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Earlier this month musicologist Suzanne Cusick gave a compelling lecture at Hamilton College on Music and Torture, based on her article published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Musicological Society which has received a great deal of attention in musicological circles.  The subject was indisputably dark and disturbing; but ever since the lecture I have been wanting to post about a theoretical framework which Cusick has used since the publication of the original article.  She termed this framework the “Vibrational Model,” which I understand as follows: that each one of us is in effect a vibration, or pattern of energy – and that we are constantly picking up the vibrations of others, influencing and being influenced by each other at a subtle energetic level.  This model provides a framework for understanding the world, the way in which individuals sense and respond to one another and to our environments, as well as how these vibrations in aggregate form a pattern of larger groups, a collective vibration so to speak.

Cusick attributed this Vibrational Model to contemporary philosophers, though I haven’t yet been able to locate the source.  The idea has much deeper roots as well; the Hindu expression “Nada Brahma” – meaning “The World Is Sound” (also the title of a book by Joachim-Ernst Berendt) is thousands of years old.  The books of scholar Joscelyn Godwin, particularly Harmonies of Heaven and Earth and The Harmony of the Spheres, survey the wealth of philosophical thought over millennia, in both West and East, on the deeper significance of sound.  And quantum physics has demonstrated that matter at the sub-atomic level is itself vibration.

Early in the lecture (before describing her research on the effects of the U.S. military’s use of music as an intensive interrogation technique) Cusick introduced the proposition of the Vibrational Model.  The instant she put this idea out into the lecture hall there was an immediate and palpable shift in the energy in the room (this impression has been confirmed by others who were there), as everyone instantly tuned in to that level of perception.  In this moment of heightened perception the collective vibration of the room was raised, as if everyone immediately recognized this observation as something they themselves experienced.

As a musician, I don’t know the specific biological or neurological mechanisms that would pertain to whether the Vibrational Model is literally accurate or more of a metaphor – but at some level it feels right.  Even if only metaphorically, each of us does both transmit and receive vibrations from others; and we are deeply influenced at both cellular and energetic levels both by these vibrations, as well as by the range of vibrations we detect as sounds (music, speech, or ambient sound or noise).  This was demonstrated by the instant effect of Cusick’s calling our attention to this.

The implications of this principle are far-reaching.  Of particular interest to a musician are the implications for the effects of music and sound.  In my view this principle of vibration is both a valuable metaphor and a reality.  To begin, here are some starting points:

– Everything matters.  The vibrations of an action, thought, or sound ripple out.

– The effect of sound is grossly underappreciated in our culture.  Noise pollution and soundscapes are only recently being recognized by the mainstream as vital aspects of human wellbeing and environmental wholeness.

– Our sound environments (chosen and involuntary) have dramatic effects on us.  Music and sound are a powerful influence on us at the physical, mental, and more subtle levels.

– Silence truly is golden; it is our tabula rasa, our reset button.

– Working intentionally with sound and silence has a profound effect in “harmonizing” and revitalizing our internal states.

This last point is often experienced by those of us fortunate enough to play an instrument capable of producing a beautiful, resonant, pure tone.  Playing an instrument like the trombone, or singing, is especially good for experiencing the clearing and harmonizing effects of resonance on both the body and mind.  Another avenue is through traditional “healing sound” such as Tibetan singing bowls and similar instruments.  People who are drawn to the natural world have experienced the restorative effects of attending to natural sounds like water, wind, or birdsongs, even cat purrs.  Certain kinds of music have a similar salutary effect; you can tell what music has this effect by observing its effect on you.  One of the most beneficial practices for clearing our minds and energy fields is taking time periodically to tune into the backdrop of all sound, silence, ideally multiple times over the day.  The composers John Cage and Pauline Oliveros were/are both musical pioneers in understanding this significance of and context for music and sound.  (More on them in the future.)

Musicians know all this intuitively and in many cases consciously – yet Cusick’s lecture demonstrated that these ideas resonate for others as well.  They are found in the works of Plato, in Pythagoras’ Music of the Spheres, and Socrates, who wrote: “Rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten, imparting grace, and making the soul of him who is rightly educated graceful, or of him who is ill-educated ungraceful.”  While some will dismiss the notion that we are vibration as flaky and unscientific, recognition of the vibrational aspect of our experience seems again to be entering mainstream of scholarly thought.  (On the flip side of the power of sound, I can testify to how my trombone practicing in my first courtyard apartment in San Diego drove one of my neighbors crazy – not a fan of the trombone solo rep!)

As musical beings, which we all are to some degree, what we can (I would say must) do with this knowledge is to take responsibility for this vibrational dimension of our experience, both in the inflow and outflow.  We can pay attention to our sound environments and consciously design them to maximize the positive effects of sound in our lives and minimize the negative.  We can take responsibility for the vibration we put out as a frequency that affects others, as well as for the sounds and music we add to the soundscape around us.  Musicians in particular should take responsibility for the music we play and for how we play, mindful of the ability it has to bypass a listener’s cognitive centers and go directly through to their core.

There is much to be gained from increasing our awareness of vibration and stillness – sound/energy and silence – and taking responsibility for our individual contribution to the aggregate human sound and vibration.  This is a great step toward realizing our potential as musicians and as humans.

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