Somebody Muted the Music: Blog

Censorship has different definitions, depending on the context that is being used. Strangely enough, censorship applies to the period of time when sign language was being suppressed. The more we appreciate the value of sound, the more we remember to show empathy to those who depend on specific methods of communication.  The relationship between music and the human brain is a complex one, and we should always remember why. 

Look at the politics of sound and let’s examine what happens when audible tone does not exist. A book titled, The Deaf Mute Howls, by Albert Ballin (original release 1931,1998), explains that, “While the story of the campaign against sign language is familiar to most deaf people, few hearing people are aware of it.”  All major colleges and universities offer American Sign Language courses (ASL) today, but the history surrounding the origins of ASL are something we end up stumbling upon, instead of being taught about its importance of Sign Language.  Ballin wrote about how, as the deaf community grew by the 1880s, “Prominent Americans such as Alexander  Graham Bell, together with hearing educators and parents unhappy with their children’s education, began to advocate the suppression of ASL in the schools in favor of the exclusive use of lip reading and speech.”  We’d never expect deaf people to be restricted from something as vital as sign language. The science of sound is often taken for granted by those who can hear audio normally.

In the book, Psychology of Music: From Sound to Significance, by Siu-Lan Tan and Peter Pfordresher, the authors state that, “Although the essence of sound is a disturbance, a single discrete acoustic disturbance-such as a book falling on the floor-will not lead to the experience of music. Rather, the disturbances that lead to music follow regular patterns, resulting from vibrations in some sound-producing source.”  People often describe nature’s sounds as music, but those sounds fail to contain regular patterns, which define music. The distinction between music and mere sounds is an important one.

What is the relationship between the structural aspects of music and sound? There are  aspects of sound that should be scientifically explained. The book, Healing at the Speed of Sound: How What We Hear Transforms Our Brains and Our Lives, by Don Campbell and Alex Doman explains how,  “Whatever your feelings about the music of Mozart, Bach, and Telemann in other contexts, the fact is that the brain loves its complex structure and symmetrical architecture, which have a demonstrable positive effect on brain activity, cognition, and behavior.”  Some music disrupts, and negatively affects brain activity.  What is being said about a society when certain music is played repeatedly and heralded as though it has positive effects?