Music as prophetic expression of cultural form?

by Arlyn Culwick

It is possible for one to study an instrument deeply, and from it to garner visions of the possibilities of music itself. One can further interpret those possibilities as suggestive of cultural forms, I think. Here is one such vision from the study of bass.

Bass is the instrument that most naturally lends itself to the expression of what I consider an ideal of music. This ideal is a conception of music where every part in a piece has been brought to its fullest, illimitable identity, complete in itself, not inhibiting any other part, and yet deeply dependent on every other part for its meaning.

Bass is uniquely positioned for offering a vision of such an ideal: it exists at a unique confluence of rhythm, melody, and harmony; it is neither saddled with the burden of ‘leading’ a song (as a vocal part would), nor, as it were, does it ‘imperialistically’ subordinate other parts for the sake of its agenda. The converse is also important: bass is never its true self as mere ‘backing’, and whenever music contains a prescriptive, dominating part that requires all other parts to follow it, then the music cripples itself by its own internal dynamic, and is structurally impeded from becoming as fully itself – and from expressing the fullness of music itself – as it could be.

Bass, better than any other instrument, facilitates the pursuit of such a full interdependent selfhood – simply because its path of expressive development is deeply constrained by interrelations with other instruments. Lead instruments, in contrast, are not pressurised to pay such close attention to the rest of the music, but are free to break off and depart, or – worse – to be merely decorative and superfluous (I’m sure we’re all familiar with soloists just widdling away inanely). In contrast, something like rhythm guitar – playing a chord progression that is harmonically and rhythmically prescriptive – is too often a brute imperialist that eliminates space and freedom for expression, since it must simply be followed to the point of suffocation. Drums have their own limitation: they too easily embody rhythm too singly, at the neglect of other elements of music. Keyboards have great potential, but in their massive versatility there is not the inherent scarcity necessary to push one to distil a single, unique, interdependent part. Bass, on the other hand, is by its very nature best suited to develop a consciousness with revolutionary potential for music, and to raise awareness of the possibility that music can embody such deep freedom and such deep interrelation (without conflict).

Furthermore, such a model for music does, inevitably, go beyond itself because it suggests possibilities for social, economic, and political ways of being – of cultural forms that emulate its structure, freed of so much of the hierarchism, oppression, rationalised abstraction, rigidity, and alienation of life as we know it. It is my hope that music increasingly begins to embody the suggestion of a more beautiful, less strictured existence that better suits the natural inclinations of consciousness – individual and social – to develop deeply personal, non-alienated relationships of interdependence. Such relationships are of a sort that is mutually enriching and expressive of the depth, freedom, and subtlety of a way of life unhampered by the dynamics of our present socioeconomic regime.

Music’s potential to usher in awareness of such possibilities should not be underestimated. Experience of musical structure is – outside of academic pursuits – never in the abstract. Rather, it is embodied in consciousness of whatever the structure is about, i.e. of what the music represents. It is no secret that modern Western life comes with its truckload of compromises and necessary evils – and we all negotiate our way into these as we go. But nobody surrenders to such things without a degree of struggle and regret, and the loss of beauty and freedom that these compromises engender is not quickly forgotten. We all hope, at some level, for a better situation – more beautiful, free, and true. The emergence of music that expresses a radically better alternative will not, therefore, go unnoticed. Music that not only aspires to a more beautiful life, but actually embodies the structure of such a life – is a powerful thing indeed, and, I think, is sorely needed.