Music In Medicine (Paperback)

MUSIC IN MEDICINE KANSAS CITY MO. PUBLIC LIBRARY FOREWORD In presenting a musicians point of view on so specific a subject as Music in Medicine, it seems to me necessary at the outset to clarify the status of music as an independent aesthetic art, and its practical adaptation for definite utilitarian purposes. We must clearly separate the active individual process of artistic creation from the elements of passive perception and from effects such perception may have when applied for different realistic reasons. Taken aesthetically, as an art, music is a social superstruc ture, which, as far as the individual creative act is concerned, remains an abstract manifestation of the human mind and imagina tion. Its existence as a creative art is possible only as long as the practical possibilities and potentialities of its effects in the phase of passive perception, do not intrude into and interfere with its character as an absolute non-utilitarian phenomenon in the pro cesses of the creative art. Art, by its very nature is a product of individuality. As opposed to the anonymous craft, the main re quirement of an aesthetically artistic product assuming the presence of professional skill and knowledge is that it be the work of a human organism, which possesses acceptable qualifications of vo cation and expression. To this attribute we have given such names as talent, genius, imagination, and many others. This phenomenon of specific predestination must also be accompanied by a character istic property which has received such names as personality, indi viduality or originality. It is obvious that these fundamentals of artistic creation prevent any general or universal approach to the creativeprocesses which, with the exception of purely technical ii FOREWORD and formal elements of craftsmanship and common expression of specific style, exclude the pattern and definite utilitarian aims. All these factors are obviously concerned only with the living moment of the musical art in the essence and genesis of the individual creation. Although music as a creative manifestation of the human mind does not aim at social or utilitarian function, its materialized results may yet find wide application in the manifold use of this aspect of passive perception. This passive perception stimulates an active participation by the listener in whom it may provoke defi nite emotional reactions and mental modulations. If we think of music as the completed creation of one mind, we can understand how its perception may have a genuine influence on the listeners mood and that it may be channeled into desired directions which takes the forms of adaptation and adjustment. This, in spite of the variety of tastes and reactions, can certainly be generalized within limits by scientific methods. Although I do not believe that music should be written for purely utilitarian reasons and I am speaking not of the material advantages it may bring the artist, but of the aesthetics of creative art I see no reason for not using any composition to such practical advantage as its application may offer. Music as an art applique has been known since ancient times in many different roles, not all as laudable and noble as its use in healing. Its property of melodical expansion, propulsive character, rhythmical vitality, nerv ous insistance, harmonic intricacy, development in time rather than space, its wealth of moods whichextend from static calmness to wild exuberance with an enormous range of intermediary im pressions, even in its abstract character of pure organized sound provokes in listeners a response which is primarily psychological and emotional, but which frequently influences physiology and the nervous system...