source file: mills2.txt Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 16:43:44 -0800 Subject: Re: Metaphysics and music From: David & Kathleen Seidel Tom Ritchford wrote: > > "Jo A. Hainline" writes: > >On the contrary, I feel that there are aspects of metaphysics that have > >great bearing on music in general and tuning specifically. In David > >Tame's book, The Secret Power of Music, Destiny Books, Rochester, VT, > >1984, there is much evidence that 1) music has a profound impact upon the > >physical, emotional amd mental, and "spiritual" nature of men and women > >and 2) that the nature of the music dictates the nature of the effect. > > > > > > I've had this book for several years and find it fascinating... but I felt > that I should offer a little caveat for those who are intending to read it. > > Basically, Tame is completely against all music of the 20th century. > To him, Beethoven and Wagner are the ultimate musics. > > He claims that jazz introduces heart arhythms... that rock music makes > the listener tend to violence... I don't remember what he claims about > "New Music" but it wasn't very positive. > > But still, I'd recommend many grains of salt when reading "The Secret > Power of Music." > I agree, and then some. In this book, Tame takes an overall tone of European racial superiority. His objections to jazz reflect a general objection to any strongly rhythmic music -- to all of the musical forms of Africa and the Middle East, for example. He also objects to any music that constitutes a meeting of different musical genres. I believe his phrase was "grotesque -- as all half-breeds are grotesque." These objections were explicit; however, I don't have the book anymore and can't offer exact quotes. I got rid of it because I found it overtly racist and offensive, and not particularly well-written. Far better books on this subject are: Berendt, Joachim-Ernst, _The World is Sound: Nada Brahma, Music and the Landscapes of Consciousness (Rochester, VT: Destiny, 1983) Campbell, Don, ed., _Music: Physician for Times to Come_ (Wheaton, IL: Quest/Theosophical Publishing Co., 1991) Gardner, Kay, _Sounding the Inner Landscape: Music as Medicine (Stonington, ME: Caduceus, 1990) Hamel, Peter Michael, _Through Music to the Self_ (Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 1976) Goldman, Jonathan, _Healing Sounds: The Power of Harmonics_ (Rockport, MA: Element, 1992) Kathleen Seidel Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Wed, 2 Apr 1997 02:54 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA01021; Wed, 2 Apr 1997 03:54:34 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA01019 Received: from by ella.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) id RAA08789; Tue, 1 Apr 1997 17:53:07 -0800 Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 17:53:07 -0800 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@ella.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@ella.mills.edu