The Great Book of Music

In the same way that sounds are felt, it appears that sight also "imagines" the qualities of sounds in partnership with internal sensation in an indirect way. It is as if they were animated drawings with multiple shapes that can be perceived and conceptualized. Proper perception requires both the power of imagination imagination: "tasawwur," the mental ability to visualize or conceptualize abstract sounds as internal forms. and sensitivity sensitivity: "hasasiyya," the capacity for refined sensory and emotional response., as perception varies among humans according to the strength of these faculties.

It is not strange that some people achieve great proficiency in the art of melodies art of melodies: "sina'at al-alhan," the practical skill of composing and arranging musical sequences. or the practice of tones tones: "al-nagham," referring here to the specific notes or pitches produced by instruments. on instruments without being among the formal scholars of this craft. This is because their natural talents and latent instincts are the powerful driving force for reaching this goal—talents such as a beautiful voice, a flexible spirit, a clear mind, and the power of imagination. These gifted individuals are the ones who possess the most sincere feeling for the qualities and types of tones, and they are the most prepared to look into the scientific causes of this art.

One who studies the art of music art of music: "sina'at al-musiqa." is actually looking into several sciences and branching subjects. For example, tones, their measurements, their proportions, their combinations, and their characteristics are subjects within the natural sciences natural sciences: "al-ulum al-tabi'iyya," specifically what we would today call the physics of acoustics.. Furthermore, the parts of speech that are paired with tones—their meters, genres, shifts original: "tizahifat," continuing the previous page's discussion of "muzahafa" or the rhythmic alteration of poetic feet to fit music., and the variations that occur in them—are subjects within the linguistic sciences linguistic sciences: "ulum al-luga," including prosody and grammar.. Thus, melodies are distinguished and vary according to the differences in languages, their dialects, and their methods of composition. The art of music may even relate to other sciences that are entirely different in their subject matter, such as medicine.

Among the natural sciences, sound is produced by motion and matter motion and matter: "al-haraka wa-al-madda.". Motion is the displacement of a body driven by some force, and matter is the body being moved. Whenever a body is capable of making a sound and is affected by motion, it vibrates and produces a sound, as seen in the vibration of the larynx larynx: "al-hanjara," literally the "reeds of the throat," referring to the vocal cords..