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"Ian Iveson" wrote in message
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Does music have a purpose?

Music seems to satisfy some very basic human needs.

The book "This is your Brain on Music" provides a ton of
well-documented supporting evidence for that idea.

Is it important?

Yes, which seems self-evident. Music and music-makers seem to have a
firm niche in just about every human social pattern.

I guess it is possible to live without music. But the absence would for me
changing 'living' into 'existing and not yet being dead'. It isn't simply
that it is enjoyable. So are gardening or eating chocolate. It also is a
form of human communication that can convey things that can't be put into
words. Perhaps as close as we can get to telepathy for some aspects of the
nature of being a sentient human in a real universe.

Though interestingly some Muslims claim that music is "forbidden" by
God.

So do some Christian Denominations. The prohibition of music by
Christian denominations seems strange given the Bible's treatment of
music. The usual Christian canon of holy writings includes the book of
Psalms, which can be translated "songs".

I'd suspect is also a rather strange idea for most of those who say they
are 'Muslim' as well. I'd guess that the problem is that some people
develop their own ideas and 'project' them on to a chosen 'religion'. In
effect they hijack 'God' to bolster their own ideas. This isn't a failure
of the 'mainstream' beliefs under such names. More a problem of some
indivuals and sects passing off their own ideas using them as a 'brand
name' to try and ensure they can demand they are right and no-one can dare
challenge them because they would be challenging 'God'.

Alas, it can then easily be used to criticise others who simply *don't*
accept such extreme ideas as being Christian/Musilim/etc ones.

We recently had a religious sect in town for a week. They made a lot of
noise (albeit less so than last year). There were complaints. Out of
curiosity I had a look for info about their sect and it was a mix of weird
and worrying from my POV. IIUC In essence it seems that they are the
opposite of the 'ban music' idea. Instead they *exploit* 'music' in various
forms with the aim of inducing states of 'consciousness' sic that cause
people to have 'revelations', etc. i.e the approach of shamans
voodoo-doctors down the centuries. Yet it claims to be a 'christian' sect.

To me that seems just as weird and unrepresentitive of the religion they
say they believe in as others who want to 'ban' music.

Moving more OT: Did any others seen last week's program by Dawkins on
'Faith Schools' in the UK. I found that weird as well. Not because of what
he said. But the comments by some of those in 'education'. Again it did
give me the impression that 'education' was being used as a brand name or
cover story to deflect any criticism of what they actually were doing.


Seems odd for something that seems to be as essentially human as
language is.

Not only that, but music is a kind of language, even just instrumental
music.

Yes. The curio for me is the extent to which someone can sense meanings (or
moved in particular ways) without necessarily having them explicitly
explained. Yet others find unfamiliar types of music unpleasant or
baffling. What intrigues me is the extent to which a 'new to the listener'
type of music excites rejection by some whilst moving and fascinating
others.

For example. I have liked various types of music like Indian classical
music from the first time I heard it. Yet others don't. You can make
similar points about 'Jazz' or all sort of other forms of music.

This is probably partly a matter of what you were immersed in from young,
so based partly in cultural background or habituation. But when listening
to music of types that are unfamiliar in some cases the result is liked and
moves, but in others not. The curio is how to explain this variability.

Slainte,

Jim

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