Week 4: Singing

You got a right to the Tree of Life

  • Spirituality in conjunction w/ slavery

  • Relating spiritual struggles of Mary to struggles of slavery

  • Spirituals are a part of African American religiosity

    • Helped blend Christianity and African spirituality

    • Blending of different African traditions

    • Ritualized, collective music and dance

    • Community was a big value

    • Closeness w/ the spirit

    • Spiritual invoked the presence of the spirit

    • Blending saints w/ African deities

    • Spirituals can also be coded language

In-Class 1/29

  • Essay proposal due on Monday, document in OneDrive

  • Look at attending a religious ceremony

  • Music is ancient

    • Pitch and primates: Changes in vocal pitch influence social interactions

      • Activates older areas of the brain

      • Music signals sexual fitness (shows coordination, strength, health)

  • Spiritual perspectives

    • Islamic Sufi: the soul is sound

    • Catholicism: chants induce transcendence

  • Singing and healing

    • Shamanic

    • Islamic spiritual care: music therapy

    • Clinical music therapy

    • Stress reduction

    • Greater immune response

  • Mechanisms

    • Music enhances memory

    • Activates a greater brain area

    • Religions like music as it helps people remember tenets

    • Oxytocin released w/ music, relational hormone, makes us feel more connected

    • Improvisation/singing encourages paying attention to other people

    • Motor system: music induces dance/movement, drives shared action and relationships

  • Group singing

    • Common across religions