Music

Abstract

The opening line in Curiosities of Music, Louis C. Elson ² tells us, ‘Music has been broadly defined by Fetis as “the art of moving the feelings by combinations of sounds”; taken in this broad sense it may be con­sidered as coeval (beginning at the same time) with the human race.’ Moving through time, geography, culture, faith, and now, even space, music is an ancient and universal language. In her book in which drumming practices of women in antiquity are described, Layne Redmond writes, ‘…transforming practices such as rhythmic drum­ming or meditation can put us in touch with the archetypal patterns of consciousness inherent in human beings ’.³ From sharing the simplest rhythmic tapping to sophisticated multi-media productions involving sounds from space, music weaves connection within and among people. Musical choices and preferences become key parts of identity and significant ways in which we learn about and communicate who we are. Melodies, remembered from the past, flow into the present, bringing with them their attendant emotions and images.

The last time I saw Joe Campbell, a few months before his death in 1987, he was as enthusiastic and entertaining as ever, inviting me to his house in Hawaii so we could finally sit down and crack open the mystery of shamans, the animal powers, and the drum.

Mickey Hart¹ Drumming at the Edge of Magic