the ancient Egyptian legend which talks about the “sound constituent” of man; the facts of ontogenesis from the primitive encephalon development, the neuron chords, up to the constitution of the central nervous system.

AFRICAN MELODY CASTLE – THE GREGORIAN CHANT WAY (by IGIRI INNOCENT)

In my research life I have always believed that things are exactly the way they are said to be until proven otherwise through experimented findings. Good is good, and bad is bad! But then I forgot to remember that almost everything under the sun has different meaning, value and respect to different people of the globe. To some people, yesterday is the same thing with tomorrow. New born child is regarded as returnee from the ancient; and so on.

Then I remembered that nothing actually in this world is new- whatever we know or yet to see has already been though in various forms and nature.

In Africa, the knowledge of modernization and civilization brought a sense of limitation in the believe of who we are; we were made to think about ourselves and our cultures as inferior. We accepted the unilateral knowledge that belittles our chemistry, physics, literature, music, and other fundamental fields and yet even African human life needed no value.  Today, Africa has suddenly awoken to the realization that so many analyzed theses on African subjects were untrue, ill-experimented or mixed false and truth.

One of such matters is Africa counterpart music generally known as classical music. Apart from the recent realization, it has been the believe almost in all African documents that this genre of culture is from European soil, meant for the elite and super rich. May be due to this notion, Africans distanced themselves from the enormous good and overall nourishment of this tradition just because some facts labeled it un-African. THAT IS NOT TRUE!

Let me start here: It will interest the reader to know that the first manifestation of music ever known in human is the pulsation of the heart. The beating of the human heart draws the amniotic liquid together at the throbbing spot, the heart of the mother, where it condenses into the foetus. (The psychophysical development of man)

Abundant music activities have been registered in human beings from the earliest development days of the foetus through the post natal period, from lallation stage to pre-elementary school years of any child’s development. These are years of unconscious musicking and it represents the era of music in the natural unconscious.

Furthermore; there are four stages of music origin from the earliest form of development to what we now call classical music. There are:

1.   Music in human nature

2.   Music in human activity

3.   Music in human consciousness and practice

4.   Music in human reason

The 1^st and 2^nd stages shows that music is the most pervading of all the arts, the muses, the gods to which music owes its names and manifestations were the brains behind every human intellectual endeavor. For every human endeavor originate from the controlling influence of the central nervous system.

Today there is a well-established scientific backing of the ancient Egyptian legend which talks about the “sound constituent” of man; the facts of ontogenesis from the primitive encephalon development, the neuron chords, up to the constitution of the central nervous system.

In the 3^rd stage man now becomes conscious of practice of music; he could now learn the art of playing musical instruments or singing through imitation and/or instruction; or even learn to compose.

In the 4^th stage man now begins to rationalize music.

AFRICAN WAY

Plainchant music generally known as Gregorian chant music today in Christianity religion predates counterpart tradition known as classical music and was formed using anagrammed expression of symbols found in Egyptian (North Africa) religious courts. This is a well-established knowledge of the foremost indigent of the African scribe. The worshippers in Africa created this music practice system based on hulariumism in attempt to put their spirit in motion while performing religious practices. This form of chant grew dramatically and became the most celebrated form of music both in Africa and beyond. The traditional monks and priests studied this type of music through their formation system. Music formed part of the discipline of higher education in Egypt in mystery system schools, a kind of university where every manner of discipline- Philosophy, Religion, Medicine, Law, Music, Mathematics, Geometry, Astronomy, and other sciences were taught by Egyptian priest-philosophers in 3200 BC, although music in human consciousness and practice started much earlier than 6000 BC in the Nile valley. From antiquity till date, that music system has profited and still profiting humans through meditation, performance and inventions. This shows that African music is concretizations of thoughts manifesting in musical sound action.

DRUMMING AND DANCE IN AFRICAN MUSIC CULTURE

African music is indeed harmonious with dance-inducing rhythmic drumming; but dance and/or with the drumming is definitely not part of the definition of music; they are different from music. They are physical activities meant for the theatre of spectacle. Even animals are indeed sensitive to sounds in general, and to rhythm in particular, because rhythm is the foremost sensuous ingredient of music.

Therefore; DRUMMING is the articulation of TIME in music; TIME is the measure of DURATION in music; DURATION is a property of SOUND in music; SOUND is an ESSENTIAL COMPONENT of music. Rhythm is the manifestation of the sequence of vibrational pulsation. “Drumming is therefore not an essence of music. Drumming to music is a lazy mind’s way of listening to music”.

MUSIC LANGUAGE

Music indeed is a symbolic language itself; it communicates to the mind, it evokes emotions and feelings, it can change our moods.

These wonderful effects of music are the very nature of music in all cultures of the world. They are universal;

AFRICAN MELODY CASTLE

The transcendental order or the melodic nature or the logical sense of African music is well explained in the view of priest-philosophers who defined music and its principles and beauty. It is said to be like the ancient Egyptian castle; “THE 

MELODY CASTLE”

This melody castle in brief, is the African music order which consist of principle of music flowered in the beauty of the numerical divine proportion; in the beauty of the planetary orbits of the sidereal heavens and reproduced in the propagation of tone, and in the equilibrium of body and soul.

FINAL NOTE & ADMONITION

It is quite unacceptable to attribute classical music to only the Europeans in whatsoever attempt.

Please always create time and attend classical music concerts, operas, festivals, and carnivals. Allow it to touch you, don’t run away from life.

Let me salute the church for taking it upon them to be the sole custodian of this tradition, and I urge every African child to gracefully celebrate classical music anytime/any day you come across it. Whenever you come across a Church where Gregorian chants are rendered, pay attention and remember all I have buttress here.

IGIRI INNOCENT