Customer Reviews

The Magic of Tone and the Art of Music

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is phenomenal. If you are deeply into music, and are driven to know everything you can about how it relates to the evolution of consciousness, this sadly unheralded tome will send you into raptures.

I first found it in December '94 (at the wonderful bookstore Logos in Santa Cruz). I'd heard of Rudhyar through his astrological writings, most of which were far beyond my semi-basic level of understanding on that subject. I started leafing through The Magic of Tone And The Art of Music, intrigued by the title and that an astrologer would be writing a book with this name. I've always been fascinated by the incredible power of music to transport us into vast emotional spaces and other states of being; there's not a human on this planet who doesn't resonate to some form of music or sound, even if just the cooing of mother's voice.

While perusing it in the store I realized that this guy was writing about music from a whole 'nother vantage point and that this was the book I'd been seeking for a decade or so. The only problem was the at times incredible intricacy of Rudhyar's thoughts, and the abstruse way in which they are often communicated. It takes some work at times, but is always worth it.

Some of the book is just plain tricky to read, and I've slogged my way through some caliche-thick texts over the years. Rudhyar assumes the reader already knows most of the history of music, thought, and art in general. Well, I didn't in '94 and am still lifetimes behind (how did this one fellow learn all this stuff and put it together so uniquely?).

Despite that, I can still open this book and read at random for just one page and come away with enough inspiration to make me ponder the next piece of music I hear on an entirely deeper level. And that is a gift beyond measure for one whose existence is sculpted and framed by music.

I played music for a living during most of the '90s and this book guided me to the depth of intention that a musician must have to truly move an audience. Rudhyar's basic belief is that the intention of the musician is expressed in every note that is played, and the listeners can only receive that intention on the levels they are ready for and that the collective consciousness of their DNA allows; when musicans and audience are aligned on the highest levels, music can allow us to access the highest states of bliss and oneness with God, the Universe, or whatever you choose to label the Beyond from which we all spring and to which we all return.

Thus it is the job and goal of the player to put as much understanding and comprehension and above all love into every note that is played. Not your average acadmeic musical text...and that's but one of the myriad ideas here. Rudhyar brings together his almost cosmically huge knowledge of natural history and mankind's path through it and stretches the reader's mind to new zones almost continuously, showing how connected music, literature, and the visual arts are, and how music can take the mind to places that the other arts must observe from afar.

As mentioned, this is not an easy read; Rudhyar's peregrinations can be extreme. But every minute you spend contemplating what is being shared will be paid back in spades as life goes by and you begin to grasp how deep Rudhyar's conception of sound is, and how music, tone, speech and the intention behind them affect everything we encounter.

He traces the evolution of sound into music, and what separates the two. He explains how our musical forms are expressions of our cultural and racial consciousness. He shows why European music has such different goals than Indian and other cultures' musics, and why each culture splits the octave into their own number of units.

That part alone brought me many Ah-Ha! moments. I've always figured we chose 12 notes per octave for mainly mathematical reasons--Pythagoras and other ancient seers are well-referenced and explicated here--and that's true, but there's so much more to it. In Rudhyar's able hands, the reasons become ever clearer as to why each race and culture loves and makes the musics they do. That alone is worth the price of admission here.

He also goes into the creation of scales from the various octave divisions, insights about modes, the impact of various Churches and religions on said scales and modes and accepted musical creations, and a wealth of other subjects both obscure and hitherto misunderstood. For anyone who loves to read and think about music in serious depth, it's a rare goldmine.

The best thing about this book is that Rudhyar never panders or backs away from difficult ideas. He just plows forward, occasionally digressing into wild new realms so that one is left scratching one's head. But then again, this is one of the only books I've ever read where I felt truly ignorant at times. And I liked that feeling. It made me remember over and over that there are so many more levels of knowledge and sound to be probed than one can even fathom, and how good a thing that is.

Of the hundreds of books I've read on music, none comes close to the depth of knowledge and breadth of comprehension of this book. The language can be slippery but only because Rudhyar is aiming so much higher than words tend to allow us to fly. The man was a true genius, and clearly far beyond his time. Read a little about him and see if you don't agree (there is a fabulous online site full of his work; search khaldea rudhyar to find it). He was not only one of the great writers about the heavens and our relation to them, he was a fine composer, painter, poet, psychologist (he loved Jung and furthered his works) and philosopher.

When I saw this book for only the second time in my life (and I've seen a few used bookstores, clearly this was a tiny print run), it was appropriately at a wonderful little treasure trove in Durango called Under The Rainbow, run by Dorothy, a most delightful lady and lovely spirit. (No doubt Dane would have loved Dorothy.) I immediately bought and reread it and still think The Magic of Tone is one of the most thorough explications of the human psyche I've ever read, a decade and a half after first reading it. It is also easily the wildest and farthest-reaching book on music I've ever seen. I doubt I'll grasp all of it in this lifetime. I like that thought.

Please forgive the endless review--apparently my longest--but I just wanted to freely rhapsodize about the uniqueness and intensity of this book, and if you've got this far then you'll have no problem with Rudhyar!

And oh, by the way, when this book was published in 1982, by the fabulous Shambala Books (speaking of Colorado and wise souls), Sir Rudhyar was 87 years young. Just look at his face on the cover of this book. That is the countenance of wisdom. It seems that the true geniuses who can wrap their minds around our history on this planet, such as Rudhyar, Joseph Campbell (speaking of Jung) and Jung himself and a few others, are still brilliant and hyper-aware well into their ninth decade. Which seems about right.

Rudhyar will one day be seen for the true Master he was, but in the meantime, if you really love music and want to see it in a deeper and more translucent light than you can imagine, read this book and delight in its complexity, ambition and wondrous love of music and its power over the human soul.

For me, Rudhyar eloquently described what for me personally, is the main reason for doing music.

His analysis of the progress of musical history away from music as not only an art form, but as a spiritual discipline is intriguing. This interpretation of historical events is unique in that it suggests a degeneracy rather than an ascension toward perfection.

What Rudhyar really hit the mark on was the idea of not so much returning to, but developing a musical culture that concentrates not on style, genre, or tradition; but on the psychoactive properties of music. In other words, treating the effects that music has on human beings as paramount importance, and the prime reson for doing music at all. And beyond this, using it as a constructive presence in human society - taking responsibility for the effects that music produces.

This idea alone is of immense value to humanity, and should serve as an inspiration to musicians everywhere. If this is all Rudhyar ever accomplished, he would go down in history as one of music's greatest philosophers.

I agree with K. Swanson's in-depth review/summary. Rudyhar has a depth of insight that is rare.
He approaches the subject spiritually, historically, philosophically, academically, and humanly.
Who does that nowadays?

This book is a rare gem that is a must-have for any musician digging deeper into his/her craft.