sounds like a squeezed paper. I would never think about it this way. As for music I think it conveys emotions in a much wider manner then words of any language. Although we might sometimes need time to get used to certain rhythms or sounds from some remote cultures.
ReplyDeleteI travel a lot so I have many occasions to listen to music from different cultures and... it indeed feels foreign. I haven't read a whole article (sorry Paweł - it was a way too long ;-) but I can't disagree with their result. Intuitively that makes sense. But surprisingly I'm definitely more into american jazz music than into polish music but... it might by not such a surprise because I lived in USA (Oklahoma) the first 4 years of my life (but I'm not into the country music either ;-)). I will talk with my sister about this phenomena because my niece is half Polish half Italian so maybe we could observe different music taste than her friends based on that. That could probably be another research idea.
ReplyDeleteI travel a lot so I have many occasions to listen to music from different cultures and... it indeed feels foreign. I haven't read a whole article (sorry Paweł - it was a way too long ;-) but I can't disagree with their result. Intuitively that makes sense. But surprisingly I'm definitely more into american jazz music than into polish music but... it might by not such a surprise because I lived in USA (Oklahoma) the first 4 years of my life (but I'm not into the country music either ;-)). I will talk with my sister about this phenomena because my niece is half Polish half Italian so maybe we could observe different music taste than her friends based on that. That could probably be another research idea.
ReplyDeleteI feel that same difficult to write expression. I know that music is some kind of language. But recently when author playing something for example from Egypt culture I don understand anything. But when it is something from France, Italy or Spain I feel like I understand it. I think that is caused because I know their history more than Egypt culture.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very interesting observation that 17th century music of Gesualdo - a language of an assassin, from what I understand, is a language understandable in the modern days. But this is just a marginal observation. I think music, visual art, performance is a kind of a language of it own. We pretty much limit ourselves and brains using just the language based on words. Words, definitions, limit the idea of multiple definitions that a thing might have - using words require clarifying and limiting out message just to one possible definition. Music, arts on the other hand give space for interpretation and emotions, which enriches the communication process, take the communicating participants to a different level.
ReplyDelete