A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light.Thunk 9
Can there be music without sound?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Nullius in Verba
School e-Magazine
Dept. Website
Winchester Debates
Flipped Classroom
Film Club
Astronomy Club
Cafe Sci Dxb
Badminton Club
IGCSE E1L Revision
Professional Development
Winchester TEDx Events
Raya's Outstanding Student Blog
Kindness Anonymous
Winchester Students
Shelfari
Critical Thinking Blog
Must-watch online documentaries
46 comments:
Scientifically, no. Philosophically, yes. Therefore, there is no correct answer, but, logically, the answer would be no, because no sound, means no vibrations amongst particles, means no communication, basically, we would be deaf.
no.music will definetly not be music without sound.there is no point of music if you cant here it.
nnamdi
NO! I can't imagine trying to listen to a song and not being able to hear it! Even if you counted th fact that you can make your own beats with tapping your feet and drumming your fingers it's still sound and you won't hear anything.
Haha it's funny cause there's one song by Missy Elliot where in the beginning this guy says "What would the music be without sound?"
NO there is no music without sound... not just music there is nothing without sound.
Aisha Bashir...10g2
ummm no, music is not music without sound.
Definately not! There can be no music without sound, music is expressing one's feeling's through rythmic noise (in my opinion), so therefore, no sound equals no music.
Music, for me, is something that appeals to your senses. And whatever appeals to my senses is musical. Conventionally, yep, music without sound has no point. But you don't always need to have to hear something to call it music~
That being said, I would never ever want to be struck deaf. Let's not get too free with the whole concept of not needed ears to listen to music.
So what happens when you sing a song in your head and enjoy the experience? - There's no sound but what is it that gives you pleasure?
What about musical notes in a book? Do they count as unheard music?
Is there more to music than just vibrating sound waves? Can music exist as a concept?
No i dont think so. Music without sound would just be words been said. Even when we recite a song in our head, we imagine a tune going in the backgroung. It would be very weird to hear a song without music.
Yes, there can be music without sound. Of course, not in the literal sense, as in not the kind of music we (our generation) are accustomed to listening to, but music is every where around us.
The wind itself is music. Its melodic flow captivates those who shrewedly observe its purpose.
Music could vaguely be defined as something that creates a certain kind of emotional and mental pleasure which only you can experience. And there have been many performances of music without sound like Algorithmic music, or Gesturic Music.
Music does not simply have to be a certain vibration in the air that appeals to your sense; hearing. Music appeals to ALL of your senses in numerous ways.
P.S. Watch the movie August Rush. The boy makes music out of whatever he observes, feels and event touches. Its a great movie! :)
shrewdly*
I agree with Mo that scientifically, its not possible but philosophically yes. I also agree with Payam thoroughly, its how the sound of music appeals to your senses and creates an emotional feeling. However isn't silence a sound? When we are in a sea of constant noise and when we finally hear the sound of silence, isn't it music to our ears?
Mr. Roberts,
But what if someone was born at a time when sound was not present, then that person would never have experienced music, therefore there would be no rythm in the mind, nothing that the mind can navigate with, thus the mind will not be aware of the existence of sound, let alone music, so that person would never hear it, nor the surroundings for that matter.
Concluding, music would only exist as a concept if we were aware that sound existed at all, for if sound was not present, there would be no "feel" to music, so the mind will adapt to this by not responding to anything that emits sound waves, and, if a condition like this ever arose, we would adapt and become ear-less within a few decades or centuries. So, the concept only exists if there are specific instances that initiate an understanding in the mind.
Take Beethoven as an example. He experienced sound and music, before he turned deaf. So, he experienced the instances that initiate a concept, therefore he was able to create music mentally through his head ( !!! ), but after he had experienced these instances. If we never experienced sound from the day we were born (not deaf people, the whole world in general from the beginning of time), we would never have the mental notes of music in our heads, for we would not have the experience to create a concept in our minds, therefore resulting in people who are oblivious to all kinds of sound, including music.
So, no, music cannot exist as a concept if we have no sound, for we have not experienced any instances that initiate an understanding of music.
:)
no way
music isnt music without sound
its so irritating to even think about this thunk =P
Don't deaf people "feel" music, through vibrations and such?
And composers for instance , they imagine music in their minds, they have a base - the music they've heard before.
Others - deaf I mean - may have other factors to base their imagination of music upon, so I think yeah, there can be music without sound, we just know music to only be sound.
Mo,
Very valid points. And I agree, music is dependant on sound and a person born deaf may not be able to imagine music. But the emphasis is on the words "may not." - I don't know what pleasure a person born deaf feels - maybe he appreciates the rhythm and rhyme in some form of abstraction. We can't even begin to imagine their reality - just as we can't imagine what it is like to see using sound - like dolphins and bats. (There is some speculation that bats may be able to see colour using sound).
All I know is when I imagine a piece of music in my head it gives me pleasure (though not as much as actually hearing it). So, in some ways, I guess music can exist without sound - perhaps in the same way as poetry can exist without words.
Payam makes some valid points too. I think sound is only one element of music. But I could be wrong. I don't feel too strongly about this. I'd argue both yes and no :p
A prisoner was once put into solitary confinement for activating a record player on the intercom from the wardens office .
He was in a space no bigger then 6ft by 6ft. Absent of all light and sound , all his senses were useless.
after 4 weeks inside a cell he returned to his original cell and had lunch with his fellow inmates.
they asked him "How did you survive ?"
he simply pointed to his head and said "Music."
That should answer the question.
Very true, sir. I would also argue yes and no, but, the most logical answer, would be no. I also agree that sound is only one element of music, but it is the main door, the one that we are mostly connected to, and the one that is most visible.
Great thunk :D
Ha ha Zaid! Good point. So many times when I'm stuck in a queue I sing in my head - time seems to fly by. :D
No. The whole point of music is something to listen to and if there is no sound, then you don't listen to anything.
Exactly! I sing in my head all the time. As a matter of fact, I'm listening to music right now...except not ;)
Wow...
Well, technically speaking, No. There cant be music without sound. Its like watching TV on mute.
But like Zaid said, you can be somewhere totally confined with no way of creating any sort of sound and still manage to create music, in your head at least.
Its all in the mind. haha
(good thunk :p)
nikol 10 g 2
Music is definitely NOT music without sound.
I agree with nadine.It wouldnt be called music.
Yea,me being a music lover i would agree to this thunk and say that it can
Music is something thats within us all,even when theres no music,but you have a whole lot of diff. sounds in your head you can take those sounds and convert basic general sounds like car horns,wind blowing etc etc into a musical piece.even though its not and never will b one our brain can convert and imagine it to be a musical masterpiece.
rythim and beats exist within us,we hav the ability to imagine music and go along with it with our own add on to its musical harmony.
for example nowadays especially in our school,we have alot of people that our good at beatboxing.but basically wat is it,its makin music out of nothing.but whats actualy happening is that they imagine the beat,play it out before they say it,in their head they have a musical piece playing and its beat to it but we cant hear it can we.in general its music to them and we cant hear it cause its not sound
like what Mr.Roberts said even if we imagine music or play it in our head,technically theres no sound
and therefore i strongly believe that yes music can and does exist without sound
Music without sound... well yeah i guess you can, like when that song's in your head (conveniently during an exam) and you can't physically hear it, but it's in your head and you're enjoying it quite thoroughly (and might accidentally end up singing it XD)but generally no, music without sound is an odd concept and probably doesn't exist anywhere except in peoples minds
Yes. Nobody is really thinking outside the box here... Sound is vibrations and music is something that should appeal to your senses and feelings.
Touch is a feeling, music greats vibrations... I would think that even if we couldnt HEAR anything we could definately feel it around us if we were to concentrate and highten our senses.
Ofcourse there can be music without sound.My reflex answer would be no, but then again why not? What is music? Everyone has their own definition to it. It could be the notes a cellist reads on a page, it could be the vibrations felt by a deaf child who can only dream what it sounds like, it can be someone thinking of their favourite song during their arabic exam, it could be the notes that Mozart wrote in his head to remember for later and so many others. I dont think that there is any necessity to classify music as only a group of notes of an instrument that is heard by us. I have seen a really touching movie called Mr. Holland's Opus where Mr. Holland teaches music to a classical band in a school for many many years but his son is deaf, and he is more or less, ignored during his childhood by his father because he wasn't inclined towards music because of his disability. But sometime during his High School, Mr. Holland sang a song for his son and the music was showcased as different colours on a screen. In another movie that i have watched, a deaf boy mixes music by keeping his hands on a speaker and feeling the different vibrations. I feel these are great examples to show that music does not have to be in the form of sound.
Music without sound?
Hmm.. I think that would be possible and impossible. Possible because, sometimes i create random notes and sounds in my head - and that's really music to me. Sometimes, I sing to myself at the back of my mind. That's music.
However, like some others before me states, music is technically impossible without sound, and if one has been born to never hear any sort of sound, he/she wouldn't know what music is. The person wouldn't have lived to ever hear, due to no sound, and hence wouldn't be able to create music in their minds.
I can't say much on this thunk because I don't agree or disagree on the topic, don't feel much for it either.
Reading all the comments on whether music requires sound or not...it is easy to note that everyone is vocal about their stands...but thoughts and emotions are the basis for the creation for music and they r not always vocal...the seed is always in some composers brain ...he develops it in his mind before he writes down the notes in a book...and then also visualises it ..as how it should sound like when heard!!!so definetely a lot of musical activity involved before a note is heard...
Yes! Music comes in many mediums. Not just what you hear on the radio or on tv. But everywhere around you. A simple heartbeat could be categorized as music. What if your thoughts are playing a silent tune in your mind to help you in situations. What if your sitting down in a green field and the sky is painted clear blue and you suddenly think of that tune that makes the scene extra amazing then it already is? Music is an amazing thing to be honest. There is no end and yet no beginning :)
x
In my opinion, there cannot be music without sound.
I say that you don't sing a song in your head, I say that you think a song in your head which basically makes it a thought.
You can think "Music" through as much as you want in your head, but until and unless you HEAR it, not with your mind but with your ears, then I would say its called a piece of music.
Can there be music without sound?
We know silence is sound, and silence means to be quiet or not hear any sound. I can say so because, to describe the sound of a quiet place you say 'it was very silent over there.' The sound in this case is silent. So even if there is no sound, there actually is sound (Silence). Im not sure if you can have any type of sound without any movement, because movements cause sounds. The slightest movement can produce a sound, for eg. a Deep breath, a Heart beat etc. all these cause sounds. In a brain, when someone thinks of a tune, I dont know how it is heard, but it is. Some people can read music once they've heard a song. For eg., If someone listens to a song many times and then the next time instead of listening to it they just read its lyrics, automatically the music of the song is playing in their minds as they continue reading the lyrics. So yes you can have music without sound.
Maybe if your thinking of the music in your head, you can say yes there is music without sound. But if there is no sound there is silence, and technically music is made by vibrations that make sounds that everyone can hear!
Though my reflex answer would probably be no, thinking carefully on it, I have to say that music cannot be confined to such limitations. What IS music anyway? Music provokes moods and emotions, and we don't need sound to do that. A simple melody stuck in a person's head, lyrics on a piece of paper, sheet music waiting to be played...-they all dont make an audible sound, yet they still affect us with the same intensity.
I havent read all the comments, so if anyone cited Beethoven as an example, well, im doing it again :P Beethoven was unable to hear, and yet made such beautiful music, simply by playing a set of piano keys to the rhythm of his soul. It was sad that he could not hear his own music, but in his head, he probably knew what it sounded like anyway. :)
This is an amazing thunk, and it took me quite a while to answer (since if I cant think of an immediate response to a thunk, i dont post anything at all)
I would say no because to me it’s UNIMAGINABLE to have music without sound!!!
i suppose if you hear the music in your head it counts cause technically the sounds are not being played out loud
does that make sense?
Not even!
The whole point of music is to be able to enjoy it by hearing it, but like most of the other people have said,you can always hear it in your head. I know my head has a pretty solid radio :P
I agree with Mo Nour.
There is no music without sound.
Music : An artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
Well There Cant Be Music With Out Any Sounds ! Imagine Listening To A Song Without Music ! It Would Be The Same Experience If Ur Deaf !
I agree with most of the comments above. I also sing songs in my head so i would like to believe that there can be music without sound.
Nice thunk! :D For this thunk I agree with both opinions.
Yes there can be music without music for people who have gradually gone deaf can interpret music in their minds by lip reading, observing the dance moves or feeling the vibrations from the speakers. Composers of music usually make a rhythm in their minds which is a form of music but soundless. The written music pieces are also a form of music but unheard. Usually when we hear an awesome song it is played allot of times in our mind this is again an example of soundless music.
No music cannot exist without sound for people who are born deaf have never heard music so they can’t comprehend it even if they lip read, observe dance moves or feel the vibrations from the speakers. If music is seen under the context of actually using our ears for listening to it then no there can be no such thing as soundless music, for example a guitar played in space cannot be called music.
music is meant to be heard and enjoyed most of us might think there is no music without sound but then it would raise the question what is it called when you hum in your head? I guess you could call that music too
no. absolutely not.
the main and the most important element in the concept of music is sound. what is music when there is no sound at all to hear it?
one might refer to noise as music, but still there is sound involved.
The very thought bores me! Music CAN exist without sound, like the very idea of people saying "I have a song stuck in my head" even when its not playing.
But then again its like consuming nourishment through saline, technically you are 'having food', but you dont enjoy the experience of tasting that steak in your mouth!
Sound for music is like steak for my mouth!
Well, music can be created without sound inside our head. But outside? I dont think music can be created without any sound outside our head.
Referring to what Mr. Roberts said about musical notes in a book. Weren't these notes based on the sounds in the first place?
Post a Comment