What is thinking?

[BPScooter]

Jyera, thanks for reading!

I would only add one more thing:

4. Novel content in singing.

If I tried, right now, to sing for my family the "Ave Maria" by Palestrina, or the "Fly Me to the Moon" of Sinatra, I could probably do it. I suppose 4 is an outgrowth of 3. I wouldn't try to sing like Frank in church, also not try to sing like Palestrina in a nice Rat Pack lounge. But those two vocal styles are so different that it takes a level of 1 and 2 to even notice the difference, and then call on 3. What I'm calling "level 4 singing" is what Ella Fitzgerald does, or Louis Armstrong, when they're listening in the moment and not only imitating, or replicating, but improvising.

The worst thing I can remember, in this regard, is sitting with a person that doesn't sing well, to begin with, and that sings the wrong song at the worst possible time, and then "does their own thing with it." I have witnessed this. It is a unique form of human pain to all.

 

[BPScooter]

Disclaimer

One more thought--

I hope it's obvious that I'm not talking about Western tonal music exclusively or with preference.

Chinese opera is amazing (I don't understand it). Gamelan ROCKS (I don't play it). Ragas are beyond my understanding (but I appreciate their depth and significance). Hip hop and loud dance music has a new aesthetic, but count me out.

So when I say "internally consistent harmonic reference" I am not saying that the Western scale is the standard. Rather, any internally consistent system is capable of patterning the human brain.

"Edited to include the key word "not"

 

[Jyera]

Re: Disclaimer

One more thought--

I hope it's obvious that I'm not talking about Western tonal music exclusively or with preference.

Chinese opera is amazing (I don't understand it). Gamelan ROCKS (I don't play it). Ragas are beyond my understanding (but I appreciate their depth and significance). Hip hop and loud dance music has a new aesthetic, but count me out.

So when I say "internally consistent harmonic reference" I am not saying that the Western scale is the standard. Rather, any internally consistent system is capable of patterning the human brain.

"Edited to include the key word "not"

In the context of the topic of this thread, here's a few questions.
(1) How is "internally consistent harmonic reference"(ICHR) formed or establish?
(2) Where is ICHR formed? In the Brain as part of thinking?
(3) When is ICHR formed?
I don't have scientifically established answer to the questions, but do feel that discussing them might provide intersting exploration.

 

[BPScooter]

Re: Re: Disclaimer

In the context of the topic of this thread, here's a few questions.
(1) How is "internally consistent harmonic reference"(ICHR) formed or establish?
(2) Where is ICHR formed? In the Brain as part of thinking?
(3) When is ICHR formed?
I don't have scientifically established answer to the questions, but do feel that discussing them might provide intersting exploration.

Best answers, quickly done:

1) How: it is an environmental stimulus, that is repeated over time, for a number of years. The organism responds and receives feedback.

2) Where: it is a brain thing. As we learn language, social behavior, or whether a rattle sound is a snake or a happy baby toy. It is all stored away in the multiplex of the brain tissue. Just before you get too confident, however, the brain is capable of using its resources in many many ways.

3) Earlier, now, and later. The brain's plasticity is renowned. But that being said, some things seem easier to learn, and last longer, if they are learned younger. I have taught very young children and very old grumpy people how to play and listen to music. You might ask, well, did that child become Menhuin or did that oldster become Grandma Moses, and I would respond-- why do you ask?

Music is one of the only things of our god/neurogift that seems to move beyond words and to help the life narrative of the individual under many circumstances. I have never yet found a downside to playing/listening/enjoying music, when it's part of a situation without fear.