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"Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here!"

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Ninclow, Sep 10, 2017.

  1. Ninclow

    Ninclow Fifth Year

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    "Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything."
    - Plato.

    The title of this thread was the exact words of none other than Professor Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of all times, former teacher and Headmaster of one of the finest magical educational institutions known to wizardkind. And if it is anyone throughout the books who would be able to recognize the magical properties of what seem commonplace, the significance of the apparent mundane, such as time and love, it is Albus Dumbledore. "A magic beyond all we do here", it did not strike me as a joke. One could argue that Dumbledore just meant that he knew how to appreciate the beauty of music, of course, but I think there are something more to it than that. And I have a theory about what that might be. Before I start, however, if there are any believers, as in people reading this who believe that the universe was created by a deity of some sort, please do not mistake my theory as one that denounce the concept of religious belief in any kind. I will be making a reference to the scientific theory about how the universe started popularly called the Big Bang. If you believe God created the world without any such series of events, as I know some do, or even if you believe God brought about that whole process, I shall not be trying, nor do I have any interest in, disputing it. That being said:

    [​IMG]

    Astronomy is one of the subjects that is taught at Hogwarts, and is one of the oldest sciences known to mankind. Ancient people mapped the constellations for religious reasons and in order to work out the time of year, they used the positions of the stars to navigate, or to determine when the best time to plant their crops would be. Today, the two parts in which the science have been divided often work together, with the theoretical branch of astronomy predicts what should happen through mathematics and computer models, while the "observational astronomy" is used to show whether a prediction were correct. In short, astronomy have, above all, been used to understand the world around us, and it was Professor Georges LemaƮtre of the Catholic University of Louvain, a Belgian priest, in 1927 concluded that an expanding universe could be traced back in time to an originating single point. And I believe that in the Harry Potter universe, Astronomy have hitherto unexplored uses to wizardkind, beside simply using it to achieve accuracy in Astrology. Now, what does music have to do with astronomy? The fact is that the connection between music, mathematics, and astronomy had a profound impact on history. It resulted in music's inclusion in the medieval curriculum that included arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy, and along with grammar, logic and rhetoric made up the seven liberal arts, which are still the basis for higher education today. As such, I think that music is also one of the most magical things in existence, and very much intertwined with the universe at large.

    In ancient Greece, Pythagoras discovered the workings of the musical pitch by way of vibration. Upon exploring these effects, he reasoned that because objects produced sound when in motion, planets moving in orbit should also produce a sound. He and his followers believed that the cosmos existed in a shape and form that corresponded perfectly with the musical tone scale. Given that the relative distances of planets and stars were thought to be concordant with musical intervals, Pythagoras surmised that the resulting sound must be a harmony. This have become known as musica universals, or "the music of the spheres"/"harmony of the spheres". This "music" is not usually thought to be literally audible, but a harmonic, mathematical or religious concept. However, in this theory, the resulting sound should be so remarkably loud that humans should hear it on earth, and yet we really don't. Pythagoras and his followers surmised that, because it was continually sounding, we have no point of comparison - no real sense of silence or difference - and therefore could not distinguish it from our known idea of silence.

    However, in this theory, the resulting sound should be so remarkably loud that humans should be able hear it on earth. Now, what if I told you that humans can hear it - but only wizards! It is already confirmed in canon that wizardkind discovered, and that the British Ministry of Magic have dedicated an entire department to the confidential study and research of, magic that is inherent to the very fabric of existence, such as love, space, time, death, thought, etc. Magic that manifests itself in ways that are difficult to explain and even more difficult - if not impossible - to control. And this got be thinking: Have you ever wondered how simple tones can make you dance? Bring back memories? How these simple tones can even control your feelings? Make you sad, happy, romantic, melancholy? And have you ever wondered why? Advances in neuroscience of a more recent date would tell you about how researchers have become capable of measuring quantitatively how music stimulates emotions through specific brain circuits. But this seems like a very Muggle-esque explanation to me, so in terms of how music is magically significant in the very fictional wizarding world? I would say that the aforementioned Belgian scholar from one paragraph above this one had it right. The Big Bang did happen, and wizarding astronomers are aware of the fact. And how exactly does that makes music magical? Well, Big Bang created our solar system, and everything of it was brought about and originally created by stardust, both planets and everything on them. This would suggest that magic, rather than a mystical or unnatural pursuit, it is more scientific, never breaking any of the laws of nature, but rather exploits those laws using very specific and creative methods beyond the comprehension of Muggle science.

    So I end this theory by answering my own question: Have you ever wondered how these simple tones can make you dance? Bring back memories? How these simple tones can even control your feelings? Make you sad, happy, romantic, melancholy? And have you ever wondered why? It is because that brought forth by stardust as we are, we are also a part of this music of the spheres. The right pieces of music are like echoes from the cosmos, and when we listen to them, we become part of the harmony of the cosmos and, in consequence of being magical themselves, witches and wizards is naturally more in tune with the greater magic of the natural world by far than any Muggle, which allows for those who knows how to perceive and interpret the cosmic sound waves that Muggles cannot hear means that when wizards makes music themselves - Well, I don't think it was not without good reason that an unidentified Ravenclaw student in the GBC version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets said, and I quote:

    "A non-magical harmonica! Great! Magic music sounds so bland and free from error. Non-magical music has mistakes everywhere!"

    In short: If there is music in space, logic dictates that said music would have magical properties. It have a profound effect on all walks of life, from animals to plants to humans, including Muggles, which all have some small, residual aura of magic about them due to the fact that existence magic is inherent to the very fabric of their existence. Witches and wizards who are magical themselves are more in tune with and therefore capable of hearing the magical music of the spheres and to a greater extent partake in that harmony. Compare it to non-magical people being profoundly affected by music due to the right pieces being like echos of cosmos, while learned witches and wizards who know how is affected even more so because they can hear music more like a distinctive shout with no echo "obscuring the message" and can, under certain conditions, get a glimpse of how everything is connected, aka, the big picture - The Great Circle of Life or whatever you want to call it to reach some sort of intellectual, philosophical and moral enlightenment.

    So... That's my theory, anyway. ^^'​
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2017
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