The thought in music; an enquiry into the principles of musical rhythm, phrasing and expression

Front matter

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UNIVERSITY

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Preface

This book is an attempt to formulate a definite basis on which the musical facts underlying the principles of shape in musical structure may be correlated and codified.

That these facts are the result of the operation of psychological and physiological processes, and therefore amenable and subject to the laws which regulate these two contrasted sides of human activity, is a conception which — so far as the musician is concerned — requires no absolute proof, even if it is incapable of such.

We, who practise this sensitive and beautiful art, realise in proportion to our experience of its ways and aflPections, that the necessity which accompanies its manifestations is due, not to caprice or accident, but to some deeply underlying principle inherent in the very nature of the human mind. In all its manifestations, in all the varying conditions of place and time, the musical sound in a greater or in a less degree expresses something which is in agreement with the fundamental constitution of the human mind, and expresses this in a way sympathetic to, and conditioned by, the nature of consciousness itself

That we are only at the very " threshold " of the vi PREFACE

art,^ is an opinion which the course of evolution, as we can trace it, corroborates ; but although future necessary developments may enlarge the scope of music a thousand-fold, we feel that even now it expresses states and movements of consciousness which are too subtle and delicate, while at the same time too highly charged with emotional force, to be adequately rendered by any other medium.

The first three chapters of the book form a general survey, and, in a sense, a statement in abstract of the principles and theory on which the whole is based. The remainder of the work is concerned with the restatement of this theory from the point of view of the practical musician, and its development and illustration by actual musical process.

Such an arrangement necessarily entails a considerable amount of repetition, but it has the advantage of allowing a general statement of plan and purpose to preface the particular application of the main thesis to the facts of musical experience.

I have to acknowledge, with much gratitude, kind help received from Professor Gray of Glasgow, and from Professor C. S. Myers of Cambridge, and to express my indebtedness to my friend Mr. William Wallace for valuable criticism and suggestion. My warmest thanks are also due to Mr. T. B. Knott for kind assistance in the revision of proofs.

J. B. McE.

1 See The Threshold of Music, by William Wallace.

Part I Theoretical And Abstract

CHAP. PAGE

I. Introductory - - - -3

II. The Psychological Basis of Rhythm - 9

III. The Graphic Indication of Musical

Part II Practical And Concrete

VI. The Unit of Thought - 68

VII. The Unit of Thought {cont.) - - 80

VIII. Shape in Music - - - 91

XL Climax, Tempo Rubato, etc. - - 154 viii CONTENTS

PJRT III ILLUSTRATIVE AND EXPLANATORY

CHAP. PAGE

XII. The Development of Tonality and

Harmony - - - 167

XIII. The Influence of Harmony on Musical

XIV. The Contrapuntal Idiom - - 202 Appendix A - - _ . 226 Appendix B - - - - 228 Index - - - - _ . 230

PART I.

THEORETICAL AND ABSTRACT.

Chapter I. Introductory

Consciousness, in the widest sense of the term, is generally conceived under three aspects, each of which is associated with 'a function radically distinct from those identified with the other two. These functions are Willing, Knowing and Feeling: three different phases of consciousness which involve what has been called a " trinity in unity." ^ The physical processes underlying these functions are obscure, and, in the meantime, incapable of demonstration, but the realisation of these different aspects in which mental activity shows itself is a universal experience.

The mind is brought into touch with the external world through the senses. Through the media of the senses, and involving an activity proceeding inwards, we receive Impression.

Reaction to Impression takes the form of an activity , which proceeds from within outwards, and which we call Expression.

1 Bain, Mind and Body.

All human activity which aiFects and is concerned with the manipulation of things external is Expression. The artificer who builds a ship or an engine, the mathematician who manipulates numbers and relations of numbers, the musician who controls and arranges musical sounds in coherent sequence, all express mental activities involving in varying degrees, Willing, Knowing and Feeling.

In every expression these three mental functions co-operate, though in different and varying degrees and proportions. In some forms of expression one may predominate, in others another. Some forms of expression are what we call involuntary ; others, again, are only carried out through the preponderance of the will over opposing forces. In some forms emotion may be almost entirely absent, in others intellect may seem non-existent.

Artistic expression is that form in which all three functions co-operate on more or less equal terms ; in which intellect and emotion are united under the control of the will ; where intellect supplies the form, while emotion supplies the content. The emotional content — the vital part of an art-work — conditions the form in which it is expressed, and can only be presented in that form, and thoroughly understood and assimilated by those to wl^om that form is intelligible- Each is complementary to the other and necessary to the whole.

I INTRODUCTORY 5

Of all the arts, music is that in which expression is most immediate and most vital,^ This is so generally recognised that we habitually talk of the " expression " of music, implying that behind the structure and underlying it are the processes of thought and feeling which originally determined it, permanent and communicable.

A musical structure is, in the first instance, an aggregation of sounds arranged in successions in time. It is, in every case, from the most elementary vocal effort up to the most complicated modern orchestral work, a progression — a becoming. Form or shape in music, that which confers intelligibility on such a progression, is the result of conformity to two principles : the successive sounds must be

1 " Music is, as the name implies, the work of the Muses, the art kot" i^oxqv, and indeed the whole drift of our inquiry leads us to recognise in it the summit of all art, because the most immediate expression of Being-in-itself at which all art aims. This dignity is assured to it not only by the incomparable expressiveness of its language, but also by the importance of what it imparts to us by it. That which speaks to us in the sounds of music is, as has long been recognised and often repeated, the feelings, the affections and passions of the human heart." (Deussen, The Elements of Metaphysics. Translated by C. M. Duff.)

" To match and mate Feeling with knowledge . . . show How we feel, hard and fast as what we know — This were the prize and is the puzzle ' — which Music essays to solve." (Browning.)

THE THOUGHT IN MUSIC ch.

arranged, first, so that they can be directly appreciated in their mutual and immediate relations, and second, so that they can be synthesised by the mind into one coherent whole.

These ends are secured through the agency of the same general physiological and psychological laws as apply to every other department of mental activity ; supplemented by the operation of various aesthetic principles more or less fluctuating and conventional.

Comparison with language will help to illustrate the processes which underlie the form of music.

The first and most important feature which both language and music have in common is that each is articulate. The raw materials out of which speech is formed are what we call the vowel sounds ; but vowel sounds in themselves indicate nothing definite. In order to be invested with a definite meaning or associated with a definite concept, the vowel must be articulated by consonants.^

In a similar way, the raw materials of musical expression are the diverse sounds of varying pitch and tone which we can produce vocally or by means of some instrument. These, whether used singly or in combination, lack definiteness and meaning unless some method of articulation is brought to bear on them. This is supplied by the elements of Time and Accent. A musical sound or group of sounds ^ Cf. R. Wagner, Opera and Drama : Part III. Chap. 2.

I INTRODUCTORY 7

stated in relations of time and accent becomes articulate, and assumes a capacity for the expression of musical thought and intention.

This articulation of musical sounds is the foundation stone of expression. It renders what otherwise is only comparable to the inarticulate noises with which prehistoric man tried to voice his feeling into a direct and definite means of expression. ^ The second fundamental principle which we find in both speech and music (and, indeed, in every form of expression) is the principle of consistency of thought-relationship.

In language articulate sounds may express definite concepts or ideas, but these do not form intelligible relationships or sense, unless they are grouped together under the control of logic or consistency of relationship.

In the same way, musical ideas only produce sense' if there is logical and consistent relationship between them. In modern European music this is achieved by the operations of Metre — or regularity of accentual succession — and Tonality or Key.

What we term Tonality, however, must not be mistaken for a natural law of universal application, but must be understood merely as an aesthetic principle, more or less fluctuating, and liable to change and development. "We must not forget that our modern system was not developed from a

8 THE THOUGHT IN MUSIC ch. i

natural necessity, but from a freely chosen principle of style; that beside it, and before it, other tonal systems have been developed from other principles, and that in each such system the highest pitch of artistic beauty has been reached by the successful solution of more limited problems."^

^Helmholtz, The Sensations of Tone. Trans, by A. J. Ellis.

Chapter II. The Psychological Basis Of Rhythm

Although the realisation of the shape of a musical work implies the consideration of its constituent sounds from two points of view — Time-relationship and Pitch-relationship — I shall confine myself in the present work to the problems involved in the timerelationships of musical sounds as found in artistic music, i.e. what is called musical Rhythm, taking for granted as much of the other factor as is necessary to illustrate the views advanced and the points discussed.

The constituent sounds of a musical work do not j occur in a state of fluidity, but are arranged according to a more or less clear articulation. This articulation is accomplished by the operation of the factors of Time and Accent, i.e. each sound is stated quantitatively as regards duration, and qualitatively as regards accent.

The realisation of rhythmic progression is based on the natural appreciation of the principle of periodicity inherent in the very constitution of the human mind ;

lo THE THOUGHT IN MUSIC ch.

and, stated concisely, is the perception of equality in duration of consecutive mental states. The appreciation of this principle has been explained and accounted for by reference to a variety of causes, but it is a practical certainty that it is a necessary condition in both muscular and nervous process.

The general law of response to stimulus is that every impression tends to set up a movement which in extent and character is similar and proportionate to the stimulus, and that such a movement, once started, tends to recur and to keep recurring. This tendency to recur follows from the fact that the perception-reflex of the movement itself acts as a stimulus, similar in character to the original, towards the repetition of the movement. There is, therefore, a tendency for a regularly recurring series of similar movements to take place, each stimulated by the perception-reflex of that which precedes it. That this series does not go on indefinitely as the result of one single stimulus, is due to the fact that in the highly complex human nervous organism fresh external stimuli are constantly occurring which interfere with and prevent its development.^

1 " In a nervous system uncomplicated by other simultaneously active processes, the origination of any movement tends toward the establishment of a rhythmical series of reactions by the reciprocal arousal of movement and kinaesthetic sensation vcithin a single closed arc.

"This primitive condition of activity is disturbed, in the

II RHYTHM: PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS ii

The realisation of periodicity on any scale is arrived at only in terms of mo vement in space^ f The year is the period during which the earth completes the circuit of the sun ; the month, that in which the moon completes a revolution round the earth ; the day, that in which the earth turns once completely round her polar axis. Similarly, with smaller periods — hours, half-hours, etc. — their adequate realisation is invariably connected with the idea of some movement in space.

In the case of these comparatively large values, however, the realisation of periodicity is not a direct or an immediate perception ; and our appreciation of the character and rate of such successions is arrived at after a more or less complex process of consideration and reflection. With the more rapid movements which are summated into rhythm, and still more in the case of that periodicity which is felt as musical sound, the appreciation of the particular character of the periodic movements involved is a direct and an immediate perception. We do not require to go

organism possessed of a highly developed nervous system, both through the interference of intense outward stimulations occurring at irregular intervals, and by counter-suggestions to action of a conflicting type where ideal associations are present."

(" The Relation of Auditory Rhythm to Nervous Discharge," Prof. R. Macdougall, in the American Psycholo^cal Review, Sept. 1902.)

^ Cf. Bergson, Time and Treemll, Chap. II.

through any process of reflection or comparison to realise that a rhythmic succession is slow, fast or moderate in speed. Our perception of the rate of such a succession is as intuitive and immediate as our perception of the pitch of a musical sound.

The perception of the pitch of sound is explained by the theory that the basilar membrane of the inner ear is set into sympathetic vibration by sound, and that different parts of this organ being attuned to sounds of different pitch respond only when these particular sounds are heard. ^

Now the ear is not only the organ of hearing, but in some complex and not very well understood way seems to have much to do with the maintenance of the equilibrium of the body, the sense of space and direction, and even to a certain extent with the coordination of bodily movements. The cerebellum, that part of the brain which " appears to be intended for the direct regulation of voluntary movements by sense impressions," is functionally connected with the organ of hearing. " The acusticus is precisely the sensory nerve that gives certain objective sense impressions a specific relation to movement ; our movements adapt themselves involuntarily, in a corresponding rhythm, to rhythmical impressions of sound." ^

^Cf. Helmholtz, The Sensations of Tone, Chap. VI. 2 Wundt, Principles of Physiological Psychology.

So that it does not seem improbable that a series of auditory impressions recurring rhythmically find a response in that part of the bodily organism which regulates movement, and are realised in character and in period by the fact that this response is either an actual physical movement, or is accompanied by changes in muscular conditions which stand in consciousness as movements. In other words, the perception of the rate of periodicity in a rhythmic succession, like the perception of pitch, is a realisation of movements induced by sympathetic vibration.

However, periodicity itself is not necessarily felt as rhythm. The revolutions of the earth round the sun, and the movements which give rise to the sensation of musical sound, although both examples of periodic movement, are not felt as rhythmic in the strict sense of the term. To convey the feeling of rhythm it is necessary, in the first place, that the elements in a periodic succession should follow one another at such a rate that the first shall not have fallen out of consciousness before the second appears ; and in the second place, that the interval of time between the two successive elements shall not be so short that the mind is unable to individualise each of the elements.

The limits between which these two conditions are fulfilled vary with diflferent individuals ; but, roughly speaking, experiment has established them as, on the one hand, o-i second, and on the other, 2 seconds. When a periodic succession recurs at a rate faster than the first, the mind is unable to individualise each element ; when it recurs slower than the other limit, the mind is unable to connect the successive elements.

If an undifferentiated periodic succession is heard, it evokes at first no definite rhythmic response ; some time is necessary for a definite rhythm to crystallize. The series is at first indeterminate, but gradually a rhythmical grouping appears. In most cases spontaneous rhythm appears in groups of two ; groups of three do riot usually arise spontaneously, but only as the result of definitely willing the attention, and actively thinking threes. Now the mere fact of thinking a definite rhythm means that a larger periodicity has been superimposed on the recurring elements; and the essential basis of the rhythmic feeling is therefore to be found in the fact that by so doing the mind inevitably compares and compounds two contrasted periodic movements — a primary and a secondary — in one conscious state.

The feeling of regular accent with which any undifferentiated series of sounds is invested when it is felt as rhythmic, is due not to any objective influence, but occurs in strict relation to these points at which there is a purposeful renewal of the act of attention} This can be shown from the fact that such a series ■ of 1 Cf. Matthay, The Act of Touch, Chap. V.

undifferentiated sounds can be thought into a variety of diiferent rhythms by attending in different ways. So that the feeling of accent follows the renewal of the act of attention ; which renewal, when carried on regularly, gives rise to the feeling of rhythm.

In the case of a periodic series in which there is regular objective differentiation, the immediate result of such difference is to compel the mind to a renewal of attention in definite relation to such objective difference.^ The accent then seems to be inherent in the objective difference, though in reality it is due to the same change of attitude on the part of the subject, i.e. to the renewal of attention.

The regular recurrence of accent which is the basis of rhythm implies, in its simplest form, a perception of a dual nature. The elements in a periodic succession, when realised rhythmically, group themselves,

^ It is not improbable that this renewal of the act of attention tends, in the case of each individual, to take place spontaneously at approximately the same rate, which rate is thus realised as a mean "Tempo," and which is no doubt derived from bodily function and process. In listening to music, however, the rate at which the renewal of the act of attention takes place is determined by the musical effects and devices originally chosen by the composer in accordance with the rhythmic activity of his mind. That is, the music arouses in the mind of the hearer a series of states which succeed one another in relations of extent and of content in a manner strictly parallel to those which originally developed in the mind of the composer, and which found their expression in the in the simplest case, into twos ; and each element in the group is felt as opposed in quality to the other, but, at the same time, as indissolubly joined to this other. Each element is apprehended only in relation to its complementary and contrasting element ; and, if rhythmic progression is to be maintained, cannot be dissociated from it. The single act of attention which embraces the whole group, and which confers on this group the character of a unit, involves the apprehension of this duality ; and the " wave " of attention must, therefore, move from the one element to the other in what we may figuratively call opposite directions.^

As the quality of these two elements is equal

though contrasted, the graphic indication of such a wave will be a curve in which the crest and trough are equidistant from the mean position.

A rhythmic progression, therefore, is felt as progression in cycles, the dimensions of which are determined by the fact that the beginning of each cycle corresponds to the influx of a fresh wave of attention. In modern European music these rhythmic

i yAttention consists, accordingly, in the substitution of a relative unity of consciousness for the plurality of states, the change, which constitutes the whole. (Ribot, Psychokgie ^Attention.)

cycles are either of the same dimensions, or are related in the very simplest ratios, 1:2, 1:3, etc. The prevailing character of our musical system from a rhythmical point of view, is the desire for uniformity and equilibrium, and this has been obtained by the balancing of rhythmical elements either of the same proportions, or of proportionsrepresenting the simplest ratios. The development of European music in the course of the last 500 years has been almost entirely in a harmonic direction ; and, owing probably to the exigencies of harmonic structure, the rhythmic outline of our music, even at the present day, maintains practically the same features as it possessed in the seventeenth century. Just as the harmonic relationships which were first appreciated were those composed of sounds whose vibration frequencies are in the simplest ratios, so the rhythmic relationships represented by the simplest ratios are naturally the first to be developed in a musical system. In our modern European music, where the development of the harmonic sense from its first simple state has eventually reached the appreciation of the intricacies and complications of modern harmonic combinationSj the equally possible complication in rhythm has not yet had opportunity to develop. Rhythm in modern music is still a matter of " simple relations between the duration of successively recurring periods." ^

1 C. S. Myers, A Study of Rhythm in Primitive Music. B

Amongst other races which have been unhampered by harmonic necessities and considerations, however,; we find an infinitely greater wealth of both melodic and rhythmic elaboration, towards which, perhaps, our own music, once the problems of harmonic combination are exhausted, may eventually develop. (See Appendix A.)

The primary elements in musical rhythm are variously known as Beats or Pulses. The rate of succession of these beats constitutes what is termed the Tempo of the music. The regular operation of that particular mental activity which creates the feeling; of accent groups these beats into aggregations which are caUed Bars. These bars form the elements in what may be called a secondary periodicity. From the various combinations of bars larger and more complex entities are formed ; these are generally called Phrases.

The primary element, the beat, if it is to retain its characteristic functions, must be realised as both single and incomplete. Although its outline may be filled up with more than one sound, so long as it is realised as the beat, such sounds are perceived in their relative proportions as parts of this single and Incomplete element. If the musical content of the structure invests such submultiples of the beat with rhythmic individuality, the original beat is displaced from its position as the primary element by that fraction of it which has this individuality. In the converse case, where one beat is by the musical content merged into^ another so that both together convey the impression of singleness, a new primary element is produced by the union, and what originally was felt as the bar is now realised as the beat. Each of these operations is of common occurrence in music which possesses any degree of organisation, and is the result of the controlling force in the mind by means of which the dimension of the span of attention may be varied at will.

Each element in a rhythmic progression, in so far as it is single, is possessed of an inherent instability in virtue of which it cannot stand alone but is forced to move to a contrasting and complementary element. This instability is felt as tendency to movement, and a completed movement invests the structure concerned with a feeling of stability proportionate to the dimensions of the movement completed.

The primary element, the beat, is absolutely unstable; it must move to another complementary beat to acquire balance and stability. The essential character of the beat is that, apart from its musical content, it is felt as one single unbalanced entity.

The secondary element, the bar, obtained from the association of two or more beats, represents a complete cycle of the primary elements, and, to this extent, outlines a completed movement. It is, therefore, internally stable and balanced. In so far, however, as it is realised as a single element in the secondary periodicity it is unstable, and must move to a complementary and balancing bar.

While the same principles, carried still further under the synthesising faculty of the musical sense, permit the formation of still larger units, the increase in the dimensions and the increasing organisation and internal balance of such larger units make it proportionately difficult for the mind to grasp these as single elements. In proportion, therefore, as the dimensions of the statement increase, its stability becomes more marked, until eventually a point is reached where this stability is sufficiently powerful to eliminate all tendency to further movement : the musical statement is then complete.

The dimensions of what can be grasped in one intuitive act of thought — the Unit of Thought — will be dependent on what makes impression as a single completed cycle of the rhythmic elements. A definite musical thought can never be expressed in the limits of one single beat, because the beat is inherently unstable and cannot be thought by itself : it has no rhythmic force or value. On the other hand, when two contrasted and balancing beats are associated, the single entity so formed, in virtue of its consequent internal stability, is capable of being employed as the medium for the expression of a definite musical thought.^ The bar, therefore, in this sense, is the unit of musical thought, although by regarding it as a single element in what has been termed secondary rhythmic progression, it manifests an external instability which drives the musical sense to balance it by movement to a second bar. If the periodicity is realised in terms of the primary element, the beat, each cycle of progression will be completed when two successive beats are associated. If it is realised in terms of the bar, on the other hand, the rhythmic cycle will be completed with every second bar.

The unit of thought, therefore, can be stated in terms of two different dimensions — the beat or the bar ; and the choice of these is a matter dependent on the musical sense of the composer and the intrinsic nature of the thought expressed. The essential and distinguishing feature which the unit of thought possesses is that, in each case, it can be (and is) grasped by the mind in one act of intuition. As, however, the complete statement is only obtained by the balance of factors of equal power, the unit of thought, in virtue of this very singleness, is externally unstable, and can form only part of the complete expression.

While the complete cycle of the secondary rhythmic

1 The principles underlying the construction of bars with more than two beats will be considered later.

progression — the two-bar group — can be realised as a single unit by one act of intuition, the still larger group — the Phrase — formed from the association of this cycle with the complementary entity to which it must move, can only be felt as single by a process of retrospective consideration ; i.e. it cannot be directly apprehended in one intuitive act of thought.^ The phrase, therefore, at one and the same time, is realised as single and as compound. In proportion as the one or the other quality predominates, it is felt as unstable or as stable. Relatively to the smaller units — the primary and secondary groups — it is stable, but in proportion as it is realised as an individual entity it is incomplete and unbalanced. When, however, we arrive at a statement which contains two phrases — or more — we obtain a structure so arranged that it cannot be regarded as anything but composite, and which in virtue of this composite character is absolutely stable and complete. Such a composite structure is called a Sentence or Period.

' While it is conceivable that in certain individual cases the " span of attention," under the influence of the musical content, may be stretched beyond the limits of the two-bar group so as to include that still larger entity, the phrase, which will then form the element in what may be called Tertiary Rhythm in which these phrases are directly and intuitively apprehended as units, the internal evidence of the productions of composers during the last 300 years shows that such a process of rhythmization is entirely exceptional, if, indeed, it exists at all.