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1.2: The Word “Music”

  • Page ID
    91126
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    For the purpose of this course we are defining music as sound organized by humans. While this works well in appreciation courses in the Western world it does not always work when talking about the “humanly organized sound” of other cultures. The word “music” is a construct of Western culture and does not translate to all cultures. In the Arabic Islamic world the translation for music is musiqaa. While this word refers to much of what westerners would call music it does not refer to melodic recitation of the Qur’an. Recitation of the holiest book in Islam is artful melodic and rhythmic presentation that is done with much passion (soul). Even though this recitation is “sound organized by humans” it is not appropriate to refer to it using the word music. This is because it is a spiritual presentation that Muslims consider to be different (above) secular “music”. This is not to say that all religious recitation is different than music. In Europe the oldest notated music is religious chant called plainchant (6th through 9th centuries). This is often referred to as Gregorian chant because of a legend that claims that Pope (Saint) Gregory I was responsible for gathering the musical practice of all of the Roman Catholic lands into a notated set. Saint Gregory certainly did much to canonize the Catholic worship documents but the plainchant that has his name most likely evolved in the three hundred years after his death. Plainchant, or Gregorian Chant, is melodic recitation that is called music. Many cultures do not limit music to organized sound. In India, sangita refers to both music and dance. For people who tie music into their way of life there is sometimes no word for music because it is not separated from “life”. This is true for many indigenous North Americans and Africans.