Is Music the reason why Myths survive thousands of years?

[@Crecganford]

I love to know what your favorite piece of music is... let me know!

[@_S0me__0ne]

Classical? Probably Debussy's 'Arabesque No. 1'. Though I like 'Maid with the Flaxen Hair', and 'Clair de Lune' as well.

[@yordantodorov7105]

You should hear bulgarian folklore music! Probably the last music to keep the ancient power in it self!

[@Aedren]

'To The Unknown Man' by Vangelis is a wonderful piece of music. And the genres of folk and medieval are great to listen to.

[@HangrySaturn]

Ode to Joy by Beethoven

[@hugespinner4890]

my favourite piece of music is from the Robert Miles album Dreamland the first song on the CD children (dream version). it's my go to song when i feel down

[@niklasbischofberger4769]

I think Tolkien also realised the importance of music for myth-making and storytelling, because his cosmos is created out of a song given by Iluvatar, sung by the Ainur, corrupted by Melkor. Out of this evolves all what follows.

[@HiopX]

Furthermore, characters in the story use song and poetry to expand on their mythology and histoty. For example when traveling through Moria, Gimli sings the song of Durin, which contains origin dwarven origin mythos as well as history of Moria.

[@johanneskohn]

Also in C.S. Lewis creation myth the world is also formed by music, sung into being. it comes out of a song. an idea they shared.

[@healinglight71562]

I have only met 1 other person that has read The Silmarillian. The language of the Soul, I believe, is music. 🧚💚🧚

[@Thomas_H_Sears]

Studying human language, I came to see each language as a form of music. This is obvious in tonal languages like Chinese, less obvious in English, but just as profound. Understand? Understand! Understand. Infants learn to sing the languages around them tonally and rhythmically before they learn words. I called it HumanSong in a short essay.

[@Crecganford]

That is very interesting indeed.

[@solveigw]

I would love to read that essay! Norwegian, and the other Scandi languages are also tonal. With the addition of the different dialects having their own melodies. Even when not listening to the actual words of a person, you have a decent chance of pinpointing where a Norwegian grew up simply based on the melody of their speech.

[@katmannsson]

I can get behind this because I am of the opinion that before we had 'language' we had song. Humming, Whistling, etc its all just so... automatic. Thoughtless. You more often discover you have been doing than you consciously decide to start doing it.

[@ILikeCoconutsLots]

Interesting what you say about music being a felt experience; I recently joined a ukulele club and it’s lovely because it’s not about being really good at music, but about actually playing and singing music as a group, there’s enough people that no one notices if you’re not playing very well, but just being part of it is so wholesome and fulfilling and human it’s just a joy!

[@Crowhag]

This was beautifully and harmoniously produced, Jon! The industrialization of music can distract us from experiencing its most transformative magic. The entire cosmos sings, from the cradle to the grave, from the spheres in the vast space to the wind that wheezes and the rain that falls. Lullabies and laments, stories and spells, games and gatherings, hymns and healing rituals, and so much more is sung in traditional cultures. Such music is not about talent or skill, but about the experience and expression of sacred mysteries and feelings.

[@Crecganford]

As always Crowhag, your words are a joy to read.

[@lisafish1449]

I have had a musical experience that could be construed as magical. I was at an Irish festival in mid September, 2001, about a week after the towers fell. The festival was in upstate NY, so we had many bagpipe bands from downstate, many of them made of first responders. Needless to say, the atmosphere was pretty depressing. One of the last acts of the night was a little old man named Tommy Makem. For his last set, he played This Land is Your Land and a Stan Rogers song, The Mary Ellen Carter. I watched as every person in the tent sang along, and then started to cry. By the end of the set, there wasn't a dry eye in the room and everyone who could stand rose for the ovation. I felt the mood change from one of fear and anger to one of unity. This memory still effects me today. Thank you for all that you do, I learn so much from your work. Blessed be

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for sharing your story, it is so fascinating to hear how music has played a part in people's lives.

[@darkclownKellen]

They made bag pipes out of 9/11 first responders? Man America really is fucked up.

[@helios7170]

Not a word of a lie, your channel is one of the most fascinating and inspiring on all of youtube. I really appreciate your insight and wisdom.

[@Crecganford]

Wow, thank you!

[@_S0me__0ne]

Music is still strongly linked with religion because the rythyms pull at our emotions, and religions tap into those emotions, explaining it in a spiritual context.

[@S.J.L]

Agreed. Anything that isn't purely practical is defacto cultural or religious and even having the spirit do the most practical tasks is defacto "spiritual."

[@HiopX]

one place where music songs are still around with the communal aspect is political marches, picket lines and strikes

[@Crecganford]

Yes, that makes sense.

[@PhilipEdmondson]

Another would be the military. Route marches or runs would have a "song leader" that would lead a call and answer. Some serious, most very bawdy. All to keep the group in time and step. An added benefit, is that it forced proper breathing to keep the pace and tune going.

[@somniumisdreaming]

Football.

[@solveigw]

I find it really fascinating the way our brain engages when we listen and perform music. Yesterday we had a concert at my local church. I was one of the singers. We had this concert 5 years ago, but when we started rehearsing I could remember almost everything, even though I had hardly listened to the music in the last 5 years. Studies, and experience, also shows that music and songs learned in early childhood sticks around even after dementia is long set in. People who are barely present in our reality any more seem to "wake up" and stay present when engaging in music. And they stay present for some time afterwards as well. It is just so sad that music and songs are being treated as a second thought in most western schools today. We need music and songs! They are part of our history and humanity!

[@iceblinkmender]

going through a hard time right now and I just want to thank you so much for your videos. I find them so deeply comforting and soothing in subject, presentation and perspective.

[@Crecganford]

That’s very kind of you to say, and I do hope things get better for you.

[@Mattiniord]

It is interesting to see that in finnish mythology how spells are referred to as being sung. Also in magic battles a wizard might attempt to "sing" someone into the earth, for example. And the defender would counter with songs of their own. And it is interesting to see how some of the strongest interactions between musicians and their audience comes through singing. Having been to metal concerts the fans really knows the songs and lyrics so much so that the band with a small gesture can get a singsong between them, between different parts of the spectators and as so on. Now there are other arranged collective singing events, at least in Sweden, that is even aired on television. But you do not get the feeling you get at a Metal concert. The way the band and their fans interact and create something more than merely singing along after notes. Because there are no memory notes, only the lyrics you remember. And if you do not remember them you will learn them from the collective around you, maybe even teaching you an entire song you had not listened to before. Some people say that for all the long hair, leather and metal studs, metal fans tends to be among the nicest and most welcoming of all fans.

[@Crecganford]

I agree about the metal fans, we really do love our music.

[@robo5013]

Music accompanying work is still an important practice today. Although it may no longer be a way to keep a rhythm while working to make the task more efficient. My mother's boss once joked that he was going to play speed metal in the office because he noticed her typing kept tempo with the songs on the radio. Want to piss a bunch of construction workers off? Tell them they can't listen to the radio. How many people listen to music while doing housework? Singing along to the music makes work more tolerable, especially when doing simple or repetitive tasks.

[@Crecganford]

Yes, music makes tasks much more pleasurable.

[@ted_splitter]

@@Crecganford In my experience stations like Gem 106 and Smooth FM can have the opposite effect lol but the point is a good one. Before radio, people did used to sing at work, unless the machines were too loud. Industrialisation was probably the first nail in the coffin in that respect. Sad that it's lost really.

[@stephannaro2113]

“Without music, life would be a mistake.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols.

[@EmL-kg5gn]

I’m only young but I used to teach music so I really relate a lot to the feelings people have about the loss of music and I have lots of thoughts about it, which probably apply to other art forms too. Most people’s primary (or even only) engagement with music is as an isolated, passive listener. And most popular music disproportionately comes from the US and from the wealthy (in western, english speaking countries, I can’t speak for others). Ordinary musicians that do gain success are ushered in to join the industry, and as a result many of these people are eventually accused by their original fans of losing touch. Inevitably this music so often reinforces ideas that don’t serve us, from patriarchal ideas of relationships to class hierarchy. Music is no longer a local, communal activity. Instead it’s almost exclusively performance-based and it’s an industry, managed by the wealthy and therefore biased to the demographics who hold the most wealth. I think everyday people should try to reclaim music; it’s an important and influential part of culture and it has a lot of influence over our thoughts and feelings. Why give rich people more power than they already have? Music should be for everyone simply because it’s fun and it’s beneficial to mental health and social cohesion, but it’s important politically too and we should never forget that. This could be a paragraph of its own but it’s used in political ceremonies and propaganda, and suppressing a culture’s music is a common feature of colonisation and genocide. Music used to be part of the rhythm of everyday life like you described, from meals to construction. Now when most of us make music it’s alone or in small groups, most of us are ashamed to sing in public, some can’t bring themselves to sing at all. And when we do participate in music together it’s usually at concerts where it’s centred around celebrity figures (can’t speak for other religions but even in the context of christian religious ceremonies the musicians often become stars, much like mainstream celebrities are). What does it say about our culture that most people are made to feel like they aren’t good enough to be active participants in creating music? That most of our participation in music is in isolation rather than together? That when it is together it’s extremely hierarchical, with an idol or idols at the centre? I taught an instrument that requires you to get certain techniques right and not go beyond your limits as a beginner if you ever hope to be able to use it to its full potential, so I know that rules and restrictions can be there for a reason. But the perfectionism and elitism around participation in music does more to erase cultural diversity, community spirit, and happiness than it’s ever done to make “good music”. Music has been made in spite of this attitude not because of it. It’s like a poison that can take music away from even the most passionate musicians, something you witness often as a teacher, and it’s really sad. Every kid I’ve ever met loves creating music! Until they run into that. Whether it’s a parent who won’t let their child learn an instrument because it’s not “good” enough, a teacher who takes the fun out of it, a classmate who mocks someone for mistakes, or the stress of exams doesn’t matter. The mindset and its result is the same, most modern music education ends up taking music away from people instead of passing it down. And I think you make a really good point about social cohesion. I can trace the path of my current relationship with our music. At first we only listened to music together, sharing new songs with each other. Then we would sing in the car, then I played music for him and eventually helped teach him. We would dance together. Now it’s quiet, I sing but never when he’s around. He shares new music with me but I don’t help him learn anymore. We never dance. I don’t even want to.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for watching and for sharing your thoughts.

[@christopherlawley1842]

You express my thoughts very well!

[@EmL-kg5gn]

@@christopherlawley1842 I’m glad someone understands what I mean! Hopefully we can both try to do things differently in whatever capacity we can

[@Ben-sg5cq]

Happened to just finish my morning tea with my Crecganford mug, only to come here on a whim and see you uploaded a just few minutes ago! Love this topic, can't wait to listen! ☕️💚

[@Crecganford]

I hope you enjoy it!

[@lhurst9550]

Got mine a few weeks ago.

[@yukifoxscales]

Thank you so much, as someone who is a musician, looking at the history of it is fascinating.

[@thehairywoodsman5644]

We come from the land of the ice and snow From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow The hammer of the gods Will drive our ships to new lands To fight the horde, sing and cry Valhalla, I am coming

[@netwitchtatjana4661]

💜 Immigrant Song

[@elizabethelias1005]

That song is incredible!

[@thehairywoodsman5644]

@@elizabethelias1005 YOU, are pretty incredible yourself ! good morning from Texas !

[@LorenzoGiannetti]

A different note touch on the pleasantly familiar main theme. Thank you, very well received.

[@lesliewells-ig5dl]

I listened to that play list of ancient music. That was amazing!!

[@Kamarovsky_KCM]

I've heard a theory that music even led to the creation of language itself! I don't recall the details of it, but remember being convinced by it, so I would not be surprised if it was the case.

[@Crecganford]

It certainly may have helped in the development of language, but I'm not so sure it created it, as we here non-singing from other primates, such as screams and cries, and so this could be considered the first language.

[@jillscott4029]

@@Crecganford I think that is communication, but language requires structure and grammar. Music has those elements whereas screams and cries do not. Interestingly there IS a structure and grammar to certain bird communication where it isn't just the sound but the order of the sounds that produce reactions, so if you played their songs or warning calls out of order or with localization calls that would make it not make sense they ignore it. And of course it is the animals that are most musical that seem to have what we would call language, with the fascinating exception of bees who have a highly sophisticated language but dance it rather than sing it!

[@ajkaajka2512]

I loved this video. So much there to think about. Also so many good comments here.There is something in music we cannot explain. Why it makes us happy, why we want to sing and why we want to move when we hear a good song. One interesting thing about singing, people who stutter when they talk, can sing without stuttering. I had two amazing moments with music. One as a teenager on a concert. All of us there knew the lyrics and sang together, it was really uplifting to hear so many voices singing together. Other one was hearing a song ''Let her go'' for the first time (and second and third): something in the singers voice, something about the melody made me cry. It was something deep inside that got touched and I cried. And yes, I totally agree that myths and poems are told for senturies or millenia without being changed, like the children's songs you put in a quiz prove. Grandparents and parents sing them to their children and they repeat them when they grow up. I still remember poems and songs from my childhood my grandma or aunty told/sang to me.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your thoughts, and your kind words. It is always interesting to hear other's views about music and its magic.

[@DABS-gx9pt]

Also if you have to memorize large pieces of text, either epic stories or religious hymns, it os a lot easy to do it as songs or even as poems. The rhyme, metrics and repetitions make it easier to remember large amounts of text, which is quite useful in civilizations without written language or with a small percentage of people who can read.

[@perlaeliasnemer6820]

I teach my dance students to sing and play, and I go every month to a hell of a work searching the song, writing the arrangements, finding the musicians, threatening the dancers to memorize the words and melodies, repeating the part in my cello and constantly defiing them to get their instruments and study and wondering if Ill have enough students to support the thing economically. This is my eigth or ninth year doing this hell of a job and when im doubting if I can stand it for more I think about the fact that I grew up singing and playing in the family and that was my playground, that's how I have fun and meaning in life. So I can't stop. To "play" in english means also to play a game, but in italian you say "suonare" (to produce sounds) and in Spanish you say "tocar" (to touch) and making music is about all thee, I think. Thanks for the video! Keep the good work!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@conlethberry1236]

Funny you should mention Humpty Dumpty, cus you know Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, but the wasll wasn't tall so he had a small fall, then all the kings horses and all the kings men shouted, bravo Humpty, now do it again. I heard that 40 or 50 years ago, but because I knew the "traditional" version, I never forgot this one either. The constant repetition of poems / stories made them easier to remember, similar cadence etc. so lots of people knew lots of stories and could take turns reciting them.

[@drumstudiomonchengladbach8131]

Although for me, a none-native English speaker, understanding your videos is a real challenge, a challenge that I happyly accept because your posts are always very interesting! Nevertheless it would be nice if you finally allowed subtitles! I think I'm not the first and only foreign viewer of your videos who wants this option!! Thank you for your future (and perhaps subsequent) efforts to make your videos accessible to non-English speakers!

[@Crecganford]

Of course, there should be subtitles, just let me know the language and I will add them to this.

[@drumstudiomonchengladbach8131]

@@Crecganford please allow German subtitles

[@alexeysaphonov232]

Regarding the oral tradition. Usually these epics were not recite alltogether but piece (hymn) by piece in certain context.

[@alancattelliot4833]

Activation of memory comes in using multiple senses to encode informations. Vedhic mathematics are encoded in a form of poetry, a form of expression in which resonance is sustained by the rythme. I made a contribution to a thesis on the spread and variation of traditionnal Terre Neuva's fishers folk music. No written scores, and, in general, no associated lyrics. But in this case, we showed that it was through traditional dances that musical themes were conveyed, from harbour to harbour. We identified the links between the music and the dances, and were able to follow the inheritance of unique musical features, found on specific trade routes. The contributions of music and dance in the cultural memory are immensed, and I am very pleased to discover more linkages in your video. ❤

[@Durakken]

So... fun thing that I put together some time ago... Music, Dance, Story is Magic. Back in the ancient past, telling a story was seen similarly to bringing that tail into being and dancing brought forth the spirit of the wolf to inhabit the hunter so that they could think and act as the wolf to hunt them down. When we speak of it now adays we don't put it into context. It's like our brains disconnects what we're saying, which is describing casting magic spells of one sort or another. This is similarly connects to word and naming magic which says that you shouldn't speak of things because you make them happen by doing so. And you don't give people your real name you don't trust because they can use it to control you... magically. I'd love to be able to watch the implication of this take shape from a bird's eye through history. Language and Music forming and being thought of as magic with the ability to shape the world and people around them for those who could speak vs the ones who couldn't. And then there is the thought of what if we remembered this and had things like "The Sacred Art of Weaving a Narrative" as religious studies.

[@LoveSource5d]

Vibration, Frequency

[@christopherlawley1842]

Well, young man, you have succinctly expressed what I've felt for a long time.

[@MarboCanal]

The same river, by Riverside, every radio tuning bit you got there. ❤

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

The music being the same all the time may be why jazz and blues became so popular, since they would get together and "jam," playing things differently, playing around with mixing the sounds, and such. Just a thought. Yet another great video; thanks, Jon!

[@nealsterling8151]

I wonder if current information age will later remembered as the age where the old myths died. In the last centuries some myths have slowly transferred to pop culture media (be it Comic books, Opera, TV shows or Movies)., but now since most of them are in the hands of Giant cooperations they get changed constantly to adapt to current "sentience", making them more unreckognizeable year after year, to a point where they slowly vanish. I'm sure the old myths will still be researched in academic circles in the future, but are they still "alive", so to say?

[@Crecganford]

That is an interesting point, we have no need to remember if we have tools that will do it for us.

[@ShizaruBloodrayne]

Music to me is a way to vent my negative energy into a space that isn't physical. Music also can be used to set the tone to paint a preconceived picture of an ideal.

[@GizzyDillespee]

Some rocks ring out like a bell when you thwack them... even the really big ones. The less area that's dampened (attached to the ground) the better it can ring out. Each resonant stone has a different pitch (frequency) depending on how big it is, density, shape etc (maybe water content?). Really big rocks can have different tones when you thwack them in different spots. Most stones don't sound like much. But if you find some that work, you can use them as bell percussion, in situ.

[@josegamurca]

Its one of the things I thank the universe. Every single moment of my waking hours has music playing, its insane but I couldnt live any other way. Multiple Playlists with thousands of songs of all genres, for all the kinds of emotions I have trouble expressing. Autism is an asshole. Be assured, if the world ends tomorrow, Ill be there banging on them drums and starting it all again. Keep listening, keep playing.

[@gaufrid1956]

Jon, this is a wonderful video. My late wife and I were music ministers at our local church in Australia, she on guitar, and myself on bodhran, timbrel and triangle, among other percussion instruments. It was our weekly ritual to prepare the music for Sunday Mass. Preparing, practising, and playing together were important parts of our life together. After she died in 2015, I continued the same thing and had help from some of her friends who also played guitar, as well as my adult son. I remarried in 2017 to a Filipina grandmother and have been living in Mindanao Philippines most of the time since then. In the Philippines, karaoke is popular, as the first patented karaoke machine was produced by a Filipino in Manila in 1975. Whenever Filipino families get together, you can bet that singing karaoke will happen. We have a karaoke machine here at home and at least once a week my wife and I and my best friend (one of her male cousins) get together to eat and drink and sing. Singing karaoke has helped me to learn Tagalog and Bisaya languages, and I've sung as well in quite a few of the other Filipino languages. Yes, by singing I remember the words and understand the meaning of the songs. It goes along with what you say about how poetry and music allows for stories to be passed on. I don't think I can nominate my favourite piece of music, or my favourite song. My head is full of music and lyrics. So much so that I feel the music in me. Music is life. I guess it always has been.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for sharing this, and I agree, music is life.

[@gaufrid1956]

@@Crecganford Daghang salamat, John! Thank you very much! Magkanta ko matag adlaw. I will sing every day.

[@katmai90210]

i'm glad there's still people that know. Since we all love poetry, here's something of mine, that i wrote a little while ago. --------------------- i slept and i wept, and sometimes while walking in the light, some tears i shed some nights were kept, apart, and broken eyes, wide as starry nights that twinkled endlessly, while whole world slept. i leaped into the stars and then i dreamt, of sunny little trees, and storms that breathed with ease, and while caressed by the never ending breeze, in depth i walked. i moved into the sunless night. with sand flowing over my feet and half the dark sun in the distance visible to me, but noone near, you're all never meant to disappear, but here i am, alone i walk and walking is enough. -------------------------- Oh, and here's another one i wrote way before that. -------------------------- Ladies and gentlemen, i address to you from the mud, because that's the only way to look at the sky. Back against the earth, Hands stretched wide, Feet firmly sat upon the ground, Water flowing freely, upside down. i'm here for a check, i'm here for a reason, Not once shall i ever consider the word treason. i'm here for a carry, i'm here to say, i'm here not to worry, i'm just here to play. Shall we have a night, when we'll entertain, one gentle lady, or one gentile man. i am here to find, your finest young ladies, a kind gentle soul, that'd open your purses so i could fulfill some of your wildest dreams, you could dash in amazement, maybe`ven cry some tears. Have an old magician, say what he'd want, a couple of pennies, some beads on a strand. Shall we begin?

[@stolman2197]

Having made primitive instruments they are quite different from modern mass produced instruments. Each hand-made wooden flute has a natural 'tune' that comes out of it. A rawhide drum changes tone with the weather. Humans find way to make music (often similar ways) for example 'bull-roarers' are found in the archeological record of every inhabited continent. One of the more interesting instruments I've made was by placing notches in the ridge of a scapula then sliding a stick along it in rhythm. One of the saddest consequences of readily available recorded music is how many fewer amateurs you find.

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

Slightly different approach to our history this week and very well done too! Lots to think about 😊

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@jefflippman2925]

Music, poetry and ritual all go together

[@Crecganford]

Yes, I would like to think that music was played with all rituals.

[@gaslitworldf.melissab2897]

Thank you for your sentimental address of something we've lost in music today. That's why I love Christmas music (carols). It most resembles that communal essence of song - well, outside of church choirs, namely gospel, but if you don't attend church services, you don't get to experience that either. Of course, gospel music has become extremely commercial too.

[@jennymalmiola324]

Finnish epic poem Kalevala is made of songs. Elias Lönnrot went around the country and asked poem singers to perform and he wrote it down. Unfortunately he rearranged a lot and wrote some pieces himself for the book Kalevala. He wanted the stories to be more cohesive and more epic. Original stuff is still in the archives, Lönnrot wasn't the only collector, but the material is so huge that it's not going to fit into a book. But yes, poetry is singing.

[@Indo_European_Nordic]

As a person who is musically inclined, I'd have to say. This was a great video! Thank you for sharing the true history of music.

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching.

[@Indo_European_Nordic]

@@Crecganford your welcome. I mean I do like all of your videos you make, I'm about a quarter of the way in your videos. I can only imagine your podcast must be as good.

[@samizdat113]

Music has always been with us. No matter if we evolved from lowere life forms or were created or both, music has always been a part of the human experience in some way.

[@apheliondriff9694]

I must say. I absolutely love your videos. There is so much thought to chew on and so many possibilities to ponder. Keep it up, brother. I always await what's next.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much!

[@ted_splitter]

Hi Jon, loved this video as the topic is close to my heart as a folk musician. If you haven't already got it, I'd highly recommend Steve Roud's 'Folk Song in England' as a reference on this area. A great deal of overlap between the study of folk song and folklore, language too. There are Scottish tunes and German tunes and Caribbean tunes and they sound like where they're from, just like people do.

[@susansaoirse2797]

We've got a couple of new line cooks we're hoping to turn out to be the core of our cafe operations. They were singing together today. I take that as a very good sign.

[@hottentotgulch]

i dont know if you read these one but here i go, short and concise. i tried my best to get into my career (i started studying art history here in argentina) but some personal problems and some bad teachers 😅 stopped me from doing what i think its my purpose in this world, at least for awhile. this channel, your way of narrating these topics, your passion has helped me a lot and these new year my new goal is to get real deep in studying and advance the most my brain and body possibly can. so thank you very much john. music and pictoric (kinda) art are two of my realiest and purest passions so i thought to write this here would fit well. thanks again and keep doing what you love!

[@hottentotgulch]

i really love me some playboi carti and morton feldman 😂

[@Crecganford]

I do hope your studies go well.

[@margomaloney6016]

Thank you, Jon - I especially enjoyed your discussion of the oral tradition of accurately passing on music and mythology to the next generations.

[@davidbarton6095]

Another amazing offering, thank you for sharing.

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching.

[@perstaunstrup3451]

Great video as always. As a Dane, one thing we seem to do more of than a lot of other places is singing. I have never been to a country where so many different song books were on offer, we have several frequently updated ones keeping anything from truly old texts to the most modern, being song when people meet. We truly ‘sing your poets’ as a foreigner once noted, and I personally love the sound and feel of older texts that keeps so,e of the traditions that you talk so well about. Let the music flow and your voices be heard!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for sharing this, it is amazing to hear so many people still having experiences like this with music.

[@majidbineshgar7156]

One might wonder whether music must have evolved with human mind, in that regard, just listen to electronic techno-trance music which contains all historic musical elements and yet it is highly , energetically abstract as it were, and stimulates both mind and body.

[@jblackwill1492]

Little do people know there are some musicians who still learn the very old methods of learning music. The pipers who play pibroch. Passed down person to person for five hundred years, the notes sung in a form called Canntaireachd. Many o the songs played in piping and gaelic music have the temps and melodies with lilts and such because it's based on gaelic, a very different language than english.

[@tassey]

I am 78 and I have seen this change in my lifetime. Children sang. Those nursery songs and popular songs, like "How much is that doggie in the window" or "The Eyes of Texas" were singable. My grandmother and parents all sang to us at bedtime. My father was from Appalachia and played the harmonica. He played "The Little Mohee" and "The wreck of the old 97". And I can remember almost every word of Little Joe the Wrangler. We sang in church. We sang in school because it was a class. Listen to the Mockingbird. As a teen I got into folk music. But today, people don't sing. In church people seem embarrassed because they don't have professional voices so they mumble. In mainstream churches the keep their eyes on the hymnal and in Evangelical churches they have a big screen with the words on it. The only nightclubby thing I like is Irish Pubs where people are encouraged to sing about green alligators. And even then, many people are uncomfortable with it. I don't sing as much myself. But those old songs and words have carried me through some tough times.

[@somniumisdreaming]

Karaoke is a type of social singing.i miss singing with my mum and gran when the family gathered.

[@1melnibone]

Why is there a tear in my eye after listening to that. Thank you for another brilliant video sir. Bit obscure, but a song that stirs up as much emotion as this video for me is a Frank Zappa song called 'sequal harassment in the workplace (and it hasn't even got any words !) Anyway, thank you for everything you do - your videos, and the sTories within, always somehown lift and inspire me.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@andyventures6574]

A good introduction to the topic, with a lot you can go deeper into , on the use of music with myth/religion from early up to today . The subject demands being a longer playlist ,

[@Crecganford]

I could have talked for hours and hours on this, as there is so much amazing music, and how it makes us feel. Perhaps I will make a follow up video in the coming months.

[@Aedren]

Great topic! Songs such as An-dro, Tricot and Hanter dro were used on the fields, to give a rythm for the workers. It seems that music had a large/huge impact on many other things as well, over the millenia of human history. Thank you, for the great video!

[@Crecganford]

I'm glad you liked it.

[@xiana.6322]

Exceptional analysis and perspective. Thanks!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much for your kind words and support, it is very much appreciated.

[@DJWESG1]

Ive played in enough nightclubs to understand how powerful music is. And how ppl can react to differently to different sounds.

[@kariannecrysler640]

5:51 One of my favorites playing here! A story without words 🥰

[@elihyland4781]

Hard chuckled at that. If you’re looking for a grind core song that starts with same sound Nasum-old & tired

[@kariannecrysler640]

@@elihyland4781 Chopin was just a very emotional composer. I enjoy the expression he was capable of. I will definitely check out Nasum

[@kariannecrysler640]

@@elihyland4781 not quite Chopin lol. Still not bad, but I am more into Megadeath or Queensryche

[@elihyland4781]

@@kariannecrysler640 for sure I love Q & MD. Nasum is about as listenable as grind core gets 🤘🤮stoked you checked it out. Same tape sound!

[@kariannecrysler640]

@@elihyland4781 I’ve been digging the more off the cuff bands lately. The Steven Segals, Dead South, The Hu, Dadi Freyr, etc. you might enjoy those too

[@larryjeffryes6168]

I think Musi was vital as the only means of “packaging” info for future use by other people - parent to child regarding myriad life skills necessary to extract a living out of nature. It would have been a major life focus. There would have been an ABCs for myriad tasks requiring specific steps in order.

[@lesliewells-ig5dl]

Thanks for another great video!! I really love this!!!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much.

[@lesliewells-ig5dl]

@@Crecganford You're welcome!

[@alex-tz5jm]

I think its important to consider that while the original social function of music may have become redundant (in the same way as the human appendix is evolutionarily redundant) that does not mean that music has not produced and evolved to fit different and new social functions which can be overlooked when looking at musics early history. Especially in electronic music, there is a sense of the representation of the local environment, in terms of documentation/ representation of stories/ culture (like we can get from the Odyssey as an oral history) perhaps this modern version is a little more abstract, but nonetheless this representation of physical and social setting is really fascinating and powerful, rave music in its various forms is always tied to and representative of its corresponding experience, and generates and reproduces constantly in the same way that early mythological poems would. I think it is definitely true that commercialisation often perverts this hypotetically pure function of musical expression, and therefore the outcome of music is less impressive than it potentially could be but that is not to say that some artists dont do this with a beautiful precision and evocation (the artist Actress especially springs to mind). I cant remember who it was, but there was a 20th century folklorist who did work on the impact of recording technology on folk, and came to the conclusion that in fact it allowed for more reinterpretation and repredoction through allowing the analysis and repeated listening of a performance, a learning aid which also allowed a performance to have a far larger audience than originally possible. Through this lens perhaps we all are just constantly listening to the same performances but at different times and in different places, a kind of 4 dimensional, abstract and disconnected social activity. I dont know if you will read this Jon but i hope you dont takr this as a critisicism, just some thoughts on your points which i think can lead to some interesting places..... :)

[@Oberon4278]

If you had a time machine it might be fun to bring a cave man to the symphony. I imagine you'd have to give him a mild sedative first. Throwing someone accustomed to living with a small group of people, all known personally since birth, into a modern crowd, would undoubtedly be a stressful experience. There are many instances of indigenous people going to a city for the first time and becoming extremely upset, sometimes even violent, because of sensory overload. But if you could convince the time traveling caveman to sit quietly and listen... what an experience.

[@Dragoniiia]

bro, you dont need to be born in hunter-gatherer group to be upset and sensory ovewhelmed by being in the city. That's just my life, and I was born in a big city xD Our brain is simply not made for that kind of condidtions.

[@matthewphillips465]

There is a lot of music out there for people who are intentional about their music choices. Many of the major media outlets especially in the USA actually hide the fact that certain kinds of music are very popular. For example, Mastodon the alt rock/metal band from the USA has had several albums in a row go number 1 in hard rock alternative rock and metal album sales since the 2000s and they simply do not get played on the commercial alternative radio stations.

[@Crecganford]

Mastadon are amazing, I've seen them a number of times... curl to the burl!

[@Thomas_H_Sears]

I've wondered if knocking rocks together in the rhythm section led to the discovery of the art of knapping

[@MrTryAnotherOne]

Naughty, naughty ... I was Rick n'rolled.

[@Crecganford]

Yes! I think you may have been the first... and so at least one person found the gag in this video. The other links are good :)

[@hollybyrd6186]

Another thought-provoking episode.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@alexeysaphonov232]

What we know about religious people, so pretty much everybody who lived two to five hundred years ago is that everything used to be a ritual. The religious person must reproduce certain transcedental order. Just look to modern church rituals for communion, easter week or christmas season, they reproduce the last dinner, birth and resuraction of Christ. Of course the words must be told, some moves (maybe even dances) performed, and you must see and hear everything as you are a direc witness and a participant.

[@Crecganford]

Yes, ritual was significant, and part of everyday life. And ritual and music often went hand in hand.

[@danielharris9403]

Thank you for another landmark thought in my navigation of place in time. Orpheus would be proud. May perceptions provide the "root" home; may associations provide the "tonic" to cognitive dissonance; may vibes be good. 🙏

[@RobertFisher1969]

Communal and dynamic music performances have been quite common in my life. And the lyrics of pop music are the myths of today. All the changes, from my point-of-view, have been additive…providing additional ways of experiencing music rather than driving out the older ways. Incidentally, on the topic of Bach, perhaps the best example of what we don’t know is the actual temperament that Bach used when composing his Well Tempered Clavier pieces. We have some good guesses based on contemporary writings about temperaments, but we have no way to know exactly what temperament Bach used or if it was even any of those that were documented.

[@JC-rr1wu]

I think music predates language. Music creates emotion, there's calming music, energetic music, happy, sad, anxiety inducing music, angry music, sexy music and mystical, trance inducing music. I imagine certain "songs" our ancestors sang made the group synchronize to the task at hand. I think animal song is the precursor, where sounds have purely emotional functions, "get back, I'm angry!" or "heeeyy baby! want some...?" to "relax child, you are safe" Language with words would develop later, from sounds and grunts to simple words. As our brains evolved, our vocabulary and grammar increased in unison. Both co-evolving to gather and share ever more intricate information. And still we "sing" but everyday singing took a back seat in favor of informational complexity. And music got separated as the language of pure emotion. But we can still understand the most basic emotions and meanings even though we don't speak the same language.

[@moonpearl4736]

I remembered the last line of "Rock a Bye Baby" but forgot the rest of the rhyme until Google rescued me. I was thinking about a similar nursery rhyme with a similar ending, "down came the wheelbarrow, little wife and all". Well, my kids are grown adults now and I dont have grandchildren but I still felt bad about such a lapse.

[@richarddegener]

as a musician I could t agree more.

[@MichaelYoder1961]

Too many favourites to mention but Bach's Mass in B minor, Handel's Water Music Mozart The Magic Flute, Prokofiev (anything) Ravel La Valse and Brahms Piano Quartet in c minor mvt. 3 and and and...

[@Crecganford]

And that is the beauty of music!

[@herelt54]

outstanding work! thank you!! i don't honestly think i can pick only one song 🤔🤔🤷‍♀

[@Nancy_S68]

Enjoyed this. Thank you!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@elizabethelias1005]

It would have been nice for you to talk a bit about the origins and development of written music. The monks developed written music notes from torah tropes.

[@ConsciousConversations]

Oohhh!! such a good one, this!!

[@greenfrogbad]

Richard Wagner had some choice words on the commodification of music, and art in general.

[@lindsayheyes925]

Music, poetry - and above all, performance. I watched a traditional Persian storyteller, and he changed my perception of the craft. Sitting on a throne, he added drama to a story of a battle by slapping a thick leather strap on its woodwork to emphasise the violence of combat. He made his audience jump. He was using alliteration, repetition, crescendo, diminuendo, rhythm, pitch, pace, pausing, posture and voicing. You didn't need to know Farsi to understand the story-line. The drama was memorable. It wasn't death by PowerPoint. It wasn't mere narration. It wasn't remotely like reading aloud from a book.

[@awb503]

generally I think the thrust of your commentary is well placed on this, but a few places I think you overshot 1) writing music down doesn't make it always reproduced the same. indeed a big part of the classical arts is interpretation, and there are still spaces, even in very formal works for freedom, eg the tradition of cadenzas in classical music, where a soloist gets to present their own solo section. 2) yes recorded music is less participatory, but we find new ways of participating, eg through curation DJing, where people really do have genuinely shared experiences dancing or singing together as in karaoke. 3) far from it just being just about pros, especially with accessible technology now, whole underground cultures arise spontaneously around a form and function, creating new myths as they do. of course, many pp don't experience this, because mainstream society is consumerist, but it is alive and strong. 4) expression in poetry is still strong, especially In rap, but generally song writing, and while no cultural artifact can claim the universality that great epics would have 2000+ years ago, these modes of cultural resource and reproduction are still alive in some form

[@Dragoniiia]

Ha ha Im not a native english speaker so I had no idea what those weird lines where supposed to mean. Though I am terrified that I remember most of the catholic prayers I learned as a child even if I'm an atheist since early teens. Also! About folk music and singing. I would love to learn White Singing

[@ConsciousConversations]

3:18 so wild to not ever hear this aspect about the ancient cultures .. ever!

[@eacalvert]

Radio Lab had a great episode on music dealing with tempo. A lot of Beethoven's is not played at the tempos that he had notated. Many are played slower as playing them at the speed he notated people actually feel uneasy

[@Crecganford]

I never knew that, I shall take a look at that. Thank you.

[@stroffjagusic5127]

thanks brother ive grown up hearing music from the woumb nice work

[@chocoquark4831]

Good to see you again! The be* didnt catch you

[@PlanetDeLaTourette]

I stil have a video of a toddler breaking out in song and dance improvisation on some classical piece I made. I've heard guttural screams from the back of the venue on my wicked breaks. Talented young lady does a shout-out from the other side of the world, digging my grooves. But I can't get no satisfaction. Oh no no no.

[@owlbeard]

In the last year, I’ve become acquainted with the traditional folk music of northern Portugal, including Miranda do Douro. The music itself is not too unlike Celtic music of the British Isles, although played more often in the Aeolian mode. And the words and stories of the songs are sometimes silly, or perhaps, seem superficial. But those songs contain the sounds, the ambience of ancient pastoralism, especially the sounds of livestock bells. You can almost hear the sounds of livestock herds from 4000 years ago.

[@icenarsin5283]

Wonderful video !!!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you very much!

[@jaysonparkhurst7422]

Isso aí, cara!

[@MarcSchofiled7650]

Great video!!

[@Crecganford]

Thanks!

[@catherinehartmann1501]

Music has gone from expression that speaks to the human soul, to production that will entertain - It has gone from the inside to the outside. Not to say that it isn't relatable - or that it doesn't come from the heart (sometimes) - but the best music does. It has changed in purpose from real-time connection to hey this is fun... Generality - but a phylogenetic intonation.

[@jayrey5390]

A book on follow genetics and the role that music has into it would be a great nascent phylogenetic resource for those of us unable to manage full on academic stuff - but appreciate your output and understanding - both the study of the phylogenetics and reconstructed stories for our local cultures and people(of your most likely audience - especially useful for those of us wanting to bring back some of these both local and further afield (to your main readership and refering those less likely to your readership as places and search terms for finding modern reproductions for a variety of other cultural regions) - music's impact and impact on preserving such would also be really interesting - along with some reproduction of the myths of various cultures (possibly in a cultural style) that's recommended to be recited at a specific meter or rhythm, and even a basic notation for wind or stringed intruments (perhaps using just drums or rhythm for where appropriate and recorders, flutes and whistles could use a limited range of notes to replicate limitations at the time with perfect tuning etc. and what kinds of instruments were believed to be popular in different situations in these cultures and life stages - including rhythm or pentameter would be helpful for reciting or singing. This would be fascinating to those of us with both historical and musical interests! To bring back a potentially Celtic style (perhaps borrowing from Welsh and other surviving Celtic languages for that flare or what might have a bell beaker or Anglo Saxon funerary or festival music have been like. This would be a massive project but would be an amazing resource for closer to accurate music in media; as said those of us with an interest into both history, phylogenetics and music. There's some reconstructed music online but unsatisfactory sources and uses often modern (post medieval) instrumentalization. TLDR; Please consider this! Sorry. Providing the inspiring stories for these reconstructed pieces of music where do I asked to adapt the lyrics using a relatively sound source material as the best source we have. TLDR - book on this please!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for taking the time to reply so much, and I have plans to work further on this topic.

[@jayrey5390]

@@Crecganford thank you for your time in replying - I love your video essays and they and philogenetics(spelling?) touch on so many overlapping interests. I like the 39 minute videos as well as your longer form videos of 60+min - you tailor the topic to the time and convey everything clearly thank you again. I wish I was in a position to financially support your brilliant, important, ignored and literal cutting edge of the field! What are some of the strongest motifs and myths that are out there, widespread but unknown yet their influence is felt? Or is that an oxymoron?

[@LuDux]

Some songs with mythological connection Herne by Clannad, from best anything about Robin Hood, un;less he's just an invention by Shakespeare Phoebus Apollo by Carl Cox (instrumental) Persephone's Quest by The Shamen (instrumental) Cassanda by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. "If I could just sit with you / We two could conspire / And make them listen / You only tell the truth" Fate Of Norns by Amon Amarth about viking who lost his only son "I lay him down on a pyre / A burial worthy a king / And as I lie down by his side / I hear the weaving norns sing". Poseidon by Dom & Roland (instrumental) By The Power Of Ra by Ebony Dubsters

[@Crecganford]

Some fine choices there.

[@ernestschroeder9762]

Very interesting

[@johncirilli2499]

Radiolab has a wonderful segment on how Beethoven reacted to the invention of the metronome.

[@CharoitNymph]

Why did your essay heavily remind me to "Music " by Nightwish. Maybe give it a listening, it fits the theme really well. Greetings from Germany. 😊

[@Crecganford]

I love Nightwish, although it has been a few years since I've seen them live, the KZbin video Ghost Love Score live from Wacken, is absolutely brilliant! One of my favourites.

[@alwilliams5177]

Miles Davis, Kind of Blue