Walid Lemagni Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102 March 18th, 2014 Interesting comparisons of developmental trends between

Art and Music

onestl!, I can"t remember pa!ing much attention to music until I #as in 8th grade$ %ne o& the &irst thoughts I had about it #as, #ho #as the gu! #ho decided to start ma'ing noises in rh!thm( While I don"t thin' the limited accurac! o& our historical records, combined #ith the )er! li'el! possibilit! o& music predating our histor!, #ill ma'e ans#ering this an! easier, I intend to ans#er a di&&erent *uestion instead$ +he histor! o& things has al#a!s been &ascinating to me$ I intend to e,plore the histor! o& music, and I #ill see' to understand ho# it #as &irst de)eloped, and #hat the possible causes and re*uirements &or that path o& de)elopment ma! ha)e been$ In order to do so I #ill also consider the de)elopment o& a similar &ield$ I #ill consider the de)elopment o& a similar &ield in order to )alidate that the phenomena I"m discussing regarding inno)ation can occur across multiple &ields, not -ust a single con)enient &ield$ In choosing a similar &ield I had to consider #hat possible en)ironmental re*uirements there ma! be to ma'e practice o& the &ield )iable$ +hat said, I decided that art #ould be the closest &ield, since both music and art re*uire creati)it! and inspiration$ In this paper I #ill e,plore the possible &actors in the e)olution o& both art and music, and I hope to come a#a! &rom this

endea)or #ith a deeper understanding o& the nuances and archet!pes ./atterns0 o& the de)elopmental and inno)ati)e re*uirements o& these &ields$ Ancient Sumer's contributions to humanity I& #e"re going to start, #e might as #ell start #ith the beginning$ It is b! &ar tric'ier to document musical histor!, since that #ould re*uire #ritten music to ha)e been created$ +his then implies that in order &or #ritten music to be created #e must &irst create #riting$ It is #ell 'no#n that the earliest documented &orm o& #ritten language is cunei&orm$ Cunei&orm #as a #ritten language created b! the ancient 1umerians o& Mesopotamia$ +his is supported b! the boo' Empires of the Plain: Henry Rawlinson and the Lost Languages of Babylon #ritten b! Leslie 2d'ins$ 3e&ore cunei&orm #e onl! ha)e rudimentar! #riting s!stems that are entirel! de)oted to counting and 'eeping trac' o& numbers #hich also occurred in Mesopotamia$ 2ccording to an article 'no#n as The Babylonian Musical Notation and the Hurrian Te ts #ritten b! Martin Litch&ield West, the earliest trace o& musical notation #as &ound on cunei&orm tablets that #ere created around 2000 b$c$ in 4ippur, 1umer$ 1umer #as among the earliest 'no#n ci)ili5ations6 researchers ha)e &ound traces o& settlement dating bac' to around 2700 b$c$ around the time legendar! &igures such a 8ilgamesh or Enmer'ar #ould ha)e li)ed$ +he #riting that is notated is recorded in &ragments, and it appears to be #ritten in a diatonic scale, #hich #e still use toda! in musical notation$ 2 diatonic scale is an eight note scale composed o& se)en pitches and a repeated octa)e$ Essentiall! this is basis o& the design o& the piano 'e!board$ +he )alidit! o& the diatonic scale and &ragmented notated #riting is )eri&ied b! an article in the !ournal of "uneiform studies written by #$%$ &ilmer and Miguel "i'il in ()*+$ 2ccording to Wi'ipedia it is thought that the &irst recorded #ritten musical piece

#as #ritten &or a l!re due to the names o& the strings indicated$ +he &ascinating part about this &inding is that #ith ci)ili5ation #e begin to see de)elopments in art as #ell$ +he 1umerian ci)ili5ation"s ne# needs led to brea'throughs in art as #ell as music$ 9ue to 1umer"s irrigation s!stem, the population #as allo#ed to rise to le)els ne)er be&ore seen in earl! bron5e age settlements, allo#ing 1umer to become one o& the earliest ci)ili5ations$ +his large increase in population in turn increased the needs o& the ci)ili5ation, and in response the! re*uired more potter! &or storage and transportation o& items$ +his led to the in)ention o& the potter"s #heel, #hich allo#ed &or the mass production o& potter!$ 2long #ith the potter"s #heel the ancient 1umerians also accomplished the casting and in)ention o& glass$ 3oth potter! and glass are important mediums through #hich art can be created, and increasing their a)ailabilit! #ould certainl! ha)e gi)en artists more libert! #ith their cra&t$ It also #ould ha)e gi)en them another tool to create their art #ith$ 2s stated b! /eter :oger 1tuart Moore!"s boo', #ncient Mesopotamian Materials and ,ndustries: the #rchaeological E'idence, there ha)e been &indings o& &ragments o& #heel thro#n potter! that predates ;100 b$c$ in the cit! o& <r, #hich #as a 1umerian cit!=state in ancient Mesopotamia$ 1o &ar, #e ha)e seen that #ith the de)elopment o& ci)ili5ation, the increase in resources or entertainment needed due to the gathering o& humans and rising o& population ha)e led to inno)ations in order to meet those needs$ Man! o& !ou ma! understand the need &or resources, but entertainment is -ust as important to a &ull! &unctioning and satis&ied human being, according to Maslo#"s hierarch! o& needs$ 2t the top o& Maslo#"s hierarch! lies sel&=actuali5ation, meaning li)ing up to one"s potential through spontaneit!, creati)it!, and )arious other methods$ >orms o& entertainment easil!

pro)ide the opportunit! &or creati)it! and spontaneit!, especiall! artistic and musical &orms o& entertainment$ :ulers o& the time most li'el! li)ed &ul&illing li)es and re*uired entertainment$ We see a similar thing happening at the beginning o& the enlightenment in >rance$ 9uring the baro*ue era #ell studied scholars #ere paid b! the #ealth! nobles to come up #ith #a!s to ma'e their li)es easier and more en-o!able, as #ell as more entertaining, leading to the e,plosion in music, and such names as >ran5 ?oseph a!dn, Wol&gang 2madeus Mo5art, ?ohann 1ebastian 3ach, and man! others$ I #ould li'e to ta'e this opportunit! to speculate that the de)elopment o& art and music is due in part to general uses o& inno)ations o& the time$ >or e,ample, the ancient 1umerians generall! used potter! as bottles, -ugs, and -ars &or used &or carr!ing and storing #ater and other li*uids$ +he! created the potter! #heel so that more people could transport #ater, but artists also decorated potter! or created decorati)e potter! using the potter! #heel$ We also see that cunei&orm #riting #as instrumental in creating musical notation$ Cunei&orm #riting #as originall! used &or counting commodities such as sheep, according to en$&inal!$org, on a page named Two precursors of writing: plain and comple to-ens it is stated that @+he s!stem o& plain to'ens #hich originated$$$in the ancient Middle East #as supplemented b! comple, to'ens at the rise o& the 1umerian temple@$ It #as then modi&ied into a &orm o& #riting that could record language, and then it #as modi&ied to allo# &or musical notation$ +here seems to be substantial e)idence suggesting that man! important inno)ations in the &ields o& art and music #ere the results o& &inding di&&erent uses &or alread! e,isting resources$ Prehistoric origins of art and music tools We should consider the origins o& the resources that #e use to ma'e both art and

music as #ell$ 2rt undoubtedl! re*uires both a medium, and a utensil &or #riting or engra)ing$ >irst #e"ll tal' about possible prehistoric origins o& #riting utensils and mediums$ We")e all seen popular re&erences to ca)emen, painting on #alls, and dra#ing animals$ It is #idel! thought that the &irst t#o tools de)eloped b! ca)emen #ere the hunting club and the sharpened stone$ +his is supported b! Maslo#"s hierarch! o& needs$ Maslo#"s hierarch! states that ph!siological desires are the &irst desire that the human mind see's to satis&!, #ith sa&et! being the second desire to be sated$ Clubs and sharpened stones could be used &or either o& these things$ 1harpened stones could be used as #eapons &or both hunting and protection &rom ri)als, and the same goes &or clubs$ 2ccording to the article, # Brief History of .riting ,nstruments &rom about$com it is most li'el! that ca)emen used sharpened stones to scratch pictures into stone #alls$ +his also pla!s into m! earlier speculation that historical brea'throughs are o&ten the results o& other brea'throughs that #ere created &or unrelated reasons$ +he sharpened stone is originall! a #eapon, but it can also be used as a #riting utensil$ +he earliest mediums #ere o&ten naturall! occurring$ Ca)e #alls, &or e,ample #ere the medium o& choice &or man! prehistoric art$ We can go e)en &urther bac', but then #e"d be tal'ing about neanderthal art, and #hile neanderthals #ere )er! close to modern da! humans, perhaps e)en ancestors, the! #ere a di&&erent species o& hominid$ 9uring the upper paleolithic era humans made ca)e dra#ings using the resources a)ailable to them such as plant pigments, animal &at, blood, crushed minerals, all sorts o& color&ul things and used them to paint #alls #hich #ould be protected &rom rain$ +his meant that most painting #ould ha)e been done inside o& ca)es$ +he theme o& using a)ailable resources persists in music, as #ell$

It is thought that the earliest musical instrument #ould ha)e been the human )oice itsel&$ +he human )oice depends on the &ormation o& the h!oid bone, #hich is a <=shaped bone that helps allo# the tongue to mo)e, allo#ing &or speech$ +he oldest dated h!oid bone #ith the modern human &orm #as dated to be A0,000 !ears old as stated b! a research report #ritten b! 3$ 2rensburg, 2$ M$ +illier, 3$ Bandermeersch, $ 9uda!, L$ 2$ 1chepart5 C D$ :a', @# Middle Palaeolithic human hyoid bone@$ +he report concludes that modern da! human speech capabilities #ould ha)e been &ull! de)eloped during the paleolithic era$ +he problem #ith this is that the human )oice &ar predates musical notation, so the t!pes o& songs to ha)e been sung are completel! un'no#n$ %ther possible instruments ma! ha)e in)ol)ed the clapping o& hands or stri'ing stones together to ma'e noise$ It is thought that the &irst rh!thmic instruments #ere li'el! the &irst stone tools that earl! hominids used$ +he &irst speciali5ed instrument #as a bone &lute made &rom the &emur o& a -u)enile ca)e bear$ It is 'no#n as the 9i)-e 3abe &lute according to an online article located at http:EEcog#eb$ucla$eduEepE>lute9ebate$html #ritten b! 3$ 3o#er$ It is thought to be at least 4;,000 !ears old$ +his means that the )er! &irst instruments #ere most li'el! created long be&ore an! documented #ritten language$ o#e)er, based on research done #ith a coc'atoo #e 'no# that language and music are )er! closel! correlated, in the e,ample o& our coc'atoo, #e ha)e the !outube sensation, >rostie the coc'atoo, #ho displa!s an uncann! abilit! o& 'eeping rh!thm #ith music$ 1cientists ha)e conducted tests to chec' i& the bird simpl! coincidentall! mo)es at the right time, but the! ha)e &ound that the bird does indeed 'eep rh!thm to #hat it hears$ +he common ground bet#een those birds and us humans is our abilit! &or speech$ /arrots and coc'atoos are &amous &or being able to mimic human speech, turns out the! can also 'eep

rh!thm li'e #e can as #ell$ It is belie)ed that the mechanism in our brains that allo#s us to learn speech and emulate speech as babies also allo#s us to 'eep rh!thm$ +his means that #ritten language #ould not ha)e to be a precursor to music, simple the abilit! to mimic sounds #e hear, #hich is a rather basic abilit! &or human communication that most li'el! #ould ha)e de)eloped long ago$ 2ccording to neuroph!sicist Balana!ur :amachandran the mental abilities that allo#ed humans to reach the point #e ha)e toda! and the rapid spread o& those s'ills #ould ha)e occurred FG,000=100,000 !ears ago$ We also 'no# that these s'ills allo#ed &or the rapid hori5ontal sharing o& in&ormation, such as the age old stor! o& ca)emen disco)ering &ire and sharing it #ith the rest o& his tribe$ I& a single ca)eman coincidentall! disco)ered that the pressure o& air going through a c!linder can ma'e sounds, then that 'no#ledge could spread -ust as easil! a #ild&ire .I had to do it$0 +his also e,plains the multitude o& pierced bones &ound in the 9i)-e 3abe ca)e, most li'el! other tribe members attempting to ma'e their o#n bone &lutes$ +he notion that the &irst musical instruments ma! ha)e been tools also con&irms m! earlier speculation that perhaps these inno)ations occur as a result o& &inding ne# uses &or ob-ects$ %)ercoming &unctional &i,edness is a 'e! element to all o& the de)elopments I")e discussed thus &ar$ >unctional &i,edness is a concept in ps!cholog!$ It is classi&ied as a cogniti)e bias$ Essentiall! it describes the phenomenon o& our minds" tendenc! to assign &i,ed uses to certain ob-ects, such as a hammer being used to pound nails, and not as a doorstop or a nutcrac'er$ +his phenomenon o& &unctional &i,edness doesn"t e,ist in children !ounger than G !ears old$ I belie)e this ma! be due to them being una#are o& the intended purpose o& items$ >or e,ample, o&ten times #hen someone is sho#n something ne# the! attempt to guess at #hat it ma! be$ %nce !ou tell someone,

@+his is a pigg! ban'$@ the!"ll remember that it"s a pigg! ban' and it #ill be placed into the appropriate mental schema$ I& !ou don"t 'no# #hat the &i,ed use o& an ob-ect is !ou can"t &all )ictim to &unctional &i,edness$ I belie)e this ga)e ancient hominids an ad)antage in o)ercoming &unctional &i,edness, and allo#s in)entions to be used &or multiple tas's due to o)ercoming that &i,ed mindset$ I belie)e that the mother o& inno)ation is necessit!, and a)ailabilit! o& resources, combined #ith the abilit! to use ob-ects in creati)e manners, li'e using a thumbtac' as a rac' &or 'e!s$ +he application o& these concepts is captured in this situation$ 2 man #ho doesn"t ha)e hats #on"t ha)e a need &or a hat rac', so he #on"t be thin'ing o& #a!s to sol)e a problem he doesn"t ha)e$ 2 man #ho has no thumbtac's #on"t be able to e,periment #ith the idea o& using them to hang things$ >inall!, a man #ho has no imagination #on"t be able to mess around and come up #ith the idea$ 2ccording to the e,ample, the 'e!s to inno)ation are necessit!, resources, and creati)e thin'ing$ +hese traits ha)e been displa!ed in all o& the e,amples &rom histor! in m! essa!, &rom the coincidental decoration o& pots, to the trans&ormation o& cunei&orm &rom a s!stem o& #riting numbers into a s!stem &or #riting language to a s!stem o& musical notation$ istor! pro)ides the re*uired basis &or m! anal!sis, and I belie)e it is important to ta'e note o& #hat #e can learn &rom histor!, meaning #e should appl! our 'no#ledge o& inno)ation &rom the past and our anal!sis o& the circumstances to attempt to create more ideal situations &or inno)ation #hich emphasi5e the recognition o& necessit!, and creati)e use o& ob-ects to come up #ith trul! #onder&ul in)entions and ideas$

Wor's Cited 2d'ins, Lesle!$ Empires of the Plain: Henry Rawlinson and the Lost Languages of Babylon$ 4e# Dor': +homas 9unne, 2004$ Web$ 2rensberg, 3$, 2$ M$ +illier, 3$ Bandermeersch, $ 9uda!, L$ 2$ 1hepart5, and D$ :a'$ @2 Middle /aleolithic uman !oid 3one$@ Nature$com$ 4ature /ublishing 8roup, n$d$ Web$ 1A Mar$ 2014$ Hhttp:EE###$nature$comEnatureE-ournalE);;8EnA218EabsE;;8FG8a0$htmlI$ 3ellis, Mar!$ @2 3rie& istor! o& Writing Instuments = In' and Letters$@ #bout$com ,n'entors$ 2bout$com, 0G Mar$ 2014$ Web$ 01 2pr$ 2014$ Hhttp:EEin)entors$about$comElibrar!E#ee'l!Eaa10017F$htmI$ 3o#er, 3$ @4eanderthal 3one >lute(@ Neanderthal Bone /lute0 4$p$, n$d$ Web$ 1A Mar$ 2014$ Hhttp:EEcog#eb$ucla$eduEepE>lute9ebate$htmlI$ Jilmer, 2nne 9$, and Miguel Ci)il$ @%ld 3ab!lonian Musical Instructions :elating to !mnod!$@ !ournal of "uneiform 1tudies K,,)iii .178A0: 74=78$ Web$ Moore!, /$ :$ 1$ #ncient Mesopotamian Materials and ,ndustries: The #rchaeological E'idence$ %,&ord: Clarendon, 1774$ Web$ 1chmandt=3esserat, 9enise$ @+#o /recursors o& Writing: /lain and Comple, +o'ens$@ Escola /inaly R11$ 4$p$, n$d$ Web$ 14 Mar$ 2014$ Hhttp:EEen$&inal!$orgEinde,$phpE+#oLprecursorsLo&L#riting M;2LplainLandLcomple,Lto'ensI$ West, Martin L$ The Babylonian Musical Notation and the Hurrian Melodic Te ts$ Bol$ FG$ %,&ord: %,&ord </, 1774$ 1A1=F7$ /rint$ Music and Letters$