Definition of music

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Aemilius
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Definition of music

Post by Aemilius »

Ability to distinguish between high and low tones (Ptolemy, 100–178 et seq.).
The science of melody and related matters (Aristides Quintilianus, c. 200s et al.).
The doctrine of numbers and their relations (Cassiodorus, c. 490-585).
Ars recte cantendi, ability to play correctly (unknown, medieval).
Interplanetary communication (unknown, Middle Ages).
The secret arithmetic unknowingly practiced by the soul (Gottfried Leibniz, 1646-1716).
The ability to combine melodies in a pleasant way (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778).
Translating arithmetic numbers into immediate sensory observation (Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788–1860).
The ability to express emotions through melodies (H. C. Koch, early 19th century).
Invisible (Herder, 19th century).
Eternal (Schelling, 19th century).
The content of the music is moving melodic formations (Eduard Hanslick, late 19th century).
A reflector of the inner human nature (Schönberg, 20th century).
Creator of order between phenomena, especially man and time; unable to express anything in itself (Igor Stravinski, 20th century).
Organized sound (Edgard Varèse, 20th Century).
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: Definition of music

Post by FiveSkandhas »

"Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without."
- Confucius
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
Malcolm
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Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: Definition of music

Post by Malcolm »

The offering of the faithful,
the livelihood of the poor,
and the stirring of the emotions of the passionate,
all come from knowledge of music.


-- Sa skya Paṇḍita, Treatise On Music.
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Aemilius
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Re: Definition of music

Post by Aemilius »

Shurangama Sutra, Volume 4, Part Two

Ánanda and the members of the great assembly all said to the Buddha, "When the bell is rung, we hear it. Once the sound of the bell ceases, so that even its echo fades away, we do not hear it."
The Thus Come One again instructed Rahula to strike the bell, and asked Ánanda, "Is there a sound now?"
Ánanda and the members of the great assembly all said, "There is a sound."
After a short time the sound ceased, and the Buddha again asked, "Is there a sound now?’
Ánanda and the great assembly answered, "There is no sound."
After a moment, Rahula again struck the bell, and the Buddha again asked, "Is there a sound now?" Ánanda and the great assembly said together, "There is a sound."
The Buddha asked Ánanda, ‘What is meant by ‘sound,’ and what is meant by ‘no sound?" Everyone in the great assembly including Ánanda told the Buddha, "When the bell is struck there is a sound. Once the sound ceases and even the echo fades away, there is said to be no sound."
The Buddha said to Ánanda and the great assembly, "Why are you inconsistent in what you say?"
The great assembly and Ánanda then asked the Buddha, "In what way have we being inconsistent?"
The Buddha said, "When I asked if it was your hearing, you said it was your hearing. Then, when I asked you if it was sound, you said it was sound. I cannot ascertain from your answers if it is hearing or if it is sound. How can you not say that is inconsistent?
"Ánanda, when the sound is gone without an echo, you say there is no hearing. If there were really no hearing, the hearing-nature would cease to be. It would be just like dead wood. If then the bell were sounded again, how would you know?
"What you know to be there or not to be there is the defiling object of sound which seems to come into being and cease to be. But how could the hearing-nature be there or not be there? And if the hearing really were, as you contend, not there, who would know it was not there?
"And so, Ánanda, the sounds that you hear are what rise and cease. Your hearing-nature does not come into being and cease to be based on the arising and ceasing of the sounds you hear.
"You are so upside-down that you mistake sound for hearing. No wonder you are so confused that you take what is eternal to be Annihilationism. Ultimately, you cannot say that there is no hearing-nature apart from movement and stillness, from obstruction and penetration and the rest.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
steveb1
Posts: 728
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Definition of music

Post by steveb1 »

Aemilius wrote: Sat May 08, 2021 9:58 am Ability to distinguish between high and low tones (Ptolemy, 100–178 et seq.).
The science of melody and related matters (Aristides Quintilianus, c. 200s et al.).
The doctrine of numbers and their relations (Cassiodorus, c. 490-585).
Ars recte cantendi, ability to play correctly (unknown, medieval).
Interplanetary communication (unknown, Middle Ages).
The secret arithmetic unknowingly practiced by the soul (Gottfried Leibniz, 1646-1716).
The ability to combine melodies in a pleasant way (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778).
Translating arithmetic numbers into immediate sensory observation (Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788–1860).
The ability to express emotions through melodies (H. C. Koch, early 19th century).
Invisible (Herder, 19th century).
Eternal (Schelling, 19th century).
The content of the music is moving melodic formations (Eduard Hanslick, late 19th century).
A reflector of the inner human nature (Schönberg, 20th century).
Creator of order between phenomena, especially man and time; unable to express anything in itself (Igor Stravinski, 20th century).
Organized sound (Edgard Varèse, 20th Century).
Great post - thanks!

Aaron Copland: "Film music is like a small lamp placed beneath the screen to warm it."
(I'm a sucker for movie music, especially "the older" scores/composers.)
SilenceMonkey
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Re: Definition of music

Post by SilenceMonkey »

“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence in between.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ” – Leopold Stokowski

“If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” – Louis Armstrong
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tkp67
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Re: Definition of music

Post by tkp67 »

In the same way a kite allows the young mind to grasp the force of unseen wind music really opens the doors of perception for me.

The cliche long strange trip is really in insufficient to describe the catalyst live music played in revealing the realms of the mind in the same way a kite makes the wind visible.

It is as if the lotus manifests more rapidly/intensely in certain circumstances becoming undeniably tangible.
Confucius first taught propriety and music10 so that, when the Buddhist scriptures were brought to China, the concepts of the precepts, meditation, and wisdom11 could be more readily grasped.
The Great Teacher Miao-lo says, “The propagation of Buddhism truly depends on this. First the teachings on propriety and music were set forth, and later the true way was introduced.”
https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd- ... 0#para-386

The Opening of the Eyes
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Aemilius
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Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:44 am

Re: Definition of music

Post by Aemilius »

Ashvaghosha. A second-century Mahayana scholar and poet of Shrāvastī in India. He at first criticized Buddhism but was later converted by Pārshva. He led many people to the Buddha’s teachings through his skill in music and literature. Ashvaghosha is known as the twelfth of Shakyamuni’s twenty-four successors. (nichirenlibrary.org)
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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