.."At some point I may write about my correspondence with Neher and how he viewed the pros and cons of his research some decades later."... That would be awesome.
Also, I am reading Harmonic Experience by Mathieu. I got a Udu ( Meinl Igo drum) for viscerally explore some concepts. It would be definitely a treat if you would touch at some point in the future some of the concepts, deconstructed for the enthusiastic simpletons.
A contextual continuation of Healing Songs while considering commercially available rhythmic and droning and resonant instruments? It's fascinating to read, but my lack of exhaustive understanding ( I am from a medical research and clinical background) precludes me to purposely and mindfully apply the reading.
I am , as always, in awe .
Thanks for getting through the writing process to structure the scattered bits, opaque narratives for the rest of us
Dear Sister Muse, Alma . .. from one "sound" healer to another I recommend you procure a copy of Shawna Carol's book Spirit Singing, Awaken to the Power of Your Voice.
As a teacher of singing, I note that the range typically given for a normal respiration rate is 12-20 breaths per minute. Here's a physiological origin for the 3-second phrase length!
You make some really great points about rhythm. Even Genghis Kahn used rhyme schemes for his commanders to issue orders to his troops. They found that giving orders in rhyme greatly reduced confusion and problems due to miscommunication.
Ted, I have come to believe that the “shot length” of movies and TV have decreased quite a bit in recent years. You site recent blockbusters but I wonder how long shot lengths have been historically? Of course there are some famous “long takes” directed by folks such as Orson Wells and Robert Altman.
Enjoyed this chapter. But re: your discussion of ~3 seconds as the universal period of music, storytelling, etc., the average shot length in movies actually used to be much longer (12 seconds in 1930), and has been steadily decreasing over time. Here's an article with a chart and links to a few studies https://www.wired.com/2014/09/cinema-is-evolving/
Fascinating. I teach music as a language. I used to annually ask a friend of mine, a prominent linguist who used to work with Noam Chomsky, whether any linguists have attempted to study the language of music yet. He would always answer, "nope."
A wonderful chapter in a fascinating book, thank you! I reread this chapter this morning (in preparation of speaking with a conductor friend of mine) and decided to dig a bit deeper into your following reference:
"This image of paradise-with-a-beat also has Biblical validation. In Ezekiel 28:13, for example, we learn that the tambourine was played in Eden."
I could not find such a reference in Ezekiel or anywhere else in the Bible, even with a word search of timbrel instead of tambourine. Can you help me? The Old Testament is full of references to harps and tambourines / timbrels, but I cannot find any connection of drums of any sort to Eden. Perhaps when Adam named the Beatles, Eagles or Monkees? Or when Eve worked for Apple Records?
Thanks Ted for the prompt and informative response. Not being on any social media, I missed your prior answer. Sorry to have troubled you ! Again, loving the book and thrilled to be a subscriber.
This looks like a fascinating book on a marvelous topic that I want to read in its entirety. However, I note you cite Neher's 1962 study about ritual drumming inducing trance states. Have you read Gilbert Rouget's Music and Trance (1985)? He debunks Neher's scientific claims, as I did myself in a 1984 presentation at the Ethnomusicology Society Conference.
I’ve addressed Rouget’s deeply flawed book on a number of occasions. If you want more details, my book Healing Songs (2006) is a good place to start. The cumulative clinical data since that time only makes this point all the more clear. At some point I may write about my correspondence with Neher and how he viewed the pros and cons of his research some decades later.
Are you aware of Giorgio Colli's reading of presocratic Greek philosophy? He basically tries to re-read everything in a Nietzschean-dyonisiac mysterian light. For some reasons or other I think it might resonate.
How utterly profound! My "close encounter with "Music to Raise the Dead", . .. AKA . .. the "Music of the Spheres" began at the tender age of six when my biological parents gifted me with the "priceless" gift of childhood "Music Lessons" . . . my vital connection with the "MUSE" . . . "itSelf"!
In his book Breathe, James Nestor talks about a recommended and powerful daily breathing exercise that essentially mimics the cadence of prayers (which happen across all religions). I haven't done the correlation to what Ted talks about here but I'm willing to bet a nickel it's similar to these poetic carences.
Ted! You are speaking my language here! I have said for years that songwriting and spell casting are the same job. The combination of rhythm, melody, and rhyme when added to intention, can change things huge and tiny. I'm so excited to be reading this book! Thank you a thousand times for writing this on Substack!
.."At some point I may write about my correspondence with Neher and how he viewed the pros and cons of his research some decades later."... That would be awesome.
Also, I am reading Harmonic Experience by Mathieu. I got a Udu ( Meinl Igo drum) for viscerally explore some concepts. It would be definitely a treat if you would touch at some point in the future some of the concepts, deconstructed for the enthusiastic simpletons.
A contextual continuation of Healing Songs while considering commercially available rhythmic and droning and resonant instruments? It's fascinating to read, but my lack of exhaustive understanding ( I am from a medical research and clinical background) precludes me to purposely and mindfully apply the reading.
I am , as always, in awe .
Thanks for getting through the writing process to structure the scattered bits, opaque narratives for the rest of us
I post healing songs every Tuesday and Friday at Musings of a Sound Medicine Woman. Come on over.
Dear Sister Muse, Alma . .. from one "sound" healer to another I recommend you procure a copy of Shawna Carol's book Spirit Singing, Awaken to the Power of Your Voice.
I will add it to the next giant Thriftbooks … um … emotional support binge facilitation activity … (ahem)
As a teacher of singing, I note that the range typically given for a normal respiration rate is 12-20 breaths per minute. Here's a physiological origin for the 3-second phrase length!
You make some really great points about rhythm. Even Genghis Kahn used rhyme schemes for his commanders to issue orders to his troops. They found that giving orders in rhyme greatly reduced confusion and problems due to miscommunication.
Glad we have Sir Gioia as our conductor/ guide!!
This by itself is pretty mind expanding. It will require multiple readings over the next few weeks.
Amazing!
Plainly , great read .
Ted, I have come to believe that the “shot length” of movies and TV have decreased quite a bit in recent years. You site recent blockbusters but I wonder how long shot lengths have been historically? Of course there are some famous “long takes” directed by folks such as Orson Wells and Robert Altman.
Enjoyed this chapter. But re: your discussion of ~3 seconds as the universal period of music, storytelling, etc., the average shot length in movies actually used to be much longer (12 seconds in 1930), and has been steadily decreasing over time. Here's an article with a chart and links to a few studies https://www.wired.com/2014/09/cinema-is-evolving/
Fascinating. I teach music as a language. I used to annually ask a friend of mine, a prominent linguist who used to work with Noam Chomsky, whether any linguists have attempted to study the language of music yet. He would always answer, "nope."
A wonderful chapter in a fascinating book, thank you! I reread this chapter this morning (in preparation of speaking with a conductor friend of mine) and decided to dig a bit deeper into your following reference:
"This image of paradise-with-a-beat also has Biblical validation. In Ezekiel 28:13, for example, we learn that the tambourine was played in Eden."
I could not find such a reference in Ezekiel or anywhere else in the Bible, even with a word search of timbrel instead of tambourine. Can you help me? The Old Testament is full of references to harps and tambourines / timbrels, but I cannot find any connection of drums of any sort to Eden. Perhaps when Adam named the Beatles, Eagles or Monkees? Or when Eve worked for Apple Records?
Check out this Twitter thread, where I responded to this same question: https://twitter.com/tedgioia/status/1615193310410248193?s=46&t=e1B5ynvthKQm_wglXA-DYA
Thanks Ted for the prompt and informative response. Not being on any social media, I missed your prior answer. Sorry to have troubled you ! Again, loving the book and thrilled to be a subscriber.
This looks like a fascinating book on a marvelous topic that I want to read in its entirety. However, I note you cite Neher's 1962 study about ritual drumming inducing trance states. Have you read Gilbert Rouget's Music and Trance (1985)? He debunks Neher's scientific claims, as I did myself in a 1984 presentation at the Ethnomusicology Society Conference.
I’ve addressed Rouget’s deeply flawed book on a number of occasions. If you want more details, my book Healing Songs (2006) is a good place to start. The cumulative clinical data since that time only makes this point all the more clear. At some point I may write about my correspondence with Neher and how he viewed the pros and cons of his research some decades later.
Are you aware of Giorgio Colli's reading of presocratic Greek philosophy? He basically tries to re-read everything in a Nietzschean-dyonisiac mysterian light. For some reasons or other I think it might resonate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Colli
I wonder if the conductor's wand has any connection the the caduceus, the staff borne by Hermes.
How utterly profound! My "close encounter with "Music to Raise the Dead", . .. AKA . .. the "Music of the Spheres" began at the tender age of six when my biological parents gifted me with the "priceless" gift of childhood "Music Lessons" . . . my vital connection with the "MUSE" . . . "itSelf"!
In his book Breathe, James Nestor talks about a recommended and powerful daily breathing exercise that essentially mimics the cadence of prayers (which happen across all religions). I haven't done the correlation to what Ted talks about here but I'm willing to bet a nickel it's similar to these poetic carences.
Ted! You are speaking my language here! I have said for years that songwriting and spell casting are the same job. The combination of rhythm, melody, and rhyme when added to intention, can change things huge and tiny. I'm so excited to be reading this book! Thank you a thousand times for writing this on Substack!