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Expressing emotions in music PDF

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Expressing Emotions in Music KAVITACHAKRABORTY Emotionsareamong themost powerfulofforces that influencehumanbehaviour. OUf emotionscommandourattentionandwecannotignorethem.Whenwe feel intensely emotional we cannot concentrateon performing our jobs as we should, or choosing our wordscarefully, oreven listeningtomusic orreading. Emotional behaviour is primarily influenced by conditioned visceral responses. OUf visceraare always reacting, but in emotion, their reactions affect perception, thinking, learning, and virtually everythingwedo.All emotionalbehaviourhas severalcharacteris ticsincommon.First, emotionisdiffuse, that is,itisable toaffecttheentirebody; second, emotion ispersistent,ittendstoremainlong after theimmediatestimulushas disappeared; andthird,emotioniscumulative. Itmight atfirstthought seemasifmusiccouldbeanidealvehiclefortheartisticexpres sionofemotions. For music isan art ofsoundsand wecan express ouremotions through thesounds wemake.Itmight appear,therefore,that music ispeculiarlyfittedtoexploitthe variousfeatures oftheaudible manifestationsofemotionsintheconstructionofworksthat are designedto beunderstood asexpressions of emotion. Infact, there aretwo waysinwhich <mere'soundisconnectedwith emotionthat music could seek to exploit. Under the stress ofan emotion, a human being may produce (i) a certain kind ofsounde.g. (perhaps) laughter, a shriek, asob or (ii) sounds in aparticular manner,e.g. slowly inasoftvoice, withacharacteristicinflectionorpatternofintonation.' Music has been definedas the art of expression in sound, melody and harmonyin which ideas and emotionsplay importantroles. The psychologicalimpact ofmusichas alwaysbeen moreprominentascomparedtothe physicalorphysiological.The ability ofmusic toinfluencehumanemotionis well known andusedextensivelybymusicdirectors.Avarietyofmusicalmoodsmaybe used tocreate feelings ofcalmness,excitement,tensionandromance. Musiccan alsobe usedtoexpress emotionnon-verbally.Dependingonthe type and style ofsound,musicalsoundcaneither sharpenmentalacuity orassist relaxation.The fundamentalerrorofthe transmissionform oftheexpressiontheoryofmusic isitsseparationofwhatgivesits value-accordingtothe theory,theexperienceittransmits fromcomposertolistener,fromthemusicitself.Itrepre sentsamusicalwork as being relatedinacertainway toan experiencewhichcan befully characterisedwithoutreferencetothe nature of the workitself." Watson believes that there are three such fundamental patterns in the human infant: fear,rage and love. Watsondefinedan emotionasahereditary"pattern-relationinvolving profoundchangesof the bodily mechanismasawholebut particularlyofthe visceraland Sangut Natak Vol.XLI. No.3. 2007 EXPRESSING EMOTIONS INMUSIC 41 glandular systems". Titchener(1910) introduceshissystematicviewofaffectionandemotionbyconsidering certainproblemsofdefinition.Affection isdefined astheelementary mentalprocesschar acteristic of feeling and of the emotions such as love, hate.joy and sorrow. The term 'feeling' is used to denote a simple connection of sensation and affection in which the affective process dominates consciousness.' Feeling may be used in a narrow sense to denote sensations of touch, roughness, solidityand the like. Such experiences,Titchenerbelieves, aremoreproperlytermed'per ception' or 'touch blends' and, as such, do not enterinto the psychology of feeling and emotion." According to Schachter, "An emotion is the interpretation at a change in level and qualityatinternalsensationsinaparticularcontext". Schachterfurtherexplainedthatemo tions depend on two factors: (1) Physiological arousal; (2) a mental process by which subjects interpret or label their physiological sensations. The internal sensations result from physiological changes caused by patterns of brain activity, especially in the hypothalamus and limbic system, that act through the autonomic nervous system. The interpretation is a psychological process that seeks to find the relationship between the sensations and the environmental context and that accounts forour subjective feelings. In some theories of the mind, emotion, cognition and volition wereregarded asthree fundamentalfaculties.Emotioncarnetoberegarded asdistinctfromcognitionandvolition (willing). Weretain thevestigesofthisanalysis inourpresent-dayconceptionofemotion: emotionis commonlythoughttobetheobserve ofreason, aseparatefaculty,usuallyone to be guarded against lest it interfere with the rational aspects of the mind and thereby subvert motivation or values. Musical Feeling Emotionand feeling arecloselyrelated tooneanother.theybothdependonthebrainstem in the nervous system. Pleasure, pain, fear, anger, love, etc.•involve feeling as well as emotions,consequently,manyoftheemotionsarelinkedwithfeeling.Feelingcanbepleas ant and can be painful too. Similarly, emotions may becausedeither byhappiness orby sorrow.Musicisthemediumthroughwhichweexpressourfeelingsofjoyandsorrow.love andpatriotism.penitenceandpraise.According toCarlE.Seashore."Musicalfeeling,like anotherfeeling, isarousedinproportiontoacertainsensitivenesstoobjects,either physi cal. mental orideal. Aperson whoissensitive toadifferenceof0.01 atawholetonestep respondsto themusical situationinanentirely differentaffectivewaythanthepersonwho cannothearany less than aquarterorahalftone"..'iSusanneLangerspeaksof feelingand its forms thus: excitement and repose. the easy passage of a reverie; sudden activation. perhaps ofan impulse or thought, a moment of international waywardness; "precipitate advances and victorious emergences'", the drive and directness ofdesires. and aboveall therhythmic continuityof ourselfhood. 42 KAVITACHAKRABORTY Typesof Emotions Emotionsare moredifficulttoclassifythatitfirst appears;overtemotionalbehaviourdoes not necessarily reflect covertemotional relations. "Emotions often overlap and opposing emotionsmaybearousedbythesamestimuli,becauseoftheinfluenceofbothheredityand individualleaming.Differentpeoplereactdifferentlyandwith varyingintensitytothesame stimuli. However.psychologists,byobservingbodilyreactionstovariousemotionalstimuli. have identified severalemotions that produce similar reactions in different people in the samesituation.forexample.joy.sorrow,anger,love.fear and hate." McDougall.a British psychologist. points out that all animals including humans have "instincts" or "propensities" and that when these are activated an affective quality which wecallemotion isassociatedwitheach. Instinct Emotion Flight Fear Repulsion Disgust Curiosity Wonder Pugnacity Anger Self-abasement Subjection Self-assertion Elation Parental Tender Thesecondaryorcomplexemotionsarcillustratedbysuchthingsashate, whichMcDougall definesasamixtureofanger, fearanddisgustscorn,whichisamixtureoffearanddisgust. Tomkinsassumes that thereareeightbasicemotionsoreffects.Thepositiveeffectsare(i) interest;(ii)surprise;and(iii)joy. The negativeeffectsare(iv)anguish;(v)fear; (vi)shame;(vii)disgust;and(viii)rage. Cattellhasfactor-analyzedavarietyofdescriptiveitemsrelatedtotheobjectiveoppression ofemotionsandmotivations(1957).Hereportsten factors whichhedefinesasbasic emo tions.He proposesthat each emotion hasa particulargoaloraim.andwhen he combines thesetwo ideas.listlooksmuch likeMcDougal Emotion Goal Lust Mating Fear Escape Loneliness Gregariousness Pity. succourance Protectiveness Curiosity Exploration Pride Self-assertion Sensuous comfort Narcissism Despair Appeal Sleepiness Rest-seeking Anger Pugnacity EXPRESSING EMOTIONS IN MUSIC 43 MalcolmBudd considersthefollowing listofemotions: co~dition (i) Embarrassment isdiscomfortat thethought thatsomeactionor might make others think lesswellofone. (ii) Envy ispain at the thoughtof an advantage enjoyed byanother. (iii) Fearisdistress at the thought ofdanger tooneselforsomeoneorsomethingone cares about. (iv) Griefisacute distress atthethought ofthedeathofsomeonewhoisdeartoone. (v) Pride is satisfaction at the thought at an achievement, or the possession of a desirablequalitybyoneselforsomeone orsomethingoneidentifieswith. (vi) Remorse is distress atthe thought that onehasactedwrongly. (vii) Shameis discomfort at the thoughtofthepossession ofadefectorfromfalling short ofanideal, byoneselforsomeone oneidentifieswith." Music and Emotions Emotion can be communicated by means other than gestures andfacialexpression.The human voice is an exceptionally sensitive instrument forcommunicatingemotion.Tone, loudness and speed of speaking all can act as signals of the communicator's emotional state. Rapid and loud speaking may reveal depression. The fine arts-music, painting, sculpture,poetryandsoon-canvividly portrayemotions,althoughwerequirecontinued exposuretothe artsbeforewecanfullyrecognize andappreciatewhatisbeingexpressed. Even then great artists not only effectively portray universal emotions in their works. Emotionsexpressedby many musical compositions donotneedlyrics,titlesorinterpreta tions toexplainthem. Music isitselfanexpressivelanguagewithoutwords. Wordsthat signify moods andemotionscanbeusedtodescribetheauditorystructures ofmusic becausethe form ofexperiencesofonesensemodalitycanduplicatetheformof experiencesofanothersensemodality.Objectivephenomenalstructurescanexhibitastrik ing resemlance to the forms of subjective bodily reverberations andin consequencebe thought of, erroneously, as the embodiments of emotions and moods. But they do not I" embodyemotionsandmoods. Rather,theymerelysoundandlookthewayemoti•ons l&ee. Ragas as the Expression ofEmotions Ragas, as it is understood in India, is mainly the spontaneous outflow of basic human emotionsinthe formofmelodictunes.Aragaisabasicmelodicpattern,whethersimpleor complex, consistingofseveralnotes-fiveorsixorseven-butnotmorethanfiveinafixed ascendinganddescendingorder,whichmaybethesameordifferent.Itisdistinguishedby itsownparticularsequenceofnotes, numberoftones,characteristicphrasesandprincipal mood. In Indian classical ragas vocalists andinstrumentalists improviseinanystyle,for o~ anyduration,and inanytempo, eitherasasolooraccompaniedbyTabla.Thequality a notemaybetaken tocoverthefollowing: itsbeinghighorlowbyvirtueofitsplaceme~tIII the bass, middle or upper register; its thinness or richness, tangentiality or penetranon. 44 KAVITACHAKRABORTY which respectively mean how brieforhow long isthe abidance of aparticular note, and above all, itsexpressiveness-gaiety,a sad and yearning intenseness, or a simple soulful quality. One interesting aspectofthe Indian raga systemisthat asthe annual journeyof II the earth through the year brings about changes in the seasons and environment, ragas alsomoveintimetorelatethemselves totheirsurroundings. There are thereforemorning, afternoon, evening and night ragas, with different moods to indicate the passage oftime. Forexample, theNorth Indian Basant and Baharragas areofspringtime.Malharis ofthe rainy season. Inorder tosubstantiate this point, letus take a look atthe classificationofragas tradi tionally handed down to us by the eminent ancient musicologists. The classification of thesesixarchaicragasintothirty-sixderived ragas hasbeen normallytabulatedasfollows: 1. Sri raga (Melody of the winter)" 1 2 3 4 5 6 Goodi Kolahali Dravali Andoliki Madhavi Devagandhari 2. Pancama raga (Melody of the autumn) 1 2 3 4 5 6 Suddhanata Suveri Saindhavi Malati Troti Koumadaki 3. Megha raga (Melody of the rainy season) I 2 3 4 5 6 Sourastri Kambhari Vangali Madhumadhabi Devakri Bhupali 4. Natanarayana (Melody ofthe early winter) 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vallabhi Madhavi Vidagadhi Abhisiriki Trtveni Megharanji Music,EmotionsandRasa Ragacanbesaidtoconsist ofone'sidentificationwiththeessenceinaestheticenjoyment. Apertinentquestion thatnowarisesiswhetherthepleasurethat anindividualderivesfrom anappreciationof music israsa. It can also beequated with sentiment. Rasaresults from Bhava,another termdifficulttotranslate. Bhava isabasic emotionalstate. Rasacannotbe appreciated without an aesthetic propensity-vasana and previous sanskar. It is indeed very difficult to find anexactEnglish equivalentofthe word rasa as it is understood in Indian aesthetics. The nearest so-called equivalent would be feeling par excellence;theeternal valuethatisfeltasanendinitself. Suchafeelingstands onahigher levelascomparedtootherfeelings which aredirectedtoempiricalphenomena. Rasathus maybesaid tosignifyafeeling ofenjoymentofwhich thereisnodirect empiricalobject,it isasortoftrans-empiricalfeeling,inwardlydirected.AccordingtoPradeepSenGupta,rasa thus may be said to be rooted in the essence offeeling ofthe highest order. It is to be understoodeitherasaneternalfeelingorasaneternalvalueasfelt. Itinvolvessomefactors whichdistinguishitfromtheobject.Thesefactorsare:expression,detachmentandeternity. EXPRESSING EMOTIONS INMUSIC 45 These can be realised, though not necessarily, in the location of any object only as the projectionofsympatheticfeelingtogetherwithcontemplativefeeling withoutlossoffree dom. Itsoverallcharacteris transcendental", Emotions and Raga In Indianstandard literatureemotionsaredividedintonineragaswhich areasfollows : 1. Sringaraorlove 2 Karunaorgrief 3. Raudraoranger 4. Viraorenthusiasm 5. Bibhatsaor fisgust 6. Hasyaormirth 7. Adbhut or wonder R Bhayanakaorterror 9. SantaorpeaceI tranquillity Accordingtosome aestheticians,therearetwomore-Bhakti (devotion)and Varsalya (maternal feeling).The following tableshows the relation between the individual swaras and the associated rasas : SaandRa Vir,Raudra andAdbhuta (il Karuna Ma Hasya Pa Sringara Dha VibhatsaandBhayanaka Ni Santa Rasamayberegardedassomehowrepresenting thesublimatedmentalstateofanemo tion.The factors that form theconstituentsofemotionalaction are. in Indian psychology vibhavas (the determinant), anubhava (the consequents), satvabhava (involuntary re sponses), bhavas.Each ragain Indianmusicisassociated withadefiniteRasormood. In other words. ragas areunderstood as the musical vehicle to conveya specific aesthetic cum-emotional sentimentcharacteristic ofarasa, itsdefiniteethos,itsspiritual and trans empirical appeal.It isthisemotive-aesthetic principle,the indwellingor presidingsenti ment,which themusician takes to invoke with the helpofa unique combinationofnotes. customarilycalledtheraga." AccordingtoB.C.Deva,someexperimentsoncurrentscientificlineswereconductedby measuring the responses to a few ragas.It was found that theydid produce fairlysimilar moods inallthelistenersparticipatingintheexperiment,asinstancedbelow: Kafi:Veryaffective,humid,cool,soothing,light,deepdoesnotagitate. Misra Mand : Pleasing a gay, representing light, sweet, deep but does not KAVITA CHAKRABORTY agitate,hasno feelingofnovelty. PooriyaDhanasri:Sweet.colourful,deep.heavy.weary.reflectsstability,cloudy. sacred. hasnovitality. Ragesri:Sweet,soothing.deep,weary.dark.nonovelty,stableandcalm.B Conclusion Music expresses the unconscious motivation. emotions, feelings. attitudes. conflicts and frustrationsofhumanbeing.Theidealof'absolutemusic' canalmostbereactedinthe raga systemofIndian musicwhen the artisttouches the soulofaraga through the sublimation ofthe ideas and emotion which itevokes. Raga and rasa cannot beseparated from each other.Forevery ragathereissomesuchemotionalcorecontentinman'sinnermostfeeling. thedepthofwhichhealonecanrealize.Itisfromsuchrealization thatmusiccomesintoan articulated fonn of expression through swaras or tones. Ifraga is the melodic cone or microcosmofIndianmusic.rasaoremotionisitsbasicaestheticappealwhichenrichesthe raga in the domain of art. and infuses life into music so that it grows and becomes an unending process flourishing in diverse forms of development culminating in spiritual enlightrnent, acommunion with the infinite- the fullness in man. There can be no raga without anaccompanying rasa or emotions.This is perhaps the unique feature of Indian musicwhich cannotbefound in any othermusicalheritage, NOTESAND REFERENCES l• Budd. Malcolm.Musicandthe Emotions.p. 131. 2. Op.cit.,p. 123 3. The expositionfollowsTitcbener (1910). 4. Chaplin.Svstem at Psychol08"''' p.423. ~. Seashore E.Carl. Psychology ofMILlie.p. 118. 6. A[~r1 Goehring:quoted byS.K. Unger inMind:An Essay on Human Feeling. Vol. I.John Hopkins University Press.2""Printing. ]975. p.83. 7. S.K.Langer :Problems ofArt.Routledge and Kegan Paul. J957. p.33. 8. E. Robert. Psychology (third edition). p.285. 9. Budd Malcolm.Musicam! Emotion, p.4. 10. Carroll C.Pratt. "ObjectivityatAestheticValue", Journal ofPhilosophy,Vol. XXXI (1934). 11. S.K. Saxena,SangeetNatal:.,December 1992,p. 11. 1~. Sengupta. Pradeep. Fotmdasions ofInJian Musicology. p. 110. I3. Sengupta. Pradeep.op. cit.r.110. 14. Pradeep.Sengupta:op.cit. p.112 lS. B.C. Deva,An Inrroollction 10Indian Mu.sic.p.6&.

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