I read Linton’s review briefly, and only have time to offer a few comments. I disagree with his first two points of criticism, but I thought that what he says at the end (page 3) was extremely interesting and worth pursuing—though I disagree with his claim that music is simply a human construction and no more, thus siding with Begbie.

Linton seems unconvinced that music has a strong affect on individuals and cultures. Plato of course would disagree, as he, in the Republic, through the character of Socrates stresses the power that music has to make such strong impressions on a person that one could become habituated music to believe that things like disobedience to authority and disrespect for the laws of city are not only acceptable but desirable. Contemporary studies on the effects of heavy metal and rap music in connection with violence and drug abuse among teens suggest that Socrates’ concerns are not unwarranted. So, I don’t find Bebgie’s claims here hard to believe, missteps, or overstatements. Consider as well the powerful role that Wagner’s music played in Hilter’s strategies or the ways in which music is used in religious cults to arouse certain emotions and actions. (On Wagner/Hilter, see Michael H. Kater. The Twisted Muse: Musicians and Their Music in the Third Reich. (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1999).

Secondly, Linton points out that the harmonic series does not “naturally” come to us the way that we are now accustomed to it (e.g., he writes, “Instead of an F, we find an ‘out of tune’ F sharp at the eleventh partial, flat from an equally tempered F sharp by almost a quartertone. In order for the pitches of the overtone series to be musically useful in tonal music, at least one very important pitch must be altered according to purely culturally derived aesthetic criteria. We have to flatten that eleventh partial”. Begbie doesn’t in the least deny this—he admits it and claims that it is an example of how certain givens and certain structures interact with convention and are thus changed and altered through time in various ways according to various cultural tastes.

Best wishes,
Cynthia

Patrick

I was not aware of the review in Books and Culture. Would you mind summarizing the critique, and then I’ll try to offer a comment or two?

Best,
Cynthia