[Dixielandjazz] What they teach in college these days...

[David Richoux]

Adding on to what Bill said and speaking as a secular agnostic I can 
say there are many physical and mental aspects of music that can 
profoundly effect humans. Certain notes, chords, especially if they are 
played at loud volume can trigger all sorts of responses (depending 
somewhat on cultural training)  and composers have taken advantage of 
that for centuries. A large pipe organ in a cathedral, a gong in a 
temple, a choir singing in particular ways can make the average person 
"Feel God" so maybe the musicians are "Speaking to God" or maybe they 
just know how to trigger a human response.

Movie soundtrack composers know the same magic tricks.  So do some rock 
bands and even a few jazz musicians...

Likewise, a good architect (taking the term loosly) can design a temple 
or cathedral that will make the average human feel a sense of awe and 
power when they see it ( I have experienced it many times as I visited 
various buildings in Europe and Japan ) so I think I can conclude there 
is a cultural training along with a very basic brain response to 
stimuli that can trigger a "God Effect."

Or a good shot of Scotch Whisky. ;-)

Dave Richoux
On Apr 20, 2005, at 9:34 PM, Robert S. Ringwald wrote:

>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Gunter" 
> <jazzboard at hotmail.com>
> To: <robert at ringwald.com>; <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2005 9:16 PM
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] What they teach in college these days...
>
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Bob Ringwald wonders what I meant when I said " . . . music must 
>> speak to God."
>>
>>> Oops there.  "Music must speak to God???"
>>
>> is the way Ringwald put it.
>>
>> Yes . . . "speaking to God is just a way of saying music is an 
>> expression of your soul . . .
>
>
> But, what if there is no god?
>
> And, I don't see where "music is an expression of
>> your soul." means "music must speak to God."
>
> What if we do not have a soul?
>
snip