Darwin vs. Wallace—Music—Southern Cross

Posted on June 3, 2019 Leave a Comment

One of the greatest Biodesign discoveries was that Darwin contemporary, Lord Alfred Wallace, described music as a quintessential component in human spiritual growth and development. Each day Biodesign students were greeted at the bio-lab door with music from quadraphonic speakers. The music could have been Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Folk, Opera, Reggae or Gospel, etc. I had access to 1000s of selections and a variety of genres, melodies and lyrics were used to pique student interest in the correlation of music and Nature; e.g. Verdi’s, “Four Seasons,” Grofe’s, “Grand Canyon Suite,” John Denver’s, “Country Roads.” Sometimes the music was so poignant or appropriate that we had to modify the lesson in order to discuss what the composers and performers were communicating. In some cases the lyrics, apart from the melody, were dry and not inspiring. Conversely, there were times when instrumental versions of a song lacked vibrancy and meaning. Truly great songs often result when great melodies are combined with great lyrics to launch the song into the soul-stirring level.

The song, “Southern Cross,” is one of those songs. Whenever it was played, students would stop talking and were entranced by the magical union of the melody and lyrics. The song actually began as, “Seven League Boots,” composed by Rick and Michael Curtis. They entrusted it to Stephen Stills who rewrote and renamed it and it became a hit for Crosby—Stills—Nash.

Whether the actual “Southern Cross” conjures up a Christian epiphany or is simply a utilitarian navigational “asterism” (not a constellation) there are countless stories of jaded sea-salts who were humbled by their first view of the mysterious phenomena. It represents a focal point that inspires and guides travelers in the southern hemisphere.

The song might have joined a long list of also-ran lamentations of unrequited love, but the lyrics, rich harmony and soaring crescendos create a triumphant celebration of the healing powers of Mother Nature. It was a perfect fit for the Biodesign goal of seeking Truth, Beauty and Goodness. Alfred Wallace would be proud.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Veterans Day – John Phillip Sousa – Plato

Posted on November 9, 2014 Leave a Comment

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” – Plato

For better and worse, this Fb page and the BOFAW Website have been like the proverbial cat; there have literally been several times when both could have died. Clearly, the only reason both are alive is because of the wisdom, guidance and inspiration that Fb friends have provided. Some of these have been public, but many have been private messages. When someone posts, or sends me an idea, it often sends me off on a wonderful treasure hunt.

I received the headline quote from a soul-friend and it provided an experience of intense joy and sorrow.

Joy

Plato’s quote took me back to The Biodesign Classroom where we began with biology and searched for truth, beauty and goodness. At the beginning of each class, students entered the room with some genre of music playing. I usually tried to play one John Phillip Sousa march each year. Typically, the students entered the room not knowing what to expect. Sousa did not disappoint. Regardless of individual moods, the energy level of the room soared. Faces radiated broad smiles and some picked up the rhythm and playfully “marched” to their place in the circle. Plato was spot on, describing music as a soulful experience.

After reading the private post, in a splendid synchronicity, I was guided to a Sousa Youtube video. It noted that he composed 136 marches, with “Stars and Stripes Forever,” being his favorite. Watching the video was profoundly moving—even tear-inducing. My six-year-old grandson was visiting and I called him up to my office to view the video. He was enthralled, excited, and wanted me to point out the trumpets because he wants to learn how to play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-7XWhyvIpE

Sorrow

After he got off of my lap, however, a pall of sadness washed over me. Our society has changed drastically in the last 50 years. Fewer and fewer people remember the unfathomable sacrifices that “The Greatest Generation” of men and women made to protect our freedom. From the highest elected Washington DC officials down to small-town mayors, being patriotic has become politically inconvenient. An overwhelming number of high school and college educators are politically “left” and during my 50 years associated with education, I have seen the incremental removal of the word “patriotism” from public schools. Students with traditional values of God, Country and Apple Pie are frequently mocked, belittled or judged as “quaint” for expressing patriotic opinions or perspectives. Many so-called, “Liberal Universities” offer curricula and professors who are neither liberal nor universal in their thinking. They are certainly not dedicated to the platonic quest of exercising “the illimitable freedom of the human mind.”

Many high schools no longer have marching bands therefore students are missing out on the thrill of marching to a JP Sousa tune. Instead, many youth, especially inner-city kids, walk around listening to “ear buds” spewing rap lyrics laden with violence, pornography and smut.

In a bitter irony, in his “Republic” Plato warned:

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”

Pretty scary stuff.

Maybe readers of this page can better appreciate the awesome privilege I was blessed with to have 700+ students touch my soul and essentially write Biodesign Out For A Walk.

Lowell H. Young, Author: Biodeisign Out For A Walk

Music and Biodesign: Who Turned On the tunes? Part II

Posted on September 11, 2014 Leave a Comment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYqz8bWG8Sw

I usually played one Gregorian chant each year. It was intriguing that normally rowdy students suddenly became quiet or talked in hushed whispers. The simplistic style is similar to music heard, for thousands of years, in churches, temples, mosques, monasteries, kivas, ceremonial chambers, perhaps even caves. Ironically, I did not play it for “religious” reasons, but in hopes that students would transcend 100,000 years (before all religions) to the period when our ancestors began to perceive that they were sacred beings.

We had four, 36”x 12”, Infinity Concert, Surround-Sound Speakers and sometimes I cranked up Johann Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue” (or other signature piece) to about 75 dB which made the walls vibrate. Other students would stop and gawk and wonder what kind of weird biology class was being conducted.

I loved the transformative power that music added to the class and had many favorites. However, there was one pop song that was extraordinary. The artist was Zamfir, and his pan flute rendition of “The Lonely Shepherd,” resonated with every cell in my being. He captured the feeling of loneliness which was a feeling I identified with. Not surprisingly, I was not alone. John Muir, Loren Eiseley and Henry Thoreau all described times of feeling lonely and isolated. It wasn’t so much a bad sad, but a melancholic tinge that Zamfir captured in his spirit-stirring song. It was born out of the realization that Christie was the only person who truly knew what my hopes, dreams and aspirations for Biodesigners were. I understood that many of the ideas that I shared might not take root or grow until years later.

It may seem strange to think of a teacher camping with 30 students as being lonely, however, even as close as we often grew together, still, there was a necessary gap between us. Although I experienced amazing joy and positive feed-back, I also had to deal with rejection, hostility, doubt and occasional recrimination. At times like these my musical friends and mentors stood by to offer me soothing solace.

Excerpt: “The Immense Journey,” by Loren Eiseley.

“As a modern man, I have sat in concert halls and watched huge audiences floating dazedon the voice of a great singer. Alone in the dark box I have heard far off as if ascending out of some black stairwell the guttural whisperings and bestial coughings out of which that voice arose…Ironically enough, science, which can show us the flints and broken skulls of our dead fathers, has yet to explain how we have come so far so fast, nor has it any completely satisfactory answer to the question asked by Wallace long ago (Where did music come from?) Those who would revile us by pointing to an ape at the foot of our family tree grasp little of the awe with which the modern scientist now puzzles over man’s lonely and supreme ascent.”

Lowell H. Young, Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk