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Charles Darwin, Percy Grainger, and John Blacking: Reflections on the Historical Emergence of Music as a Human Universal.

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Title: Charles Darwin, Percy Grainger, and John Blacking: Reflections on the Historical Emergence of Music as a Human Universal.
Authors: Bannan, Nicholas1 (AUTHOR) n.bannan@bigpond.com
Source: Journal of Historical Research in Music Education. Apr2025, Vol. 46 Issue 2, p195-213. 19p.
Subject Terms: *Cultural relations, Ethnomusicology, Cross-cultural studies, Rhythm, Colonization, Naturalists, Musicologists
People: Grainger, Percy, 1882-1961
Abstract: Music from every culture throughout history is now available at the click of a mouse. Prior to the development of recording, the unfamiliar largely separated musical cultures. This paper sets out a narrative to illustrate the framework through which a universalist approach to music emerged over the period 1871–1970, derived from placing in relation to one another accounts of the influence of three historical figures. The first is Darwin, whose theories of evolution embraced speculation on the origin and purpose of music, and who himself wrote about the effect on him of encountering unfamiliar musical styles in the Southern Hemisphere. The second is Grainger, influenced by Darwin's work and persuasively concerned to open musical contact between all cultures. The third is Blacking, a pioneer in ethnomusicology and commentator on Grainger's ideas. Tracing the links between these authors inevitably represents an English-language historical perspective on the issues of colonization, cultural appropriation, and the educational influence of a dominant culture. In offering such a historical account of fluctuating experience of 'the other' in music, the aim is to illustrate these authors' contribution towards convergence on an open, informed position consistent with viewing musical exchange from a universalist perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Historical Research in Music Education is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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PubType: Academic Journal
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  Data: Charles Darwin, Percy Grainger, and John Blacking: Reflections on the Historical Emergence of Music as a Human Universal.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Historical+Research+in+Music+Education%22">Journal of Historical Research in Music Education</searchLink>. Apr2025, Vol. 46 Issue 2, p195-213. 19p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+relations%22">Cultural relations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethnomusicology%22">Ethnomusicology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cross-cultural+studies%22">Cross-cultural studies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rhythm%22">Rhythm</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Colonization%22">Colonization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Naturalists%22">Naturalists</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Musicologists%22">Musicologists</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="PE" term="%22Grainger%2C+Percy%2C+1882-1961%22">Grainger, Percy, 1882-1961</searchLink>
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  Data: Music from every culture throughout history is now available at the click of a mouse. Prior to the development of recording, the unfamiliar largely separated musical cultures. This paper sets out a narrative to illustrate the framework through which a universalist approach to music emerged over the period 1871–1970, derived from placing in relation to one another accounts of the influence of three historical figures. The first is Darwin, whose theories of evolution embraced speculation on the origin and purpose of music, and who himself wrote about the effect on him of encountering unfamiliar musical styles in the Southern Hemisphere. The second is Grainger, influenced by Darwin's work and persuasively concerned to open musical contact between all cultures. The third is Blacking, a pioneer in ethnomusicology and commentator on Grainger's ideas. Tracing the links between these authors inevitably represents an English-language historical perspective on the issues of colonization, cultural appropriation, and the educational influence of a dominant culture. In offering such a historical account of fluctuating experience of 'the other' in music, the aim is to illustrate these authors' contribution towards convergence on an open, informed position consistent with viewing musical exchange from a universalist perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Historical Research in Music Education is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=183941467
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        Value: 10.1177/15366006241259767
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Cultural relations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ethnomusicology
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      – SubjectFull: Cross-cultural studies
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      – SubjectFull: Rhythm
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      – SubjectFull: Colonization
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      – SubjectFull: Naturalists
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      – SubjectFull: Musicologists
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      – SubjectFull: Grainger, Percy, 1882-1961
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      – TitleFull: Charles Darwin, Percy Grainger, and John Blacking: Reflections on the Historical Emergence of Music as a Human Universal.
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              Text: Apr2025
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              Y: 2025
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