Communication is a broad concept that can be defined as the imparting or exchange of information and ideas from one person to another. This exchange of information can occur in a written, oral, verbal, electronic, and the most ancient of all, nonverbal manner. Nonverbal communication includes gesture, posture, tone of voice, eye contact, clothing and other aspects that are used to express to the listener something beyond words. Every type of art is a form of self-expression, produced in a nonverbal way. Take for instance music; it is the use of vocal and instrumental sounds to produce a harmony or melody responsible for expressing emotion. As the French writer Victor Hugo once said, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.”1
There are several theories regarding the origin of music, one of them includes communication as a universal language. A typical question about music is, where does it come from? The origin of music is actually one of the biggest myths in history. There are several theories, which depict the origin of it, but none of them has been proven to be true. Traces of music have been found from prehistoric time. One of the theories is that music was one of the first forms of communication, and was used as a universal language. Humans tended to imitate natural sounds with percussion instruments, which was basically anything that produced a sound when beat. Instruments and music go way back and have been transforming for centuries but one aspect that has been firmly maintained is that it expresses the musician’s thoughts and emotions. There is always a meaning or story behind a song, though it is true that this can differ based on people’s perspective. For example, the famous “Moonlight Sonata” written by Beethoven is not just a bunch of keynotes put together by a musician to form a melody. It was Beethoven’s way to express his feelings for his pupil Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. For someone in the audience, hearing Beethoven’s music can be inspiring, for some depressing and for others motivational. Everyone has his or her own way of perceiving music, just as everyone is different one way or another.
Even though each individual is unique and has his or her way of perceiving music, it can be agreed on the idea that musicians tend to understand and perceive music as a language. A perfect example is the silent competition between pianist’s practice rooms. Two musicians are capable of maintaining a war between their musical works without ever looking at each other.
Most of the time pianists practice their compositions in common rehearsal rooms where other musicians spend hours perfecting and polishing their pieces. For a pianist, hearing someone else performing a more complex piece is considered as a challenge. Without probably realizing, each pianist is expressing a message to others wherever they are performing. Those who practice the same piece over and over again are expressing persistence. Those who start practicing early in the morning, show organization. Those who perform strong pieces, show strong personalities. Indeed, music is a form of self-expression but how is it related to technology?
Communication through music has been shaped by technology through time. Today communication is not only through classical instruments, or opera songs. Music isn’t even restricted to live performances or concerts. Music is expressed through electronic artifacts or performances as for example DJs. DJs “never say anything, but in a kind of reverse ventriloquism they often mouth the words or gesture while the records play.” 2 Even though they perform completely different types of music, pianists and DJs are both able to express and communicate their message nonverbally.
Going back to DJ’s competition, it is a continuous attack-response war between several DJ’s where it is very important to have originality, creativity, talent and knowledge. They are able to express their beliefs without emitting a word. In the book Capturing Sound, the author Mark Katz tells the story of a meeting with a DJ who said,
“We speak with our hands. Many feel that dissing is essential to battles, and I agree. It is not the dissing that I try to prevent, I want to discourage DJs from using racial slurs, misogynistic language, cursing, and other offensive words.” 3
This DJ used music and nonverbal communication to get his ideals and message to the public and wishes to portray a positive message. But this wouldn’t be able to happen without the instruments or tool the human being has been creating throughout history.
As musicians use pianos, DJs use mixers and turntables to express their message. These electronic devices are the product of technological revolution. Through the last couple of years decisive and important devices have been created and evolving to make the daily life of human beings easier. Hence, DJs are able to record from funk or rap to Broadway and classical music. But this is just a final transformation of the first instruments used. As writing tools evolved from scratching pictures with sharp tools to pens, pencils and even computers; musical instruments have evolved from simple percussion instruments to mixers or turntables, where one is able of mixing any song or sound.
Recalling the origin of music and how it has been evolving through time, there are three important examples that should be analyzed: Music through the prehistoric era, classical music and electronic music. They all express the musician or author’s message, but differ in the form of expression. Here is where technology plays a role. The instruments used in the prehistoric era were the product of technology. They were used when language wasn’t created, so music was considered to be practical at this point. Then instruments evolved through thousands of years to finally have what we know as classical music, which is a melodic composition with the purpose of entertaining and transmitting the musician’s feelings. A couple of decades later we came across with DJs and DJ’s battles, being one of the most recent forms of modern composition. It is impressive how they express competitive messages against their opponents with their body and musical pieces.
It is true that technology has shaped music from the prehistoric era to the twenty first century, but it is also true that it has shaped it across cultures. The message that was once expressed by a primitive “musicians” could only reach those around them, probably members of their own tribe or family. Afterwards, as a consequence of the development of acoustic architecture and sound producing devices, as speakers, musicians were able to reach a larger public. Then, many melodies and types of music could be mixed by DJs. Finally, music wasn’t limited to concerts and live performances, but was developed so it could reach other cultures. Music now travels through YouTube, ITunes, record stores, mp3 players, and others; transmitting the musician’s message across different continents through technological or electronic devices.
As it was previously stated technology has boosted positively the musical world; but it is also affecting it negatively. There isn’t anything positive in life without a negative side in it. People are starting to give less importance to live concerts; this is because they are able of watching the same presentation in YouTube or television, or they could just wait for it to be produced in CD, buy it, and watch it over and over again. Because music is becoming more accessible every day, artists are recycling music and copying that of other authors. As well as the common public is downloading music without permission. Piracy has increased through the last decades, being directly proportional to the last developments of technology. After raising these aspects a question must be asked, is the overall effect of technology over the evolutions of music positive or negative?
Songs are messages and ideas produced in a musical way and shouldn’t be copied or heard without permission. This tends to happen often mainly because of the Internet. But this is only a small dot in a pool of positive aspects technology revolution has brought. The important thing about it is how you use it. Technology can shape music positively or negatively; it depends completely on its application. The essence of music can never be lost through the transformation of it. Whether it is through a piano, mixer or any other instrument, the message of the author should always reach their audience, whoever this is.
“Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn” 4 (Charlie Parker). As music expresses that which cannot be said, it can be referred as: The nonverbal method of communication by excellence. Throughout centuries the way music is being expressed has been manipulated by technology and evolution. As time passes we get closer to globalization and the expansion of the message the author or musician wants to express. Hopefully, music will find its way to progressively change and preserve its essence of self-expression.
The imitation of different sounds from nature can be considered to be the origin of music. Human beings started to use instruments to communicate different messages. After the increasing progress of instruments by evolution, today, new pieces of technology are still used to communicate with each other but through different methods. It is portrayed through the examples of practice rooms and DJ battles how competition is represented silently. Even though these examples use completely different artifacts, they portray the positive aspect of technology in music, which involves communicating the author’s message through sounds and melodies, where they “…enter into a dialogue in which no one speaks, but much is said.” 5 For one to understand the message a musician is trying to express, one should always keep in mind that music is not solely a form of entertainment but a complex form of communication.
Resources
1. Theodor Adorno and Hanns Eisler, Composing for he Films. London: The Athlone Press, 1994.
http://www.artistshousemusic.org/videos/the+importance+of+communication+in+music (Accessed on 10/13/2011)
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/14451
(Accessed on 10/12/2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-MLUgFHbrA
Accesed on 11/10/2011
http://musicianintheboardroom.com/2011/10/23/on-music-non-verbal-communication-with-naomi-bell/
Accesed on 11/10/2011
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