Relation of psychology to music

Front matter

LIBRARY

Brigham Young University

GIFT OF

Preface

The "Relation of Psychology to Music" was first published in 1899. It was then considered somewhat of an experiment. The result was such as to surpass all expectations of both author and publishers. Encouraged by the favorable reception with which it has met and by the many enthusiastic expressions of appreciation of its merits and value, the author herewith gives forth a new, revised and stereotyped edition.

This volume consists of lectures delivered to the pupils and faculty of the Augustana Conservatory of Music, Rock Island, 111, during the years 1897 to 1899. At the request of the pupils and numerous friends these lectures are here given in the form in which they were delivered. This book is not designed to be an exhaustive treatise on psychology, but its object is to apply some of the principles of psychology to the study of music. The author freely acknowledges his indebtedness to various works for suggestions, illustrations, etc.; especially those of James, Halleck, Lindner, Davis, Mertz, Tapper and Gates, to which, with others, reference is m,ade in foot notes. The numerous quotations are designed for illustration and for bringing together in topical connection the utterances of various authorities, thus greatly enhancing the value of the work to students. "The Relation of Psychology to Music" is, however, a new subject, and opens up an exceedingly interesting and important field for investigation. The questions at the end of each chapter are added to aid students in preparing for examination on the principles of psychology, where such examination is required, and also to aid the general reader in fixing attention upon the subject matter of the treatise. With the hope that music students in particular and all lovers of music in general, by the perusal of these pages may be stimulated to a better appreciation of musical science and art, and may receive some suggestions which shall be of value in the pursuit of their studies, this volume is given to the public.

E. F. Bartholomew.

Rock Island, 111., Jan. i, 1903.

Index 277

Introduction

IN recent years a new movement has sprung up in the musical world. A quiet but far reaching revolution in methods of studying and teaching music is now going on. This movement is not superficial and temporary: it grows out of fundamental principles. A new conception of musical art is working its way into the popular mind and is rapidly transforming the current notions about musical education. Only a few years ago harmony and perhaps a glance at counterpoint were considered quite enough for the average student; anything more was considered a mere accomplishment, not a necessary part of a musical education. Even yet to a certain extent harmony is a sealed book, not only to the majority of advanced pupils, but even to many teachers.

Progress in musical education has lagged behind chiefly on account of two extreme and radically wrong views as to the nature of music: first, that music is almost exclusively a matter of practice, and secondly, that it belongs to the realm of pure genius, in which no rules and principles are to be recognized. But music, on the one hand, is more than practice, more than finger-gymnastics; on the other hand, it is not the exclusive prerogative of so-called genius, whatever that may mean — music may be cultivated by those who are not geniuses in the proper sense of that word. It is a great mistake to suppose that the ability to read notes, together with a certain amount of vocal and digital skill, constitutes a musical education. According to the present conception, a musical lO INTRODUCTION.

education includes a fair degree of acquaintance with numerous other alhed subjects, such as aesthetics, acoustics, physiology, literature, history of music, biography, in short, all the numerous elements relating to music both as a science and as an art, both theoretical and practical. A well taught music pupil must know not only how to read w^ell, to finger correctly, and even to play a modern sonata or fantasia with a degree of artistic skill, but he must also have a sufficiently broad and thorough general culture to enable him to judge correctly concerning the ethical and aesthetical meaning of the compositions he plays. Not only the fingers and hands and voice, but also the mind must be well trained. There is a demand for a broader intellectual foundation for the study of music. The expansive and strengthening and sharpening influence of know^ledge is needed quite as much for the calling of a musician as for any other calling. Whatever adds to our general power of eflficiency, adds just so much to our musical ability and resources.

In regard to methods of teaching music, the change now going on is just as radical. Many of the old ways and ideas are discarded, not only because they are found wanting, but because they are positively vicious as being contrary to the nature of mind as well as of muscles and nerves. The demand of the present is that methods of music teaching be based on sound pedagogical and rational principles. This movement in regard to musical education is only part of a much broader movement in general education, for musical education rests on the same principles as any other branch of education.

What has brought about the change of which we

INTRODUCTION. II

speak? Chiefly, the study of psychology. Psychology is now regarded as the fundamental science, the science which must shape the methods of studying and teaching every other subject. Correct scientific knowledge of the mind and of its several modes of activity, together with knowledge of the nervous system, is at the bottom of everything pertaining to methods and substance of educational work.

Teaching became a science and assumed a normal and rational form only as psychology furnished the motive and prepared the way. Pedagogical science rests on knowledge of the mind, whether applied to the learning or the teaching of subjects. In recent days it has come to be understood that psychology stands in most important relation to music and the study of music. The subject is rapidly growing into favor among music students and teachers all over the country, as may easily be inferred from the current musical literature. The signs of the times indicate that along this line are to be achieved the best results of progress for the years to come. Psychology is gradually making its way into the conservatories of the country and is rapidly transforming the traditional courses of study and methods of teaching.

QUESTIONS.

1. What new movement in the musical world?

2. From what has this movement sprung?

3. Why has progress in musical education lagged behind?

4. Describe the new conception of musical education.

5. What is said of methods of teaching music?

6. What has the study of psychology effected?

7. Why is the study of psychology important to the music student?

CHAPTER I. The Nature of Music*

THE design of this chapter is to gain an advantageous point of outlook for our subject. In order to discuss the relation of psychology to music the two related things must be separately brought into view, especially those aspects of them which have manifest reciprocal bearings. As our subject is mainly philosophical in its nature and principles, we must bring into view the philosophical side of music. Though philosophical in its principles, our subject is yet profoundly simple and eminently practical. It is not something so lofty that only the learned can understand it, but if rightly presented it comes home to the comprehension of the common people.

Hitherto comparatively little progress has been made along the line of scientific investigation of the nature of music. Even in our day music can hardly be said to be grounded on a scientific basis, for it has not wholly passed out of its mystical stage. For this slow progress various reasons may be given, which it is not necessary here to explain in detail. In general, it may be said that music is one of the latest of the arts to develop. For a long time it stood apart from the other related arts as if, like religion, it was considered too sacred to be subjected to the rude process of analysis. Then, too, music has been imagined to belong to the transcendental realm of genius, in which

ART RESTS ON SCIENCE. I3

ordinary scientific principles are supposed to have only doubtful application. The art side of music has been unduly exalted to the detriment of the science side. But a true philosophy recognizes the fact that every true art must rest on a basis of science, and without this basis of science there can be no real progress in art. Musical art is not an exception: it rests on a musical science just as truly as the art of surgery rests on the science of anatomy and ph^^siology. To ignore this simple principle is to envelop the true nature of music in clouds of mist or to plunge it into the chaotic deep of ignorance and superstition. To this must be added that the old traditional view has made everything of the outward mechanical side of music and has utterly neglected the inward psychological and thought element.

Surrounded thus by prejudices and fettered by traditional misconceptions, it is not strange that music has lagged behind in scientific development. When it shall have been freed from its grave-bands of mediaeval mysticism, it will rise into a new life and will go forward into a greater field of usefulness. In recent times science has dared to lay its profane hands upon the sacred subject of music, and now insists upon applying its methods of analysis and synthesis, of observation and experiment, of comparison and induction to matters which before were supposed to transcend all such tests. The result is that the nature of music is better understood now than ever before, and, instead of being the exclusive possession of a favored few, music has been brought down from its airy height to the homes and business of the common people.

Musical Phenomena. — To-day music has its phenomena just as any other subject of investigation, and these phenomena are not considered inscrutable mysteries but capable of scientific explanation. The various facts about music, in so far as they are facts of observation, have their causes just as truly as the facts of nature and of common experience; these causes can be studied and accurately ascertained. Music has its fixed principles and laws, which, when known, can be applied to the making of improvements in the art, both in relation to theory and to practice. For example, we all know^ that a major chord and a mi/jorchord do not affect the ear in the same way nor do they awaken the same kind of feeling; it is no mystery but an explainable phenomenon.

The major keys are generally adapted to sentiments of gayety, pleasure, contentment, while the minor keys are suited to the expression of sorrow, pity, fear, melancholy, pathos, etc. Gretry, in his ''Essays in Music," says: ''The key of C major is noble and frank, that of C minor is pathetic. The key of D major is brilliant, that of D minor is melancholy. The key of E flat is grand and also pathetic; it is a semitone higher than D major, and still does not in the least resemble it. By ascending again a semitone, we reach the key of E major, which is as sparkling as the preceding one was grand and melancholy. The key of E minor is rather sad, although it is the first minor scale in nature; that of F major is mixed; that of F minor is the most pathetic of all; the key of F sharp major is hard and sharp, because it is overloaded with accidentals; the key of G major is warlike and not as grand as C major; the key of G minor is the most pathetic, except that of F minor. The key of

CHARACTER OF KEYS AND INSTRUMENTS. I5

A major is very brilliant; that of A minor is the simplest, least brilliant of all. The key of B flat is grand, but less so than C major, and more pathetic than F major; B major is brilliant and gay, while B minor is adapted to express sincerity and artlessness.'^ In general, all the minor keys are tinged with melancholy and sadness, while the major keys are brilliant and lively. It appears thus that each key has its special character and awakens emotions peculiar to itself. This fact rests on a scientific ground and may be satisfactorily explained.

What has been said of the several keys, may also be said of the various musical instruments. In addition to the timbre of the sounds produced by the various instruments, all of which the physicist has carefully analyzed, there is a deeper and more subtle difference between them. Each kind of instrument has its definite character, just as persons have their particular character by w^hich one differs from another. Says Chomet: "The bassoon is mournful; consequently it should be employed in expressing sorrow and pathos. The clarionet is suitable for the expression of grief; and if it is used for rendering merry music, the same is sure to be tinged with sadness, . . . The flute is sweet and tender; it is best adapted to express the sweet delight of a happy and tranquil lover. The trombone is sweet and harrowing. The trumpet excites frenzy and martial ardor. The violin seems suited to express all the sentiments common to humanity, but the viola ought to be reserved for songs of a tender melancholy . " The guitar is plaintive and soothing; the drum and fife are rousing and warlike. Milton, the poet, philosopher, and musician that he was, has given us a striking example of the facts under consideration in his 'Taradise Lost.'' Of the fiends arrayed in martial order on the burning plains of hell regions, he says:

"Anon they move In perfect phalanx to the Dorian mood Of fiuteB and soft recorders; such as raised To hei>i,ht of noblest tempers heroes old Arming to battle, and instead of rage Deliberate valor breathed, firm, and unmoved With dread of death to flight or foul retreat; Nor wanting power to mitigate and swage With solemn touches troubled thoughts, and chase Anguish and doubt and fear and sorrow and pain From mortal or immortal minds. Thus they, Breathing united force with fixed thought, Moved on in silence to soft pipes that charmed Their painful steps over the burnt soil."

The "Dorian mood" here referred to was serious and grave, as the Lydian was soft and the Phrygian sprightly. Manifestly the Phrygian mood would have been incongruous to the place and spirit of the occasion, and the poet's delicate sense of propriety does not allow his pen to make such a blunder. The Dorian mode was the first of the ''Authentic" church modes or tones. Many of the old German chorales were written in this mode, such as ''Vater Unser," " Wir glauben Alle," ''Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam," etc. For longer compositions in this mode, see Orlando Lasso's 5-part motet, "Animam meam," and the fugue in Bach's "Toccata." It is related that Pythagoras, seeing a young man transported with rage and on the point of destroying his faithless mistress, begged a musician to play some air in the Dorian mode. Thereupon the anger and excitement of the betrayed lover gave place to the most perfect calm-

PHYSIOLOGICAL ELEMENT. 1 7

ness, and he renounced all plans of revenge. We can easily imagine that when David played on his harp to soothe the frenzied spirit of king Saul, he played in the Dorian mode.

The foregoing facts are only a few examples of musical phenomena. There are discoverable reasons why the quality and spirit of music in one key differ from those in another key. ^ The effects of the several keys on the mind are psychological phenomena and are capable of analysis and explanation. ^^ Here is open a wide and wonderfully rich field for investigation which w^hen fully explored must yield valuable results in various practical directions. Psychology must lead the way in these investigations; psychology alone can furnish the key for unlocking these hidden treasures.

From such a point of outlook and with such a background to our subject, we approach the question,

Whai is the Nature of Music? Two general classes of views may be noted, namely, the subjective and objective, music as idea and music as form. But these in their bare statement are of little scientific value, and evidently are not sufficient; something deeper, more definite, more scientific is demanded by the student of to-day.

In a question of this kind the true mode of procedure is manifestly not dogmatic statement of opinion but analysis and induction. Analysis of the musical consciousness reveals the fact that our musical sensations are complex in their nature, bodily process being blended with mental processes.

The Physiological Element. In all music there is present a physiological element. Music stands partly in

Peychology^ 2 sound sensation. To this corresponds the auditory apparatus,— external and internal ear— the ''harp of a thousand strings," or rather, ten thousand strings. External sound waves act as stimuli to the sensitive auditory nerve which conveys these effects inward to the brain hemispheres, where somehow the physical vibrations are transformed into sensations of musical sounds or of noises. So far the process has a physiological basis. To this may be added the pleasurable effect of musical notes. Pleasure in musical notes is a fact of universal experience. Children, it is said, have been known to manifest distinct pleasure on hearing music as early as the tenth day after birth. This is perhaps wholly a physiological effect, due to rhythm. The baby finds delight in rhythmical noises; so the savage, in the sounds produced by his rude instruments. The rhythmical movements of the feet or fingers, e. g., in the act of imitating the sound of the millstone, produce a pleasurable effect. To this class of effects belongs the fascination of the dance, due partly to auditory and partly to optical rhythm. In all these cases the agreeable effect depends largely, perhaps entirely, on the rhythmical succession of sounds as perceived by the ear, and not on any mental analysis of the sounds giving certain rational or moral qualities, as in the case of the higher musical tones, e. g., those of the piano string, organ pipe, human voice, etc.

The Form Theory, The Herbartian school of psychology seeks to reduce all musical experience to form. The formal part is the real part of music. This formal part consists not of the mental product, but of the elementary nature of tones as determined by the excitement of the nerves. The charm of sound, the sen-

THE FORM THEORY. I9

sation it excites in us,— this, they say, constitutes the essential subject matter in every piece of musical art. Of course this theory grounds the musical effects of sounds essentially in physiology. If it does not leave the mind of the artist entirely out of consideration, it at least crowds mind or the thought-factor in music so far into the background as to have very little value, relatively speaking. It does not sufficiently recognize that ideal element which we think and shall try to show later on, constitutes the deeper, the residual, the essentially aesthetic factor in all of the best music in the world. The form theory says in substance that finger-music is everything and soul-music is nothing. But the common sense of mankind will not accept this as true. The fact is that the physiological element is not the whole of sound-experience; there is something higher in musical sounds than mere sensuous delight. The pleasure of music is not all in the ear, any more than the beauty of a landscape is all in the eye. We can never explain Beethoven's ninth symphony by saying that it is nothing more than the excitement of our nervous system by means of external sound waves. Did Haydn think that the charm and beauty and power of his great masterpiece, the ''Creation," consisted in nothing else than nerve excitation? That is not what we would infer from his utterance when, in the great hall of the University of Vienna where, on March 7, 1808, in the presence of the author, the immortal production was performed, pointing towards heaven and with tearful eyes he exclaimed, ''It comes from there!" Did he think the music of his oratorio came from his fingers or from his soul?

THE NATURE OF MUSIC.

The Spiritual or Psychic Element. Music consists of more than sense excitation; there is present a deeper spiritual element, which gives it its true character.

Helmholtz says: ^'We have to distinguish between the material ear of the body and the spiritual ear of the mind." Music in its highest qualities ^'proceeds from a spiritual source and addresses itself to the 'spiritual ear.'" Music is preeminently the art of the intellect, though not generally so regarded. Its true substance is thought, and not mere sensuous excitement. Music is deeply rooted in the aesthetic nature of the soul. ^'Without mental activity no aesthetic enioyment is possible," for the aesthetic emotions are results of intellectual activity. The spiritual element is farther evident from the presence and influence of an absolute ideal in musical art. All great musical artists agree that there is present in music, just as m poetry, painting, sculpture, etc., an absolute iJea/ according to which their compositions take shape. Some one has said, ^'Music is architectural," that is, it consists in a process of construction according to an ideal. Music may be regarded as the expression of our ideal strivings after a fuller knowledge of the reality of spiritual being in nature. Musical art presupposes the existence of a Being in whom all the ideal strivings of the artist's soul after perfect beauty

are realized.

The spiritual element is the most important part— the soul of music. It is this that makes it such a mighty power in the world.

As Congreve sings:

"Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak; I've read that things inanimate have moved

THE POWER OF MUSIC. 21

And, as with living souls, have been informed, By magic numbers and persuasive sound."

Ancient mythology is full of references to the marvelous power of music. Apollo soothed the vigilant Argus to sleep with his lyre. Orpheus, by his song and the tones of his lyre tamed the fierceness of beasts, moved rocks and trees, lulled to sleep Cerberus, the watch dog of hell, charmed the evil spirits of Hades, etc. Amphion built the walls of Thebes by the magical power of his lyre. When he pla3^ed the stones moved and voluntarily formed themselves into walls and turrets. What did the ancients mean by these myths and stories? They meant the power of mind and heart, expressed through musical sound, over the lower orders of existence— it is their way of saying that thought and will-power dominate the world.

Audible sound, i. e., the outward form, is not an absolute necessity of music. Beethoven, who became deaf at the age of thirty, could hear only the music of the heart. Though his outward ear was closed and no sounds from without could invade his inner auditorium, his ''spiritual ear" w^as wonderfully acute. ^'What soul-music must he have heard as he wandered lonely through fields and valleys, with no sound from the outer world to disturb the music within!"

Says Dr. Mertz: "The great tone masters were men of noble souls; they were endowed with deep emotional natures; hence it is that their music lifts us up to a higher sphere as w^e listen to the beatings of their own hearts. ... If, then, the masters wrote from the heart, if they heard much silent music within, which they wrote down for us, those who aim to perform it must in like manner sing and play with the best powers of their hearts and minds. . . . Every student should aim at this power of reproducing the true heart music as it lies hidden in the notes. . . Music has a higher mission than merely to please the ear. It is the art which appeals most powerfully to the heart, and through this affects our characters. The idea that music has no higher influences than simply to produce, for the time being, pleasant sensations, has done much harm to the progress of the art, in schools as among the people, for it has caused many thinking men to regard music with a degree of suspicion. We must aim to be intelligent students; w^e must strive to see more in music than mere pleasurable sensations; we should study it as an art, hence we must become artists; that is, we must be imbued with the highest love for and the best understanding of w^hat we study. To make it a refining, elevating medium, w^e must not merely be players and singers, but also art students; we must strive to become thinking as well as feeling musicians."

All these remarks pow^erfully emphasize the intellectual and spiritual element in music. Music, that is, in outward form, is the natural language through which the thoughts and feelings of the soul express themselves. Language has value only as it serves to express ideas. Music is a universal language, the language of the brotherhood of mankind. It is the only language which all souls can understand, even though their tongues differ, it is the true world-language. Through this medium soul holds fellow^ship with soul the world over. Music expresses more than words; in fact, where words fail, the full meaning of music only begins. Says Wagner: ''The tone-language is the beginning and the end of the intellect, just as the

MUSIC FIRST A CONCEPTION. 23

myth is the beginning and the end of history, and the lyre the beginning and end of poetry."

''That would indeed be a small art that gives us only sounds and no language, no expressions for the conditions of the soul" (Schumann).

The best music creates the necessity for mental activity, because music in its right conception is essentially an interpretation of the mind's ideas, emotions, and volitions. "The works of Beethoven are the stored-up result of all the individual heart-beats, all the individual acts of memory, all the glorious pangs of feeling, all the efforts of rational will, which passed through the consciousness of Beethoven in the course of his life." Music tells us far more than the heart can take in, hence the art is inexhaustible; the deeper w^e study, the more music reveals to us. A grand musical composition expresses the composer's inner life far better than could the best biography. Through his works we are made partakers of his greatest joys and deepest sorrows, and on the pinions of his inspirations we rise to heights we never reached before.

Music is first a Conception. The preceding reflections have led up to the conclusion that music is first and in its deepest root a conception of the soul, a movement of the spirit. The formal part of music is therefore secondary; it has to do with expression and is largely mechanical, just as language has for its office the expression of ideas through outward symbols. As there must be a root before there can be development into trunk, branches, leaves and fruit, so there must be an ideal conception before there can be an outward form of musical composition. A musical product is not essentially different from any other art product.

The painter, for example, has first an ideal conception of his masterpiece and then he proceeds to express that conception in outward form; so also the sculptor, the architect, the poet. Music does not start in the finger tips and make its way up into the brain; it starts in the soul and flows down and out through the fingers. All this means that the intellectual or conceptual element in music should receive the first and greatest amount of attention on the part of the student. As music is primarily a product of mental activity, its phenomena belong to the realm of psychology and psychology must give laws and principles for the study of music.

QUESTIONS.

1. Design of this chapter?

2. How account for the little progress hitherto made in our subject?

3. What is said about musical phenomena?

4. Name facts about the several keys.

5. Name facts about the various musical instruments.

6. Describe nature of the "Dorian mood." What has been made of it?

7. Are these phenomena explicable, and how?

8. Two general views about the nature of music?

9. Explain the physiological element in the musical consciousness.

10. How early in childhood does musical perception begin?

11. What is said of rhythm in this connection?

12. Explain the Herbartian form theory.

13. What objections to this theory?

14. Incident about the rendition of Haydn's "Creation," and what does it teach?

QUESTIONS.

15. What ie said of the spiritual element in music?

16. Give Helmholt'z remark about the "spiritual ear."

17. What is the ideal in music?

18. Examples from Mythology, illustrating the power of music.

19. What was the meaning of the ancients in these myths?

20. What says Dr. Mertz about the great tone masters?

21. What of music as a language?

22. Show that the thought element in music is of primary importance.

23. Explain statement that music is first a conception.

24. What conclusion follows from these considerations?

26 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTER OF MUSIC STUDY.

CHAPTER II. The ^Psychological Character of Music Study*

AT the close of the preceding chapter we said that psychology must give laws and principles for the study of music. This is a very significant statement, and claims our further attention in the present chapter. If music in its root idea is a matter of thought, that is, if it is first a conception of the soul, then it follows that the study of music has to do primarily with the operations of the soul. Hence music study must begin with the study of mind. All foundational work, for example, in piano study, resolves itself essentially into an analysis of those initial mental states which give rise to the various finger movements in technique as well as to the higher things of expression and interpretation. If the history of a given piece of music from its origin in the mind of the composer through all its stages of elaboration to its execution and interpretation by some master artist could be fully written, we should find that such a history is simply a series of correlated mental processes. In matters of technique it is an observed fact that accurate and rapid finger movements can be acquired best by focusing the attention upon the position and condition of the different organs concerned. It is in reality the brain that plays, and not the fingers simply. The rapid and intricate finger movements of the skilful virtuoso are nothing else than brain action originated and directed by thought, and rendered