1st Edition

Music as a Chariot The Evolutionary Origins of Theatre in Time, Sound, and Music

By Richard K. Thomas Copyright 2018
    354 Pages 101 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    354 Pages 101 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Music as a Chariot offers a multidisciplinary perspective whose primary proposition is that theatre is a type of music. Understanding how music enables the theatre experience helps to shape our entire approach to the performing arts.

    Beginning with a discussion on the origin and nature of time, the author takes us on an evolutionary journey to discover how music, language and mimesis co-evolved, eventually coming together to produce the complex way we experience theatre.

    The book integrates the evolutionary neuroscience of the human brain into this journey, offering practical implications and applications for the auditory expression of this concept—namely the fundamental techniques artists use to create sound scores for theatre.

    With contributions from directors, playwrights, actors and designers, Music as a Chariot explores the use of music to carry ideas into the human soul—a concept that extends beyond the theatrical to include film, video gaming, dance, or anywhere art is manipulated in time.

    Table of Contents

    Chapter 1: Introduction: Why this Book?

    Introduction: An Ear Opening Experience

    Old School Aesthetics

    When Sound Gets Divorced from Music

    Who Should Read this Book

    Overview of the Book

    Bibliography

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Part I: The Nature of Time

    Chapter 2: Let There Be a Big Bang

    Introduction: If a Tree Falls in the Universe…

    The Nature of Light and Sound

    The Evolution of Hearing and Speaking

    The Evolution of the Brain Leads to the Ability to Express Emotions

    Eyes and Ears, Space and Time

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Chapter 3: The Great Mystery of Time

    Introduction: Babbling in Babelsberg

    The Mammalian Invasion

    We Are Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made of…

    The Relativity of Time

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Part II: Music = Time Manipulated

    Chapter 4: What Is Music?

    Introduction: What’s in a Name?

    Music Is Organized Sound

    Narrowing Our Definition of Music

    Music Is Visual as Well as Audible

    The Elements of Design

    Energy Characteristics

    Temporal Characteristics

    Spatial Characteristics

    Complex Elements that Combine Energy in Time and Space

    The Importance of These Elements of Music

    A Proposed Definition of Music

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Chapter 5: Primate Numbers

    Introduction: Who’s on First?

    Music, Language and Mimesis: The Really Early Years

    Bipedal Primates

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Part III: Song = Music + Idea

    Chapter 6: Campfire Songs (Rhythm and Entrainment)

    Introduction: Welcome Homo

    One Giant Leap for Mankind

    Early Homo

    Homo Erectus

    Running, Tempo, Pulse, Tactus and Entrainment

    Tempo, Pacing, Tactus, Entrainment and Theatre Composition

    When Music Meets Mimesis

    Conclusion

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Chapter 7: Music and Language

    Introduction: "All Theatre Starts with a Script"

    Brain Gains

    Fantastic Voyage

    Conclusion: Song = Music + Idea

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Chapter 8: Consonance and Dissonance (The Evolution of Line)

    Introduction: The Roots of Who We Become

    The Evolution of Line

    Consonance and Dissonance

    What is Consonance and Dissonance?

    Subcortical Consonance and Dissonance Perception

    Cortical Consonance and Dissonance Perception

    Consonance and Dissonance in Theatre

    Line/Melody

    Harmony

    Conclusion: Consonance and Dissonance and Time

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Part IV: Theatre = Song + Mimesis

    Chapter 9: Ritual, Arousal, Reward, Ecstasy

    Introduction: From High Mass to Ecstasy

    The Development of Ritual, Shamanism, and (Altered States of Consciousness)

    The Neuroscience of Arousal and Reward in the Altered States of Consciousness of Shamanism and Theatre

    Introduction: Dreams, Altered States of Consciousness and Theatre

    The Basic Neuroscience of Arousal

    The Effect of Music on Physiological Systems

    The Effect of Music on Psychological Systems

    Cognitive Models for Music in Theatre

    Robert Thayer’s Model of Psychological Moods

    Berlyne’s Theory of Arousal in Aesthetics and Psychobiology

    Conclusion: Experiments in Ecstasy

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Chapter 10: Music, Mimesis, Memory

    Introduction: Traveling Backwards in Time

    The New Stone Age

    Memory

    Introduction

    Sensory Memory

    Long Auditory Store/Short Term Memory/Working Memory

    Long-Term Memory

    Creating and Retrieving Long-Term Memories

    Implicit Memory

    Explicit Episodic Memory

    Involuntary Explicit Episodic Memory

    Autobiographical Memory

    Conclusion: The Origins of Theatre and the Problems of the Oral Tradition

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Chapter 11: The Bronze Age and the Invention of Writing

    Introduction: Theatre Becomes Drama

    The Bronze Age

    The Emergence of Written Language

    The Transition from Oral Tradition to Recorded History

    Conclusion: Lost in Translation?

    Ten Questions

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Chapter 12: Conclusion: Evolution and Greek Theatre

    Introduction: A Case Study

    The Origins of Greek Music: Music = Time Manipulated

    The Development of Greek Song: Song = Music + Idea

    Music as Math Made Audible: The Greeks Revisit Consonance and Dissonance

    The First Autocratic Theatre: Theatre = Song + Mimesis

    Plato and His World

    Aristotle’s Theatre

    Conclusion of the Conclusion

    Eleven Questions, Part I

    Eleven Questions, Part II

    Things to Share

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Biography

    Richard K. Thomas is Professor of Visual and Performing Arts at Purdue University with over 100 credits as a composer, sound designer, author, playmaker and educator. He is a Fellow of USITT, and winner of the 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award in Sound Design and Technology.