MUS 17.06 The Language-Music Connection
Language and music are universal components of human experience, so integral that they are often considered part of what defines us as humans. While we treat them as distinct phenomena, the overlap between the two is immense, structurally, neurologically, and culturally. Such connections have long been recognized, but recent research from diverse fields like linguistics, (ethno)musicology, cognitive psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience continues to reveal just how intertwined the two faculties are. Drawing on this body of research and our respective specialties, we explore the language-music connection from the basic ingredients (pitch, timbre, rhythm, syntax), to cultural expression, to evolution and origins. Running through the course is a hands-on case study of a West African xylophone tradition where language and music are so intimately related that they cannot be separated. Students will be taught by a master of the tradition, Mamadou Diabaté, to feel for themselves what it means to speak through an instrument.
Instructor
Levin, McPherson
Cross Listed Courses
COCO 023 LING 11.13