On Music

In my article on sensory organs I had briefly mentioned that emotional, or heart-felt, responses are more easily triggered by music, than say, by a painting or a perfume.

Informally, musicians know certain sequences which hit the spot, certain modulations which in juxtaposition create a mood. In Indian Classical Music, Ragas (template compositions) are closely associated with Rasas (canonical affects, e.g. Courage, Longing, Euphoria). The word rasa is apt. It means "juice" or "essence". Is it possible to relate the musical rasas to the chemical rasas within the body?

A famous Dhrupad singer, that I had the privilege to once listen to in person, said that certain compositions when listened to in close proximity of the singer can lead to altered states of consciousness (he used the phrase "raising of the Kundalini"). I have no reason to doubt his assertion, because I have seen people get distinctly entranced, almost hypnotized, when listening to a live performance. There are certain artists for whom a singing performance is an emotionally draining experience.

I think a live performance is more atmospheric than a recorded performance. The other people in the audience amplify the "vibes" that one is feeling.

I am not an expert in human biochemistry but as far as I have ascertained, there are good reasons to believe that the various moods created by music are associated with various chemicals and hormonal secretions in the body. It is as if the aural sensation triggers a particular secretion.

Recently I had the opportunity to (again) listen to three songs which are aurally imitative of a slow secretion and of a slow but insistent plucking of a nerve. It is as if the the strings of a musical organ have their counter-parts in the heart. There is actually a phrase in the English language: "tugging at heart strings".

The three songs are:

1. If I could be where you are (Enya, Amarantine, 2005)
2. Tu Bin Bataye (Madhushree, Rang de Basanti Soundtrack, 2006)
3. My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion, Titanic Soundtrack, 1997)

Another anguished, tugging instrumental composition is The Forgotten (Part II) by the guitarist Joe Satriani (as part of his album Flying in a Blue Dream).

In these songs, pay attention to the tugging that happens at brief intervals. The tugging is most often achieved when the sound is continuous without breaks, and lifts upwards in frequency, as if a gland is being slowly pressed and a secretion achieved. I think there can be effective research on the chemical, psychic and affective appeal of music and singing. For example, why exactly is a "sad" melody sad?

To quote P B Shelley, "Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts." But one need not understand the language in a song to recognize that it is a sad song.

Rock music's emotional appeal is of another kind, which is unsentimental and which gravitates more towards invigoration. An example is an old favorite, which though talking of infatuation, is an an energetic piece of music. Highly masucline music, e.g. bass guitars and metal music (cf the German heavy metal band Rammstein) I find associated with the secretion of epinephrine. Try listening to the "songs" Mutter or Reise Reise and if you are a normal-enough person, and even though the songs are in German, you will feel a surge of this chemical and will feel distinctly aggressive.

I find Western Classical Music more cerebral than emotional. But I am admittedly limited in my exposure to the various composers. I tend towards listening to contemplative melodies. The Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven is a sad melody but it is more somber than sad. The compositions Spiegel im Spiegel and Fur Alina by Arvo Part are distinctly somber and contemplative. El Greco by Vangelis carries a whole spectrum of moods but the central mood is contemplative solitude.

It is not that music can only be enjoyed affectively. I enjoy music immensely, but rarely does it provoke an affective response. I appreciate it more as an expression of human skill and creativity, of a singer's range and control, and of the virtuosity of the composer/singer to create a mood (even though I recognize the mood which is sought to be created, it does not engulf me).