The Hidden Music of Language

[AndrewMeronek]

I was idly watching this and it struck me that this may be very interesting.



How often do we listen not only to our favorite artists play music, but also our favorite artists simply speak in their native language?

[Wilktone]

I didn't get through the whole video, but it is very interesting. Early on he points out how his speaking could be notated according to pitch and rhythm. That reminded me of this Radio Lab episode.

https://radiolab.org/podcast/91513-behaves-so-strangely

[Kbiggs]

Very interesting. Intuitively, I believe many musicians assume there is a music to language, and vice versa. For example, Dr Jones mentions Janacek’s transcribing Czech phrases into music. How different is that compared to Bartok’s transcribing Hungarian folk songs into music?

I seem to remember a composer who transcribed bird songs and made them into music—maybe Hovhaness?

[BurckhardtS]

I've generally considered music a language of it's own. It makes a lot more sense that way, to me at least.

[VJOFan]

It brings my mind to the question of the origins of both communication through language and the development of musical expression. Was it noise--call--signal--word for language? Did humans always make "music" to themselves or their children for soothing or did songs develop as we began to tell stories? It makes sense to me that formal music developed as oral story traditions developed. Since speaking already has musical qualities it's just a matter of emphasis and elaboration rather than invention to turn spoken word into a song.

[Wilktone]

For example, Dr Jones mentions Janacek’s transcribing Czech phrases into music. How different is that compared to Bartok’s transcribing Hungarian folk songs into music?

I didn't watch far enough in the video for the Janacek info. Is that transcribing Czech sentences or Czech musical phrases? If the former, the difference is that one is specifically music and the other is speech, not intended as a musical phrase.

I seem to remember a composer who transcribed bird songs and made them into music—maybe Hovhaness?

Not sure above Hovhanness (I guess I could do a search, but I'm lazy), but I remember Olivier Messiaen was noted for that.

I've generally considered music a language of it's own. It makes a lot more sense that way, to me at least

It brings my mind to the question of the origins of both communication through language and the development of musical expression.

I haven't read it in a while, so I may be mixing this up with another book, but I recommend "This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession" by Daniel J. Levitin. I don't see a dedicated chapter there, but I recall some discussion on ideas on how music and language may have co-evolved in the human species.




Dave