Review

Reviewed Work(s): The Social Psychology of Music by Paul R. Farnsworth

Review by: Ralph Alan Dale
Source: The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Summer, 1971), pp.
548-551
Published by: Wiley on behalf of The American Society for Aesthetics
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/429204
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 548 REVIEWS

FARNSWORTH, PAUL R. The Social Psychology craftsmen in Italy during the seventeenth and
of Music. 2d ed. Iowa State Univ. Press, 1969, early eighteenth centuries able to make better
pp. xvi+ 298, $8.50. violins than modern craftsmen who have greater
In 1957 Stanford University Press published technological resources? Or, why do contempo-
Mlusical Taste which subsequently became in- rary listeners to violin music fail to perceive
corporated in a larger work published in 1958 differences they apperceive?
by Holt, Rinehart and Winston (with a Dryden To illustrate the difference between a sta-
Press imprint) and entitled The Social Psychol- tistical and an analytical approach, the vibrato
ogy of Music. Iowa State University Press pub- frequencies of well-known singers are given in
lished the revised edition in 1969 which is the statistical charts (p. 10). However, Farnsworth
book under review. does not question the meaning and function of
Farnsworth's book is a useful scholarly work. vibrato as a musical device. He argues that
Once observing this fact, I cannot avoid the great vocalists of the past did not sing "pure"
concomitant observation that when useful books tones as recorded in textbooks and journal arti-
are buffeted from one publisher to another to cles, but used vibrato. He cites the vibrato ratios
remain in print, it may be time to investigate of the Galli-Curci-Caruso-Chaliapin generation
the social psychology of publishing The Social as ranging from 5.9 to 7.6 pulsations per second,
Psychology of Music and other scholarly works. but does not question why they did or did not
use vibrato, or why they used more or less vi-
Social Psychology as a Discipline brato than singers at other times and in other
Professor Farnsworth has been a research cultures, or why our textbooks claim they sang
worker in the psychology of music for more without vibrato if, as the author claims, it can
than forty-five years. His familiarity with the be demonstrated that such was not the case.
literature and the data is evident and makes
Theoretical, Historical, and Controversial Ques-
his book useful as a summary of his and his
colleagues' findings. The title of the book, how- tions
ever, is misleading. It would seem that the As already stated, the author's theoretical ori-
social psychology of music as differentiated entation is centered on a cultural rather than
from the psychology of music would take as its biological bias in accounting for observed pat-
province the interrelation of social and psycho- terns of musical psychology. This bias is as-
logical musical processes. However, Farnsworth serted rather than developed through analysis.
has something else in mind when he uses the The relative absence of analysis and of histori-
term "social psychology." He means that he sub- cal perspective not only delimits the subject
scribes to cultural rather than biological "causal- matter, but also leads toward extempore uncrit-
ity." Farnsworth refers critically to the pro- ical assertion. For example, Farnsworth notes
ponents of the latter point of view as "heredi- that the 1:2, 2:3, and 3:4 interval ratios were
tarians." The Social Psychology of Music, then, recognized long ago by the ancients, and he
is a clinically (as distinguished from an analyti- goes on to say that "It is not surprising that
cally) oriented psychology of music with a cul- these three simple ratios and combinations of
tural rather than a biological bias. The work, the three appeared in the first Western scale
therefore, might have been more appropriately considered seriously by scholars." (p. 19) This
entitled: "Data in Support of Cultural Causal- assertion assumes a kind of natural parallel be-
ity in the Psychology of Music." tween the complexity of interval ratios and
The difference between a psychology and a the history of musical pitch. But there is no
social psychology of music may be illustrated support for such an assumption any more than
by the following examples. for the assumption that the earliest music be-
Farnsworth discusses the "causal function" of gan with duple meter and gradually grew more
psychological aesthetics (pp. 10-12) by raising complex metrically. In fact, the very opposite
the question: how can we account for prefer- may be shown to have taken place in both
ences for the tone quality of one instrument cases.
as compared with another? He cites experimen- The absence of a sense of historical dynamics
tal data showing that the reputation of Cremona and of comparative anthropology is further
violins exceeds their functional value (actual suggested by such naive assertions as ".. . the
ability of the listener to discriminate qualita- idea of giving the octave twelve semitones of
tive differences between them and modern in- equal ratio size was so obviously reasonable
struments). The author raises no questions of that Galileo and several other thoughtful per-
social psychology such as: why were the violin sons kept it alive until the day of Johann Se-

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Reviews 549

bastian Bach when it finally triumphed. But shallow and sentimental per se or because of
between these dates other scales flourished." the associations we have with it?" (p. 123)
(p. 20) Certainly the failure of some societies It is disappointing to find that Farnsworth
to express themselves through twelve equal did not see fit to revise his 1958 discussion of
semitones is not a reflection of their dearth of "academic intelligence and musical abilities"
reasonableness or of "thoughtful persons" un- (pp. 155-56 in the 1969 edition) which not
less our own traditional musical structures (for only unquestioningly assumes the reliability of
example tonality and harmony) are viewed as I.Q. tests in measuring intelligence but accepts
the only "reasonable" ones. Western chauvinism, the possibility of ex post facto IQ-ing of Bach
it seems, prevents the author from formulating (given as 125-140), Beethoven (supposedly 135-
those questions of comparative anthropology 140), Mozart (150-155), et al. Surely by now
which alone can lead psychology from ad hoc there is substantial evidence (e.g., M. Schwebel,
statistical observation to social science. Who Can Be Educated [Grove Press, 1968]) that
Farnsworth is on the side of the angels on I.Q. tests at best measure intelligence only as
most controversial issues. He opposes those whoit is defined by the test makers' preconceptions,
attributes superiority or inferiority in music toand perhaps reveal much more about the limi-
tations of educational psychology than those
differences of "race" or sex, or to purely heredi-
tary factors; he opposes atomistic and mechanis- of the test takers.
tic musical "aptitude" testing and informs us One of the few places in the book where the
-to our relief that so-called "monotones" are author does discuss questions of psychological
not doomed to eternal musical damnation (and theory is in the last chapter on music in indus-
therefore-hallelujah!-neither are their teach- try and therapy. He briefly discusses four the-
ers, friends, and relatives). ories cited by Taylor and Paperte ("Current
However, there are some issues on which I Theory and Research in the Effects of Music
would take exception with the author. For on Behavior," JAAC 17 [1958]; 251-58). One of
example, according to Farnsworth, the "universal these is the theory that there is a synaesthetic
belief" in the superiority of black people over correspondence between the structure of musi-
whites' response to music was disproved by test- cal vibrations and the structure of vibrations
ing "large numbers of these two American sub- that the nervous system generates in response.
groups... in tonal memory, and in the dis- Farnsworth dismisses this theory without argu-
crimination of differences in pitch, loudness, ment or evidence.
time, rhythm, and timbre." (p. 4) He concludes A second theory cited by Taylor and Paperte
that "no striking black (or white) superiority postulates that music circumvents intellectual
had ever been demonstrated." (p. 4) Implied controls, contacting the lower sections of the
here is that quantitative measurements of sensi- brain directly. Farnsworth states that the theory
tivity to segregated elements of music are valid may be true but there is a lack of evidence to
measurements of musical sensitivty. The whole support it. Although not mentioned by the
is implied to be equal to the sum of its apparent author, some interesting work in this area has
parts. Furthermore, these parts are recorded as been done by Russian research workers, notably
isolates in a musical vacuum and offered as Pavlov and Ivanov-Smolensky and by American
valid measurements of musicality. The mech- psychologists such as Carl Delacato and Roy
anistic bias of the study is accepted by the John.
author unquestioningly. Furthermore, there is In this last chapter on the applications of
the implication that disproving the mythology music to industry and therapy, the author re-
of racial inequities demands the denial of cul- minds us that corporations utilize music as a
tural differences between segregated groups. morale builder, that is, to give the worker the
Although Farnsworth is an objective reporter feeling that "the management has his interests
of psychological data, his prejudices in some at heart and is attempting to improve his work-
areas limit the reportage. He dismisses psycho- ing conditions," and that "the optimal effect on
analytic symbolism by informing the reader that output was found to occur when music was
the failure of psychoanalysts "to agree among played 12 percent of the time for the day shift,
themselves on what symbolizes what. .. did not and 50 percent for the night shift." (pp. 218-
deter the bolder of them from extending their 19) Although output might be so effected, "opti-
dogmas to embrace most if not all human activ- mal effects" in general depend upon the social
ities." (p. 91) Another example may be found ends desired and for whom. There is more than
in the chapter on "The Nature of Musical one group and point of view involved. To the
Taste" where Farnsworth asks, "Is boogiewoogie industrialist and to the Muzak Corporation

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 550 REVIEWS

factory music might be heard as the sweet sound The musical literature of the pa
of profits, perhaps as a cheaper alternative to years uses rising pitch generally
increases in wages, vacations, retirement bene- tensification. The psychological basis for such
fits, or the installation of improved safety de- use, it would seem, stems from the relatively
vices and practices. To the opportunist labor faster rate of vibration of the higher frequencies.
leader, factory music might represent an "in- That is, since intensity is physiologically asso-
strument" of labor-management "harmony" and ciated with activity, and recession with rest, we
an "accompaniment" for his own feather-bed- tend to interpret movement toward higher
ding. To the militant worker factory music (i.e., faster) frequencies with approach and
might be a canned sedative, an industrial spir- movements toward lower (i.e., slower) frequen-
itual which, like its musical predecessor, helps cies with falling, that is, yielding to gravity.
the exploited to accommodate to, rather than (Of course these psychological tendencies of
resist, their condition. A social psychology of pitch direction may be reinforced or contra-
music should not assume the point of view of dicted by other musical elements such as vol-
the corporate management exclusively. ume dynamics.)
An interesting problem that Farnsworth did
Historical and Technical Errors and Problems not raise in this regard is the psychological basis
There are several historical and technical er- for our referring to faster vibrating tones as
rors. In a sentence which did not appear inhigh the and slower vibrations as low, while the an-
1958 edition the contemporary use of the old cient Greeks used high and low to indicate the
Greek modes is cited as an example of "the very opposite. Why did both the ancients and
employment of accidentals." (p. 27) However, ourselves use the terms high and low to indi-
as long as one speaks of mode rather than cate what are in actuality differences in vibra-
transpositions of the Dorian mode, there is no tion rates and not spatial differences? And why
need for the employment of accidentals in the were the terms used in precisely opposite ways
writing of any of the old Greek diatonic modes. by the ancients and ourselves? Reese's sugges-
Just as our major mode in the key of C uses tion that the ancient lyre player tilted his in-
no accidentals, none of the ancient modes re- strument so that those strings we call high-
quire accidentals unless they are transported pitched were closest to the ground, hence were
from their "natural" positions. (For example, called low, is not at all convincing, the more so
the ancient Dorian, which is similar to the since pictures of musicians playing the kithara
medieval Phyrgian mode, when begun on Eindicate has just the opposite practice for this in-
no accidentals.) The author's error is com- strument. The Greeks might have simply been
pounded and confused by his explanation in referring to the size of the instruments which
the same sentence that these old Greek modes made different pitch sounds: the high, that is
are defined as "the seven-note scales arranged large instruments producing the slow vibrating
as if one were employing only white notes." sounds (what we call low sounds), and the low
And this arrangement is to illustrate the em- or small instruments producing the fast vibrat-
ployment of accidentals, i.e. mainly black notesling sounds (our high frequencies). On the other
A further error occurs in giving the startinghand, our high-low designation seems psycho-
logically rooted in the association of increasing
tones for the ancient Greek modes as d, e, f, g, or
b. (p. 27) Why did Farnsworth leave out a whichrates of vibration and the overcoming of gravity
defines the very important Hypodorian mode? (up direction) as expressions of intensification,
Furthermore, the ancient Greeks, contrary to while decreasing rates of vibration and the
modern practice, calculated their scales in a yielding to gravity (down direction) are experi-
descending series, not ascending as indicatedenced by as movements toward relaxation, as ar-
the author. (p. 72) On the question of ascent gued above.
and descent, Farnsworth quotes Watt as saying According to Farnsworth, "Chapter 2 'Musi-
that "Rising (pitch) makes the impression of cal Scales' has been completely rewritten (for the
tonal recession, falling, that of approach. We revised edition) since in its earlier form it had
begin a scale involuntarily from below, not from proved rather difficult to comprehend. It is
above, and we end it below again." (p. 35, quot- hoped that, as now written, its concepts and
ing H. J. Watt, The Psychology of Sound relevance will be clearer." (p. xi) Unfortunately
[1917]) I would argue the very opposite case, for the musical layman, the new edition does
namely, that in our culture it is rising pitch not provide much additional help in under-
that makes the impression of approach, and standing pitch, intervals, ratios, semitones, and
descending pitch the impression of recession. other rudiments of musical theory. The chapter

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Reviews 551
551

on intervals, for example, does not begin with search

search in theinpsychology
the psychology
of music that cannot
of m
a definition of interval, but refers to the pre-stand
stand the 'so-whatness
the 'so-whatness
test.'" Until then,
test.'"
Farns- U
ceding chapter on scales whose introduction to worth's book will remain a useful work for all
the interval concept (p. 18) assumes that the those who wish to know what research has been
reader already knows what an interval is. done in this field.
The musical layman will also find it difficult RALPH ALAN DALE

to understand the effective and affective dif- New York, N. Y.

ferences among Pythagorean, just, mean, and
equal temperament intonations or why there
was a shift from one to the other. SESSIONS, ROGER. Questions about Music. Har-
There are other minor errors: octaves were
not first given identical letter-names through STRAVINSKY, IGOR. Poetics of Music in the Form
an edict by Pope Gregory in the seventh century
A.D. (p. 18) The ancient Greeks had discovered
the octave (Greek okta) about one millennium
earlier, perhaps by Terpander in the seventh
century B.C. The ancient Greeks first began
to use identical letter-names for the two tones
of the 1:2 ratio in both their instrumental and
vocal notation systems, though curiously the
third octave designations used different letter-
names.
"When added to the more 'basic' seven there
was formed," says Farnsworth, "the dodecuple
or twelve-semitone scale. These twelve notes
have been more and more freely used as a
scale." (p. 27) But atonality does not represent
a new scale but the demise of scale as such.
Farnsworth concludes with the tautology that
"The rise of atonal music has greatly facilitated
their (the 12 chromatic notes) acceptance as scale
notes." (p. 27)
In connection with the evolution of scales and
tonality, Farnsworth neglects to present the
central thesis of Yasser's important work (A
Theory of Evolving Tonality [1932]) which does
not urge "the adoption of the decitone, the
centitone, and the millitone as feasible units,"
(p. 24) but rather urges a 19-tone scale based
upon what I would characterize as a historical
musical construct of a Fibonacci series.
A minor technicality: like the good child of
the Protestant Ethic, the lower number of any
time signature is seen but not heard. We hear
meters of two, three, four, five ... not two-four,
three-four, four-four, five-four... (p. 5) Two-
four, for example, sounds the same as two-two,
two-eight, or two-sixteen. The difference is one
of notation but not of sound.
Conclusion
The psychology of music cries out for analytic
investigations which pose significant questions
and reveal relationships and processes. It is
only when analytic breakthroughs are made that
we will begin to do something about what Ger-
hart Wieke called "appalling percentage of re-
vard Univ. Press, 1970, pp. 166, $5.95.
of Six Lessons. Trans. Arthur Knodel and
Ingolf Dahl. Harvard Univ. Press, 1970, pp.
IX+ 187, $7.95.
Each of these books was given as six Charles
Eliot Norton lectures at Harvard University.
The first is new, and the second is a reprint of
both the original lectures in French (published
1942) and their translation (published 1947).
They are based on their authors' long experi-
ences in the art of composing music; for the
music student they have an aesthetic, not a
technical interest. Their primary appeal is to
that mythical entity the common reader.
The composers in their separate ways often
adopt identical views. Direct listening to music,
they think, is better than talking about it; both
are suspicious of "culture" and "mass culture"
as vulgarly understood; they take the defensible
position that art and music exist for enjoyment
and pleasure, and both in different ways ask for
what Sessions calls the willing ear; both empha-
size the difference between reading literature
and the reading of a musical score; both com-
pare music with mathematics and discuss the
matter of form in time. Regretting that most
explanations of music are (as they perhaps must
be) technical analyses, both composers take the
objective position that art is a matter of organi-
zation, unity, and pattern, that it is the bring-
ing of order out of chaos, and that musical art is
ill-served by attempts to ally it with associations
and emotionalism. There is agreement that the
artist is not free, or at least that he feels the
most free when he has mastered the materials
which delimit and resist his creative process.
It is consistent therefore for neither composer
to make much of novelty or originality.
Sessions as a writer is the more sober of the
two. For him the composer is a practical mu-
sician, a craftsman making patterns out of his
material; though the nature of the medium it-
self is important, there are no words for the
description or criticism of it: the commonly used
terms are metaphors of space and color. Music
is music, and Sessions (consciously or uncon-
sciously) follows Oscar Wilde in thinking that

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