CHAPTER I
PRIMITIVE OR SAVAGE MUSIC
5. In General.—Some form of music is found in every part of
the uncivilized world, from the islands of the southern Pacific
round to the Americas, and from the equatorial zone far toward
the poles. This extensive diffusion points to a spontaneous use
by all races of song, dance and instrument as means of expression,
amusement and even discipline. The primary impulse to
music seems to belong to mankind as a whole.
Although most savage music is crude and to us disagreeable, yet its interest for the student is considerable. By noting how it arises, how it is used, and with what it is associated, we gain insight into the essence and relations of the musical impulse. The widespread combination of song with dancing, mimicry and poetry, as well as with religious exercises, challenges attention. The painstaking care in fashioning instruments is impressive and instructive. The naïve experiments in scale-making suggest the probable sources of modern theory. The analogies between the musical efforts of primitive adults and those of civilized children have a bearing upon current pedagogy. For the critical student of either history or æsthetics, therefore, the facts of savage music are valuable.
The great difficulty of the topic lies in the variable accuracy and
clearness of the first-hand reports of the facts that come from travelers,
missionaries and other observers.
6. As a Social Institution.—In primitive conditions music is
first of all a social diversion or play, affording an outlet for
surplus animal spirit, stimulating emotional excitement, and
helping to maintain muscular and nervous energy. Singing
and dancing are always conspicuously social—a centre of
interest for perhaps a whole village or tribe. The craving for
popular activity in these ways often leads to stated gatherings
of a festal character, the ceremonies usually being specifically
associated with an occupation or event, as with hunting, agriculture,
worship or war, or with birth, sickness or death. The
