“. . . the jazz-sound introduced a chord with the seventh note of the scale added, and was considered to be outrageous, scandalous and “the music of the devil.” Today, jazz is not considered sinful, or even racy, but is relegated to soothing elevator music.” ~J Mattson

We have explored the powerful influence of the the music of the Atlanteans, Pursians, Egytpians and the ancient Chinese populations. We shall go forward in time and look into the Greek music and the early Middle Ages and see just how music influenced these civilizations.

In the Greek epoch, tetra chords, two groups of four notes each, created modes, which resembled our scales. These modes, or sound-formulas, characterized personalities. The scales were even named after people who preferred its mood. According to Steiner, this musical system enabled spiritual energy to descend to a greater extent so mankind could see the world primarily through a physical body.

Control of music shifted to the Catholic Church in the middle ages. Initially adopting the Greek modes, they later dropped all but two, renaming them “major” and “minor.” Music prior to this period was a series of ongoing tones. An “amen” was added on the end of Gregorian chants and church liturgy, creating musical endings and the concept of a beginning and ending in a song.

Earlier writing suggests the sound of the first and third note of a scale sounded together, so harmonious today, was shrill and hard to listen to. As the Middle Ages progressed the third became a staple of harmony, and chords using the 1-3-5 notes of the scale flourished. In a more recent example, the jazz-sound introduced a chord with the seventh note of the scale added, and was considered to be outrageous, scandalous and “the music of the devil.” Today, jazz is not considered sinful, or even racy, but is relegated to soothing elevator music. This suggests that populations get used to new sounds, and in essence harmonize with them. Esoteric writing suggests that such harmonization transitioned people’s consciousness and experiences.

Next week….more on the music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance!

Source JillsWingsOfLight  June 24 2014