Translated from the German. "This volume is the inaugural publication in a new series, 'Classic European Music Science Monographs'"--Page viii. "The origins of music" (1911) and "Self-portrait" (1924) are included in this volume. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Section I : Introductory essays -- Carl Stumpf : impulses towards a cognitive theory of musical evolution. Self-contradictory concepts of the evolution of music ; A brief summary of significant aspects of the 1911 text ; Psychology of tone instead of psychophysics / Helga de la Motte-Haber -- Carl Stumpf : a reluctant revolutionary. Legacy ; Contemporary discourse ; Fusion ; The phonograph / David Trippett -- Section II : The origins of music (1911) -- Part I : The origin and archetypes of music making. Recent theories ; The origin and archetypes of singing ; Primitive instruments and their influence ; Polyphony, rhythm, and intoned speech ; Paths of development -- Part II : Songs of primitive peoples ; Appendix : Images of primitive instruments -- Section III : Carl Stumpf : life and work -- Carl Stumpf : a self-portrait (1924). Biography ; Views and research -- Carl Stumpf's publications.
Summary:
The Origins of Music was first published in German in 1911. In this text Carl Stumpf set out a path-breaking hypothesis on the earliest musical sounds in human culture. Alongside his research in such diverse fields as classical philosophy, acoustics, and mathematics, Stumpf became one of the most influential psychologists of the late 19th century. He was the founding father of Gestalt psychology, and collaborated with William James, Edmund Husserl, and Wolfgang Kohler. This book was the culmination of more than 25 years of empirical and theoretical research in the field of music. In the first part, Stumpf discusses the origin and forms of musical activities as well as various existing theories on the origin of music, including those of Darwin, Rousseau, Herder, and Spencer. In the second part of the book, he summarizes his works on the historical development of instruments and music, and studies a putatively global range of music from non-European cultures to demonstrate the psychological principles of tonal organization, as well as providing a range of cross-cultural musical transcriptions and analyses. This became a foundation document for comparative musicology, the elder sibling to modern Ethnomusicology, and the book provides access to the original recordings Stumpf used in this process. Available for the first time in the English language, The Origins of Music is a fascinating volume for all those with an interest in the history of psychology and music. It appears here in tandem with Self-Disclosure, Stumpf's autobiography of 1924, in which he outlines the rich life experiences behind his research career alongside his own explanation of his scientific and cultural legacy [Publisher description].
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.