Pure Tones and complex sounds:
Pure tones or single sounds emanate as we touch the string of a single-stringed instrument like ek tara or simple musical instruments used in meditation such as Tibetan singing bowl, cymbals, conch-shells and the like.
Over a time, these tones as we listen virtually become ‘monotonous’, thus uninteresting to explore, as our minds always look for a measure of intricacy to excite the human curiosity. The reason is that single sounds are in most cases not sufficient to convey meaning. However, when put together in a sequence-like for example, imagine a necklace studded with a series of pearls- each representing the tone, they try to exhibit certain emotive content or bhaava. There is a tendency in us that automatically prefers some sort of coherence, that is a principle that connects the various sounds in order to make them comprehensible.
Linguists are now aware that a main feature of human language, as opposed to oral communication in apes, is the importance of the temporal patterning of sounds, which pertains to time or tense.
This temporal patterning is equally important in music-if the tones are not in some way tied together sequentially, or are not rhythmical, people are unlikely to show appreciation, the temporal patterning is related to what the musical literature refers to as melody.
Further, it is conceivable that music requires similarities to language, such as complexity and melody, in order to be valued, because only then does it utilise the brain resources involved in processing the spoken words.
A student of Western classical music would know how much of the brain has gone into the making of a musical piece, be it a sonata, concerto, fugue or what not! The complexity which evolved in harmony is the clear indicator of mind inventing and regulating its emotional content, which otherwise would have gone wild! Sounds that are too complex, however, tend to be overwhelming.
A certain complexity of sounds has also been involved with the growth – rather, explosion of reasoning in the 18th and 19th centuries, which culminated into a material explosion – never witnessed by the human kind before!
Preference to Consonance (or ‘purity’ in Music):
Several authors have, in the past, suggested that a preference for purity and possibly for consonance, is innate in all human beings. (Roederer, 1995; Schellenberg and Trehub, 1996; Zeiner and Trehub, 1996: Zenter and Kagan, 1996)
One reason why these qualities are favoured may be because they enhance oral communication. The high level of communication in birds such as cuckoos, mynahs, koels and other songbirds and certain cetaceans could be due to their capacity to produce pure sounds. In these birds and animals, the auditory signals are the prominent form of communication.
A pure tone presumably carries further, and although language typically includes a mixture of relatively pure (vowels) and dissonant (consonants) sounds, purity and: consonance are expected to reduce ambiguity, The brain centres involved in the production and processing of sounds are probably predisposed to prefer qualities that are most suitable for them.
Continuous and Discontinuous Music:
One possible explanation for the relaxing effect of music is its being continuous and rhythmical.
In a natural environment, danger tends to be accompanied by sudden, unexpected sounds.
A background of constant sound, particularly one that is prejudged to be sage, relaxes the mind. This sound can even be not much musical in its content.
It could be even somewhat loud and harsh. Its repetition again and again – however denotes certain security to the individual. In Indian music, continuous drone, emanating from tanpura and shruti boxes, which accompany the performers, creates an immense sense of security in the minds of listeners. Such a continuous drone is intuitively understood to be non-dangerous.
The exception to this general rule could be those genres of music such as battlefield music etc. From war drums, bheris, bugles, brass etc emanating powerful and erratic (at times arrhythmic) sounds, culturally associated with aggression and violence.
Discontinuous sounds, for example, the dripping of a leaky tap on the other hand, demand more attention. Even if these sounds are soft, they can cause tremendous disturbance and affect one’s sleep by continuous nagging.
Continuity of Sounds:
The general appreciation of continuity of sounds could be a possible reason why we appreciate consonance.
Concord creates continuity because the notes typically have overtones or harmonies that match the next notes in an audible way.
By tying the notes together, consonance promotes a relaxing, and consequently pleasing effect.
Role of Rhythm:
We Appreciate rhythm as it is a comforting feature, helping us in mentally organizing the sound, we hear.
The comfort can be related to the absence of danger associated with certain continuity or stability in rhythmic sounds. Yet another reason is that rhythms in music resemble one’s body rhythms; breathing cycle, heartbeat, baro-receptor cycle, blood flow, nervous, pulsation etc. Thus there is a close association between the body physiology and the external sound vibrations.
Researchers DeCasper and Sigafoos (1983), believe that rhythms in music are intuitively equated to the recall of the pulse of the mother’s heart imprinted prenatally, in all of us.
Newborns are found to appreciate sound in the form of voices, vocal music or heartbeats, since they are able to quickly recollect those high frequencies of sounds which they received through the amniotic fluids nourishing them in their prenatal stages. (Butterfield and Siperstein, 1971).
Impact of Changes in the Expected Pattern of Sounds:
We know that the creation of expectancy implies a certain familiarity.
The changes in the expected pattern of sounds may be attractive because they stimulate our curiosity.
In all musical compositions, we find that composers typically make striking themes and then repeat different variations several times in the composition to make the listener gain familiarity with the tune. It is an alternative arrangement, familiar theme arising after every unfamiliar theme that keeps a balancing effect. This feeds the curiosity of the listeners as there is a tendency to investigate the unfamiliar terrains until they become familiar.
Good music has to, therefore, invariably offer a series of interesting surprises set against a firm background of expectation. Take for example the structure of a kirtana, which is often composed of three parts; pallavi, anupallavi and charanam. By frequent repetition, pallavi provides a familiar base in the minds of the listeners to be followed by the rest, which feeds their curiosity.
This article was published in Sadgurus Blessings, October 2005, Page 36, 37
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, April 7. 2021