The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-05-08
THE ORIGIN OF MUSIC
Contributed by Mrs. V. J. La Rose

As National Music week comes to
close today, the following exccp-
. tionally well written story concern
ing the origin OF music will be of
interest to Tribune readers. The ar
ticlc has been in the possession Of
Mrs. V. j. LaRose for many years
and is published in the Tribune with
her permission:
The human mind finds special de-
light in tracing things back to their
beginning. We wish TO know where
things come from, the more stu
pendous they are in their completion,
the more anxious we are to know
their origin.
In this history Of the evolution Of
art, music has Il rather unique place.
Poetry, painting. sculpture, all these
arts had reached comparatively high
levels Of perfection when music stiii
was in its infancy. Several thousand
years had to pass By before music
became what ii is now. Music is very
old, but exact dates of its inception
cannot be given. The monuments on
old Egyptian tombs contain harps and
Tyres, which proves that this art IS
at least 1000 years old.
Eat the question is. how did music
re originate" No doubt the hui
man voice must be cons dered as the
oldest instrument. and the first music
teacher was Mother Nature; the howl
ing OF the wind. the roaring sea. the
rolling thunder, the mysterious rust
ling of the forest, the cries Of
beasts. and the singing of birds, must
have given man the first Impression
of the variety Of sounds that prevail
in nature, and was necessary pre-
ambie for musical perception. From
listening to, to initiating these vari-
us sounds seems to be only short
step. The tendency to initiate, which
we find in all normal children, must
have been equally strong III prImi-
tive man. Indeed. Aristotle, the
great Greek philosopher, who was
born :S4 b. C., holds that all art is
imitation.
Thus most likely at first the hui
man voice initiated the sounds of ma
turc, and later simple instruments
were invented for the same purpose.
The wind blowing through the reeds
~ the river banks and producing a
whistling sound led to the invention
Of the flute Every group Of people
may be presumed to have especially
initiated those sounds that sur
rounded them, the people living on
seaboards the roaring OF the ocean
the inhabitants of the island the
rustling of the forest, etc.
The regularity of certain natural
sounds and the tendency to initiate
must soon have developed a sense OF
rhythm, reproduced in the ever
space of two persons walking togeth
or, or the even stroke Of hammers. OF
the rhythmic beat of the fails, or the
timed shouts at any other kind Of
common work, which even in GU
timesis quite common.
A further stage of development wa
reached when hands and feet joine'
in the marking Of time, to the SCUM,
of the human voice. This sort o
singing would hurt a trained ear o
todas, r1ause there was no melod
in l.. and must be compared to tn
First attempt Of child to speak. Il
general it, may be said that the de
velopment of the individual reflect
to a large extent the development o
the whole race. Between the rattl
we give the baby and the primitiv
Instruments to produce noise anon
sayages there is very little differenc,
A baby does not only use "A rattle /
a moresUr less rhythmical way, bu
with any firm object given into it
hands hits other objects and ev1
IDENTIFY enjoys the repetition of tn
same noise. That indicates the frs
stages pf. its sense of rhythm.
From all this we understand VIII
the first instruments invented wer
all noise" producers, rattles an
drums. They were sufficient to sat
isfy the human sense Of rhythm, flo
the secret of melody had not 20
dawned on man.
The most common instrument G
primitive races still is the drum
which has not changed essential
since it's invention. 1t was especial
used to summon the scattered wal
riors of "a tribe. to announce tn
beginning Of a battle, and to cor
fuse the enemy. The present use 9
the military drum still shows this oil
purpose.
OF course, there are no historic;
records about these first instrument
among the aborigines, and we ca
on.y make a guess from the instrl
ments WE find among the savages T.
day. All who have ever listened
the deafening noise produced /
troops of Ashantis or other nati'
tribes Of the South Sea, or the Phili