Blog #2: Music and Human Nature
Hi again! As I have begun researching over the last few weeks a few major themes within the inquiry have become apparent, and I’m excited to be diving into the first in this post. Below I’ve articulated a core theory on this first theme of music and human nature, which I subsequently have broken down into subtopics including key research findings and reflections. First, though, a few housekeeping items:
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My research-based posts include footnotes at the end, so if any particular topic covered here is of particular interest feel free to explore more via those sources!
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Theory: Music is fundamental to human nature, and thus participating in it with others is a powerful way of recognizing and building meaningful connections on the ground of our shared humanity.
I. Our Physical Nature
While many think of music as a primarily emotional activity, our ability to create and enjoy music is in fact a deeply embodied phenomenon. In a recent scholarly article, authors Michael Trimble and Dale Hesdorffer highlight a few insights from our evolution and neurology to that end. Trimble and Hesdorffer note that when compared to the brains of our evolutionary ancestors, Homo sapiens have an “increase in area allocated to processing auditory information” including the dorsal area of the temporal lobes, cerebellum, and the prefrontal and premotor cortex.[1] Considering additionally that the relative size of neural areas for visual processing decreased compared to our primate ancestors, the authors argue that these shifts in our neurobiology “heralded a shift to an aesthetics based on sound.”[2] Due to this unique aural aesthetic, Trimble and Hesdorffer write that early human language was “framed by musicality” and that “meaning in music came to us before meaning given by words.” Thus, our minds were evolutionarily developed in a unique way such that we are predisposed by nature to both make sense of the world and of one another in sonic and musical terms.
In addition to our biology naturally inclining humans toward music, the experience of doing so also has meaningful subsequent impacts on our bodies. In Psychology for Musicians, author Robert H. Woody highlighted recent studies on the physiological effects of group music-making, including hormonal changes and increased activity in lymphocyte cell which corresponded to lower levels of stress and stronger immune system function respectively.[3] Singing with groups specifically may be particularly impactful, with substantive benefits observed in other research including “release of physical tension,” “a sense of greater personal, emotional, and physical wellbeing,” “stimulation of cognitive capacities,” and more.[4] Based on this information I would argue that humans are built for music not simply because it is a logical result of our unique physiology, but also because the particular ways in which our bodies naturally respond to musical engagement that allow it to be a deeply rewarding and life-giving endeavor.
II. Human Connection & Expression
Beyond our individual experiences, music is also deep in our nature as social creatures. In Susan Hallam and Evangelos Himonides’ recent work, The Power of Music: An Exploration of the Evidence, the authors share several studies involving infants and very young children which reveal music’s impact on our expression and connections even before significant socialization. While humans are born with impaired vision and many other partially-developed capacities, Hallam and Himonides write that “systems for processing sound develop while the fetus is still in the womb and are fully operational for processing music at birth,” and note that “the musicality of mother-infant interaction might lay the foundations for a grammar of the emotions.”[5] One especially interesting study the authors cited found that babies who were sung to by their mothers as part of lullaby classes in the 24th week of pregnancy showed postnatal mother-infant bonding that was “significantly greater in the singing group three months after birth.”[6] It is powerful to consider that music plays such a central role in the very first connection we make to our mother, even before leaving the womb. It could be considered that in a certain way, music genuinely leads us into life. In the traumatic moment of birth, when many of the physical and chemical connections to our mother are severed, it may not be unreasonable to see the sonic and musical connection built between the mother and newborn as a sort of bridge of continuity which helps carry us into this world.
Once we’re in the world, music remains an important factor in the way we relate to others. Hallam and Himonides highlighted the relationship between musical and social synchronization, noting that “interpersonal motor synchrony might be a key component of musical engagement that encourages social bonds.” The authors shared studies including both infants and adults which found that engaging in movement synchronous to music increased pro-social attributes such as compassion, altruism, and intergroup cooperation in both age groups.[7] They conclude that “a primary function of synchrony is to mark others as similar to the self and that synchrony- induced affiliation modulates emotional responding and altruism.”[8] In other words, through shared emotional expression and coordinated movement, music can cause its participants to view and treat each other differently in the light of their shared humanity. When forced to reconcile with this common nature, there is a moderating limitation to the degree to which particular folks are label one another as “other.” Further support for this comes from a study Northern Ireland, which found that “cross-community music education projects were an effective means of addressing prejudice” between the divided Protestant and Catholic groups in the area.[9]
While music can be a powerful tool for reconciliation, it is important to note that it can and often has been used to enforce social division and inequity as well. Robert Woody wrote that “communal sharing of music reinforces cooperative and cohesive behavior—musical and social—and therefore establishes and rewards certain culturally acceptable practices.”[10] Therefore, the impact of communal music depends heavily on the particular cultural values and practices being advocated. Hallam and Himonides noted a poignant example of this truth in parallel movements from the United Kingdom in the 1970’s of “White Power music” and “Rock Against Racism,” which each were significant in bolstering racist and anti-racist political groups and policies respectively. Music can be a powerful way of fostering belonging, but the values and language underlying are crucial in determining whether any particular musical initiative will result in healing or harm.
In addition to the social agenda behind the music, other non-musical context that was crucial to positive outcomes across many studies I surveyed here included the importance of making music in community, active musical engagement amongst group members, and a focus on amateur music-making which allows the emphasis to be on emotional expression and connection, rather than social expectation and achievement.[11]
III. An Ecological Lens
I would like to consider that the function of music helping us get in touch with our human nature does not only help connect us to one another, but also to the wider natural world. Yo-Yo Ma’s recent project, “Our Common Nature” is a powerful embodiment of this perspective. With the project, Ma has travelled to several national parks and used music as a common ground and meeting space through which to build meaningful relationships both with the environment and with local communities.[12] Speaking of the project, Ma said “what if there’s a way that we can end up thinking and feeling and knowing that we are coming from nature, that we’re a part of nature, instead of just thinking: What can we use it for?”[13] Considering that that human nature is ultimately a result of billions of years evolutionary development, we see that our humanity itself is an expression of the natural world. I am struck here by Ma’s particular language of “thinking and feeling and knowing” an interbeing with nature, which seems to suggest that his experience of music in this context could be described as a sort of holistic communion by which spheres of intellectual, physical, and perhaps even spiritual knowing converge in an authentic expression of his humanity which he recognizes as part of the natural beauty of nature.
“Let us use culture to remember that we are part of nature; that the survival of the earth cannot be separated from the health of society; and that to love each other is to love our planet.”
Conclusion
Music is fundamental to our physical, mental, and social nature as human beings. From our first and most intimate connections to our broadest affiliations and identities, music is integral to the way we relate with one another and with our wider world. Reflecting on the exhaustive body of research he surveyed for Psychology for Musicians, Robert Woody wrote that “music is extraordinarily valued by virtually all people” and that it is “an important domain that is distinctively human and, by all accounts, practically essential to health and well-being.”[15] Considering all the aforementioned evidence and perspectives, when we engage with music we touch a deep aspect of our being in a way that has genuine potential to open hearts to reconciliation in light of the truth of our shared humanity and of our common belonging in the natural world.
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Thank you for keeping up with the project! As always I deeply value any ideas, questions, or comments you might like to share, so feel free to comment here on the blog or reach out to me at benjaminray2@outlook.com. Be well and I’ll be back soon!
Footnotes
[1] Michael Trimble and Dale Hesdorffer. “Music and the brain: the neuroscience of music and musical appreciation,” BJPsych International vol. 14 (May 2017): 28-31, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618809/.
[2] Trimble and Hesdorffer.
[3] Robert H. Woody, Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and Acquiring the Skills (New York: Oxford University Press, 2022), 284.
[4] Susan Hallam and Evangelos Himonides, The Power of Music: An Exploration of the Evidence (Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2022), https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0292, 425.
[5] Hallam and Himonides, 3.
[6] Hallam and Himonides, 393.
[7] Hallam and Himonides, 395-396.
[8] Hallam and Himonides, 397; emphasis added.
[9] Hallam and Himonides 559.
[10] Woody, 272.
[11] Hallam and Himonides, 450.
[12] Joshua Barone, “Yo-Yo Ma Is Finding His Way Back to Nature Through Music,” New York Times, December 15, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/arts/music/yo-yo-ma-our-common-nature.html?unlocked_article_code=UJtjcr0sm4bqEatQZ-Ot8v2aeJTj1eYa8R7GWMQT1HdIk8tgy_JSeE6PuFOE3rTaDLlM043kEcgxJPKkoI6V4573LorHWWGJxMerqyXVOLa5IJv_xkpldnGsXd9ul6InMUF-UIel4-7JNW73BZdbMeP_5TE32Z5fSif34lTkNNAyb17PYJMQWSFvUl2ZXBbug0U8npeIpY79SjQu3vKB8Fc8_PvzmzpjDzl8LV2RUSlhfl4zN8lDmPIw_L_jv65Pla5TCvok_QXnP1F2_SlCszB07ZmS24zIp-FQacWrKLqT_t_Uwu5eJlPH3NWm9mHMb9ZTu58GFME1jcv57aM2L6XjX_48Y_I&smid=url-share.
[13] Barone.
[14] Yo-Yo Ma, “Our Common Nature,” accessed June 30, 2023, https://www.yo-yoma.com/our-common-nature/.
[15] Woody, 287.