Inspired by an absolutely fantastic and profound book, I wrote in one of my books, The Secret Code to Success – The JeDI Code, about a very powerful “Aha” moment in my life. It is David Fideler’s book, Jesus Christ – Sun of God. It is not a religious book, as one might suspect from the title, but one of ancient cosmology and pre-Christian symbolism. Fideler draws some very clever parallels between pre-Christian symbolism, geometry, numerology, names and even music.
The author explores the notion of Logos, a fundamental concept in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. Logos is usually translated “Word”, although in Greek it has a wide range of meanings, such as “Reason” or“Principle“. In Stoic philosophy, Logos is seen as the divine reason or cosmic principle that governs the universe. The Stoics regarded the Logos as the source and structure of the cosmic order. Fideler stops short of this interpretation, suggesting that the Logos denotes the fundamental principles established by the universe and is applicable to everything around us, governing matter and forces.
In music, as in biology, chemistry, astronomy, etc., proportions play an essential role and are fundamental to musical structure and harmony. The concept of proportion is ubiquitous in music, influencing everything from intervals and rhythms to musical structures and forms.
I have two questions:
- Why do we like certain harmonies? Depending on the culture, the meaning of beautiful and harmonious varies, but we’re still talking about proportions. In Western culture, we have the well-known 12 notes (including the semitone), but only certain combinations sound harmonious. Musical intervals are defined by frequency ratios. For example, an octave has a frequency ratio of 2:1, and a perfect fifth has a ratio of 3:2. These ratios are mathematical proportions that determine the consonance and dissonance of sounds.
- Does it have any physical impact? Yes! The harmony that delights our ears has a direct physical effect on us by releasing a ‘happiness cocktail’ (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins) that has a beneficial impact on the body.
Music is generated by sound vibrations, the result of rapid oscillations of particles in a medium (air, water, solid). These oscillations are transmitted, perceived, and transformed from vibration into electrical signals that our brain interprets. A complex process that is not part of the subject at hand.
What particularly interests me is:
What effect do these sound vibrations have on the body?
If our ear works with the central nervous system to turn music from mechanical vibrations into electrical impulses that allow us to hear, then what happens in the rest of our body? Does it respond to the vibrations or not?
According to superstring theory, all fundamental particles (be they matter or forces, fermions or bosons) are, in fact, tiny vibrating ‘strings’. The way they vibrate determines the type of particle and its properties.
It seems logical to me that the vibrations generated by music should resonate with the chords that make up our body, and that harmonies should have a beneficial effect in the case of consonances or even a negative effect in the case of dissonances. This is the basis of music and vibration therapy, which is becoming increasingly common and accepted.
So can music make us well? Absolutely!
Do we know why? Partially.
I would like to return to this topic in next week’s message.
What do you think? Leave me a comment.
Claudiu
