Articles
The Metaphysics of Sound

Listening To The World
by David Mosley

In our society, the eye is valued over the ear. Most of us would say that the eye is more accurate than the ear, but we would be mistaken. The eye's susceptibility to illusion becomes clear if we bear in mind that there is a hole of considerable size in the retina. There should be a blank spot at the center of everything we perceive with the eye, but there isn't. Instead, the brain fills in the missing information and we are totally unaware that we are not seeing what we don't see.

Physiologists, interior designers, painters and illustrators know very well the many ways the eyes can be deceived. We are all familiar with the term "optical illusion". The auditory illusions that exist are so rare that language has not developed a similar term it's not needed.

Think about the times when you've looked for something that was in plain view, or tried to find someone in the middle of a crowd. You can scan several times before the target of your search registers and you lock in on it. Think about how many times you are able to immediately identify the voice of someone you know, even in the midst of commotion, even being unaware the person is present.

Every room has its own sound, its 'eigentone'. This is the result of sound-waves being reflected by opposite walls, and is to be found where the resonance between sung and reflected sound is heard most readily. That can be ascertained by singing various notes in the room concerned. The next time you are in the bath, sing or hum different notes until you find which one rings out the strongest.

We live in a culture in which seeing dominates and hearing is devalued. Scientists have generally focussed their attention on the visual aspects and have given much more energy studying the eye than the ear. Much has been written about the psychological and physiological problems associated with both the 'eigentone' and the 'eigenfarbe' (the inherent color) of a space while much care is given to how a room looks, little, if any, is given to how it sounds. 'Visible' garbage is carted away in trucks while 'audible' garbage remains. It is interesting to note that seeing is a yang sense embodying the sun and masculinity while hearing is a yin sense embodying the moon and femininity.

Our earliest recorded musical traditions provide insights on how sound and music were used to achieve and maintain an equilibrium of energies.

"The notion that the power of music, especially the intoned word, can influence the course of human destiny and even the order of the Universe, goes back to the very oldest surviving form of Indian music, namely, the music of the Vedas. The intoned formula is the pivot point of the whole elaborate structure of Vedic offerings and sacrifices. It is the power of the words, enunciated with the correct intonation, that determines the efficiency of the rites: a mistake may destroy everything. The priests claim that by their activity they not only uphold the order of human society, but maintain the stability of the universe. By means of well-conducted ceremonies they have compelling power over the Gods themselves. The instrument that conveys that power is the word." - from Volume I of the New Oxford History of Music

Music embodied within its tones elements of the celestial order which governed the entire universe. All audible sound, including music, was but one manifestation of a much more fundamental superphysical Sound. This fundamental Primal Sound was synonymous to that which the Hindus call OM. The Chinese believed that this Primal Sound was, though inaudible, present everywhere as a divine Vibration.

It was differentiated into twelve lesser Sounds or Tones. These Cosmic Tones were each emanations of, and aspects of, the Primal Sound, but were closer in vibration to the tangible, physical world. Each of the twelve Tones was associated with one of the twelve zodiacal regions of the heavens.

In the viewpoint of the ancient Chinese, the notes of all music contained an essence of transcendent power. A piece of music was an energy-formula qualifying the sacred power of sound in different ways. Each composition exerted specific influences over man, civilization and the world. The extent to which music was aligned to cosmic principles simply cannot be overstated.

Today we are surrounded by numerous sources of sound to which we scarcely pay any mind: the humming and whining of appliances, computers, copy machines the explosive roars of lawn mowers, leaf blowers, automobiles, airplanes the drone of air conditioning and heating systems. To the ancient Indian and Chinese practioners of sacred music, the din we are subjected to would be held as the cause of disease, disintegration, and corruption a breakdown of civilization resulting from being out of alignment with the divine.

We can begin restoring the balance personally by becoming aware of what we hear and consciously choosing what we listen to. Find a place where you can close your eyes and listen to natural sounds rather than those associated with technology. Incorporate the use of sound in meditation. Learn to play an instrument if you don't already know how, and play for your own enjoyment.

Hear, and your soul shall live - Isaiah.

The ear is the the way - The Upanishads.

Recommended Reading

Berendt, Joachim-Ernst, The Third Ear: On Listening to the World Element Books 1988)

Judy, Stephanie, Making Music for the Joy of It: Enhancing Creativity, Skills, and Musical Confidence (Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc. 1990)

Gardner, Kay, Sounding the Inner Landscape: Music as Medicine (Caduceus Publications 1990)
___________ Sounding the Inner Landscape. Companion audio tape. (Ladyslipper 1990)