About Positive Music
by Don Robertson
The Science of Sound
Please bear with me as I get a bit
technical, but I would like to discuss the effects of music in a scientific matter, to get
to the root of the subject.
Music is a vibratory phenomenon. Air
particles are set in motion and these air particles in turn set matter that is within
hearing distance into motion. This is called vibrational sympathy: When the
vibrations of sound effect the airwaves, the airwaves effect other matter that they come
into contact with in a manner that is in sympathy with the originating source. An
example of vibrational sympathy is the sympathetic strings on the North Indian musical
instrument called the sitar. The sitar is a large wooden instrument that has
strings attached to it not unlike a guitar. These are the strings that are played by the
musician when he or she is performing. Underneath these main strings, however, is a full
set of strings that are tuned to the scale of the composition that is being played. The
performer never plays these sympathetic strings except occasionally, simply for
effect. The purpose of the sitar’s sympathetic strings is to give the sitar a richer
sound. When a note is plucked on one of the main strings of the instrument, the
sympathetic strings vibrate in sympathy with the main note. The sound that is produced by
one of the main strings, when it is plucked, vibrates the airwaves and causes the
secondary sympathetic string to vibrate, in sympathy. Thus, for every note played on a
string on the instrument, two strings actually sound.
The effect of vibrational sympathy is
easy to demonstrate. A well-known example is the cliché story about the opera singer who
sings a note so high and so perfect that it shatters a crystal goblet. You can demonstrate
the principal of vibrational sympathy for yourself. Open the lid of a piano and while
someone holds down the right pedal--the one that releases the dampers on the
strings--shout into the sound chamber of the piano. All of the strings that are tuned in a
pitch that resonates with the tones in your voice will begin vibrating in sympathy and
will produce a rush of sound.
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