Through the self to music: The self as the creative origin for composing in time frames

Abstract

Since childhood, the composer Peter Michael Hamel has been embedded in a musical environment. Here he describes a new experience leading to some new insight when he was confronted with some results in brain science. Although he has always been interested in the scientific basis of sound and music, certain characteristics of temporal information processing in the brain were new to him. In particular, the time window of some 3 s fascinated him. As an immediate reaction, he decided to compose a string quartet, which he called The Time Frame. This time window, which is an anthropological universal, provides an operative basis for effortless communication, empathic relationships to others, and it is the brain's way to integrate continuity and simultaneity of what is experienced in a complementary mode. This time window is also a temporal platform for self-awareness. This suggests a reflection of the concept of the "self" as it has been conceived since antiquity and in different cultural environments. This reflection has motivated the title of his report, "Through the Self to Music." This appears to be contradictory to the internationally well-received title of his book, Through Music to the Self. However, it can be interpreted as complementary. As the composer says: the "self" is a creative starting point for composing and listening "in" time windows.

Keywords: concept of self; cultural imprinting; musical motifs; self-awareness; time window.