A Review of the document titled: Music is not just an entertainment

but part and parcel of life itself by Dr. Daniel Jacobson.

1
Introduction
This document seeks to give a critical view into the various points discussed by Dr. Daniel
Jacobson in a document he wrote in the summer of 2001. Here I discuss the points raised
strongly and clearly as well as explain a few ideas that I feel could have been addressed
differently in order to achieve the intended goal.

Critique
The document opens up by bringing to the attention of the reader the instances where
music appears yet we seem to be totally oblivious of it. This opening is very crucial to the
conditioning of the reader’s mind to the matters addressed in the document. Among the very key
point in the document that resonate throughout the entire document is: ‘The power and Influence
of music on human life.
Dr. Daniel Jacobson states that music plays a very key role in influencing our actions,
thoughts and feelings. He explains that music has the same power of influence even when we are
unconscious of it. Some of the points raised in this document coincide with normal day to day
activities. Music has been used as a medium of communication of a people’s ideas, beliefs and
philosophies. It has been used to define particular trends, cultures and behaviours among the
people of the world as well as our society. Dr. Daniel’s approach to this topic is very effective.
He sets a historical background for the essence of music in human life. He quotes a section of
history based on Greek and Roman cultures where music was an important factor in determining
the education status of an individual. In fact, he establishes music as one of two pillars of ancient
education system: the gymnastics (for the discipline of the body) and music (for the discipline of
the mind). He then strengthens the idea of music as an effective medium of expression by
quoting scientific work linking music and research of how the brain responds to music. In this,
he affirms traditional practices of composition and analysis that attributes qualities of music to
particular emotion e.g. loudness, speed, timbre, style to emotions such as love, passion, joy,
tranquillity etc.
One more very important area of discussion presented by Dr. Jacobson is music appreciation. He
brings up a logical argument that we appreciate what we know contrary from the popular belief

2
that we know what we appreciate. He encourages the reader to first aim at understanding the
composer’s intention before setting a judgement on its aesthetics.
Among key elements discussed in this document is the commercial aspect of music.
There are truths in the argument that its commercialization has led to a naïve perspective that
music is only a form of entertainment. This could have been discussed in more detail and with
much more elaborate examples. This document explains at the end of the third paragraph ends up
explaining why music is commercial. He attributes it to its power and influence. This contradicts
with his earlier statements where he states that the value of music seem to depreciate with its
commercialization (2nd paragraph).
The fragment of music history that addresses the issue of “the Devil in music” is more of
a rumor that has slowly been justified by age rather than by fact. The harsh musical sounds being
described include use of the tritone interval (Augmented Fourth) to be more specific in regards to
vocal music which was then the sole form of music in church. This is not proved by facts. There
is evidence of it being used albeit rarely in the Middle Ages church music e.g. Perotin’s (medival
composer) Dum sigillum summi patris. The phrase ‘the Devil in music’ first appears in Johann
Fux’ Gradus ad parnassum and is applied to describe harmony not interpretation.
The idea of the relationship between the composer and the audience is brought up at the
end of the document. The argument that an audience would appreciate music after being exposed
to the intentions of the composer is not very convincing. As this appears to be a preface to a
larger work, I hope that it is expounded at the continuation of Dr. Daniel Jacobson’s work.
In conclusion, I find the document to be an opening to a Pandora’s Box of information
connecting music to science, understanding the workings of our subconscious mind and music as
an art. The title: ‘Music is not just an entertainment but part and parcel of life itself’ is a perfect
description of what is being discussed in the paper.