PRIMEVAL MIND
MUSIC AND THE
JO-MICHAEL SCHEIBE

LEARN A FINITE NUMBER OF WORDS, AND YOU CAN
CREATE A SEEMINGLY INFINITE NUMBER OF SENTENCES.
LET’S TAKE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FOR EXAMPLE.
GIVEN THAT THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 500,000 WORDS
IN THIS LANGUAGE, THERE ARE ABOUT 10570 UNIQUE,
POSSIBLE SENTENCES THAT ONE COULD UTTER.
AND WHILE 10570 IS NOT INFINITE IN THE STRICT SENSE
(IT IS, HOWEVER, FAR GREATER THAN THE NUMBER OF
ATOMS IN THE OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE), IT IS FAR MORE
THAN COULD BE UTTERED GIVEN THE RELATIVELY SHORT
LIFESPAN OF A LANGUAGE (AND FAR MORE THAN ANY
INDIVIDUAL COULD UTTER).
MUSIC AS INFINITE

THE SAME CAN BE SAID ABOUT MUSIC. LEARN A FINITE
NUMBER OF CHORDS, AND YOU CAN CREATE A
SEEMINGLY INFINITE NUMBER OF SONGS. EVERY
MUSICIAN IS FAMILIAR WITH THE I, VI, V SEQUENCE. AND
EVEN IF YOU AREN’T, YOU’VE UNDOUBTEDLY BEEN
EXPOSED TO ITS SIMPLISTIC WONDER.
THIS PROGRESSION HAS GIFTED EVERYONE FROM BACH
TO BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN WITH MUSICAL PIECES THAT
BOTH REMIND AND REINVIGORATE. AND WHILE THE
PARALLELS BETWEEN MUSIC AND LANGUAGE ARE OFTEN
DRAWN, THE FACT THAT WE KNOW MUCH LESS ABOUT
THE EVOLUTIONARY PURPOSE OF THE FORMER STANDS
TRUE EVEN TO THIS DAY.

WE KNOW MUSIC CONJURES SOMETHING DEEP WITHIN
US; BUT WHY? WE KNOW IT REMINDS US OF THE ‘GOOD
OLD DAYS’ WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY SERVING AS A
CONDUIT TO THEM; BUT WHY? WE KNOW WE LOVE
MUSIC; BUT WHY?
THE REASON FOR WHY WE HAVE MUSIC IS LARGELY
DEBATED, WITH NO REAL CONSENSUS AMONGST
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGISTS. BUT WE WILL LEAVE
THE REASON FOR WHY WE HAVE MUSIC FOR A LATER
DATE, AND INSTEAD, TAKE A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN
AND EXPLORE WHY IT HAS MEANING IN OUR LIVES.

IT’S HELPFUL TO THINK OF MUSIC AS A FLOWER. MUCH IN
THE SAME WAY A LOTUS FLOWER OR A ROSE UNFOLDS
UPON ITSELF, MUSIC EMBODIES THE SAME PATTERN OF
LIFE—BUT IT DOES SO TO A MUCH GREATER DEGREE.
MUSIC IS AN UNFOLDING OF SORTS, AND WE KNOW THIS
TO BE EMPIRICALLY TRUE.
ANYONE WHO HAS EXPERIENCED AN INTENSE, SPIRIT-
LIFTING MOMENT IN MUSIC IS AWARE OF THE INNATE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HUMAN MIND AND MUSIC.
MUCH IN THE SAME WAY WE JOURNEY THROUGH OUR
DAY, OUR CAREER, AND OUR LIFE, MUSIC MIRRORS THIS
TRAVEL THROUGH ITS STRUCTURE. IT’S HELPFUL TO
THINK OF IT IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER:

VERSE (BIRTH), PRE-CHORUS
(ADOLESCENCE), CHORUS
(ADULTHOOD), BRIDGE (THE TENSION
OF MIDDLE AGE AND THE WORLD WE
DESIRE VS. THE WORLD THAT IS),
AND ENDING (THE RESOLUTION OF A
LIFE LIVED).

MUSIC IS INNATELY TRANSCENDENT BECAUSE IT IS
INTRINSICALLY HUMAN. AND WHILE SOME WISH TO RID
MUSIC OF ITS SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS IN AN ATTEMPT TO
RELINQUISH IT OF ANY PSEUDO-MYSTICAL AURA, THE
POWER OF MUSIC CANNOT BE ARGUED. IT IS, AS MANY
POSIT, SOMETHING AKIN TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN,
WHICH YOU CAN THINK OF AS BEING IN THE ‘RIGHT PLACE
AT THE RIGHT TIME.’

WHETHER THE MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH WE PRODUCE
THE MESSAGE OF MUSIC AROSE DUE TO STRICTLY
EVOLUTIONARY, UTILITARIAN MEANS, THE SPIRIT THAT IT
MANIFESTS IS, IN THE MOST REAL SENSE, REAL. MUSIC
SHOWS US TO OURSELVES, AND IT MIRRORS THE
TRAJECTORY OF THE UNIVERSE—INCREASINGLY COMPLEX
AND ASTOUNDINGLY BEAUTIFUL, YET SIMPLE ENOUGH
FOR THE YOUNGEST AND MOST ILLITERATE TO ENJOY.