The meaning of music for people - much more than just an acoustic phenomenon (archive)

Eckart Altenmüller in conversation with Ralf Bei der Kellen

Neurologist and musician Eckart Altenmüller researches what music does to us and what significance it has had for people through the centuries. Music was a means of communication and social glue – and always closely related to spirituality.

Many world religions and mythical stories attribute music to a divine origin. Neurologist and musician Eckart Altenmüller researches what happens in the brain when sounds carry us to other spheres. The oldest musical instruments found so far, flutes made from bird bones and ivory from the Swabian Jura, were used for ritual purposes, presumes Altenmüller.

"These instruments are very carefully crafted and decorated, which is actually not something that is simple to use."

In ancient times, music was considered a gift of the god Apollo to people. The Indian god Krishna is represented as a flute player. In his book "From the Neandertal to the Philharmonie: Why people cannot live without music" Eckard Altenmüller questions the close connection between music and the sacred.

"Music is relatively open to interpretation. It is not a concrete medium, but it is a solemn and alienated medium. Perhaps that is what makes music so vague and similar."

Music as a way to spirituality

However, music is not uncontroversial in the religions. On the one hand, there are very strict camps in Islam that strictly reject the practice of music, while music and dance in Sufism open the way to spirituality. For a long time, Christianity also sought to reduce the influence of music, says Altenmüller. Not so with Martin Luther:

"Luther used music very explicitly to strengthen his faith and above all, of course, to drive people’s memory formation with his fantastic songs. It is true that singing is also beneficial for memory development."

As director of the Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine at the University of Music, Drama and Media in Hanover, Eckart Altenmüller is particularly interested in the effects of sound and rhythm on the nervous system, for example when music puts people in a trance.

Forehead brain out of control

"This trance in music can be observed in youth cultures as well as in large choirs. The brain physiology is interesting, that exactly the part of the brain that dictates our everyday life in such a dictatorial way, that we order, concentrate, behave decently, “program”, that this part is deactivated."

In the course of evolution, music has played an important role in establishing belonging and identity:

"Music was wonderful medium, to organize groups, organize division of labor, synchronize groups. At the same time, it was also a way to deal with the problem that we are finally."

Communication with the ancestors

In Zen Buddhism, monks come into contact with deceased family members with the sounds of their bamboo flute. And European composers have also conjured up the transcendent power of music in their works.

"For Richard Wagner, the music and the stage work are a kind of parallel worship service that was staged in Bayreuth on the Green Hill and is still partially staged today. Or if you look at Penderecki’s Luke Passion, there is a belief that music means more to us than just an acoustic phenomenon. In moments when I have strong emotions, goosebumps when wonderful voices sound, then have I already feel like I’m floating in another world. Heaven does not necessarily come to me, but I may also go to heaven."

The meaning of music for people – much more than just an acoustic phenomenon (archive)

Music as a way to spirituality

Forehead brain out of control

Communication with the ancestors

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