YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → exploring the world of music - the transformative power of music

exploring the world of music - the transformative power of music — Transcript

by Walter Brath · 2,769 words · 433 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00[Music]
0:06Annenberg media there's something
0:22inexplicable about the powerful role
0:25music plays all around the world
0:32[Applause]
0:35from worship to women from politics to
0:45play it mobilizes it heals and
0:56transforms boswell is supposed to have
1:02said to dr. Johnson I'm greatly affected
1:05by music some music will make me weep
1:09some music will make me feel so brave I
1:12could march into the thick of a battle
1:14and not be scared of anything
1:17Johnson says dryly if any me anything
1:20could make me act so foolish I would not
1:22have anything to do with it
1:29[Music]
1:58music has got an incredible power
2:01presence no sound is something that you
2:06can't escape when you're in its presence
2:10with music there's no looking away that
2:19is part of the power of music when
2:21you're near it there's no escape it can
2:25focus your attention on a particular
2:27ceremony for example it can act as a
2:35kind of social glue that helps a
2:38ceremony to go on over the course of
2:40several days keeps people's attention
2:43focused music can be used in a work
2:49situation you can find examples of that
2:52in Africa where people are working in a
2:54field let's say that they are they're
2:56planting millet or they're threshing any
2:59kind of situation where you have got
3:00large numbers of people you need to
3:02coordinate their efforts you can use
3:05music to do that
3:09[Music]
3:13music something that people can dance to
3:16it can move them out of one frame of
3:18mind into another it can move them from
3:22being separate people to being one group
3:24of people it can remind them who they
3:27are
3:28it also can get them out of the state
3:29that they're in now into some other
3:31state transforms them
3:37why it's powerful we can't say we just
3:40know that music moves people in the
3:46middle of a church service
3:47somebody will fall out and a lot of that
3:49has to do with the build-up that's been
3:52achieved through the music there are
3:56many ways which is powerful it's not
3:58necessarily powerful in a good way
4:01[Music]
4:13Hitler used music brilliantly to
4:15organize people to do the wrong things
4:18so the power of music
4:25is not exactly something we can put our
4:28finger on scientifically but we can
4:32observe it and we can talk to people and
4:35have them tell you what it feels like to
4:38be in a music situation that does
4:40something important
4:43[Music]
4:50music plays a strong role in ceremonies
4:53and rituals of all kinds in southern
4:57Africa the medicine dance of the cook is
5:00a ceremony that is usually held once a
5:02week to heal the sick and ward off evil
5:07among the clung music itself is a
5:10medicine which heals people physically
5:13heals their ailments and that is
5:17testament to the power of music the
5:30quang are also known as Bushmen they are
5:34people who live in Namibia and Botswana
5:37in southern Africa they live in a
5:41semi-arid or desert region it's a very
5:44tough environment in which to survive
5:46and they are hunter-gatherers they are
5:50people who live off the land people
5:57survive really on the margins in that
6:01environment it's very easy to go across
6:04the line and to get into real trouble
6:06through sickness so the alleviation of
6:11sickness and suffering is a regular need
6:13that has to be addressed
6:16[Music]
6:19the healing ceremonies that the come
6:21perform are one way of addressing those
6:25needs of of restoring balance and
6:27harmony and health the sound of the
6:32music itself is a healing sound the
6:36music comes to people on a subconscious
6:40level it gets right to the core and it
6:43has a way of transforming it one of the
6:51most interesting things about the
6:53healing ceremonies of the cone is that
6:55there aren't any words there's no text
6:58at all yet that music is very powerful
7:01very moving very very emotional music
7:05and how does that work you know you hear
7:08people singing and they there's their
7:12yodeling you hear this wonderful melody
7:16little fragments sung by one person put
7:19together with little fragments sung by
7:21another person and together you get a
7:22kind of composite melody that's not sung
7:25by any one person
7:27it needs a community
7:28[Music]
7:32there is no audience who are sitting and
7:34watching everybody is performing some
7:37role you can be involved by by singing
7:40you can be involved by clapping your
7:42hands you can be involved by dancing but
7:45the important thing is that everybody is
7:47connected in the musical experience
7:54there's a close connection between music
7:56and trance among the comb the men in
8:00particular at some point in their lives
8:02usually become healers and become
8:05capable of entering into trance the
8:15state of trance is something that is is
8:18brought about in part by the music and
8:20in part by the whole social occasion
8:24that is going on and in that state of
8:30consciousness a human being
8:32leaves his own body or his consciousness
8:35leaves his body and another
8:37consciousness comes into that body and
8:40is able to heal in that state so the
8:44music helps a human being to bridge the
8:47gap between the natural world and the
8:49supernatural world that's why the music
8:52itself has power the music itself is
8:55medicine life cycle rites and rituals
9:13mark important moments of transition in
9:16people's lives music often plays a vital
9:20role in elevating these events from the
9:22ordinary to the extraordinary I did a
9:27film in Greece and in our story of
9:30Queens about this terrific community of
9:32deeper it musicians every time they have
9:34one of their celebrations it could be a
9:38wedding or it could be a feast day
9:40they have to have music can't have that
9:51ritual unless you had that good music
9:55and the best musicians are up there in
9:57the mountains in Greece and they'll fly
9:58them to Athens for that one festival the
10:01issue of money isn't important that he's
10:04there
10:05[Music]
10:12you know most places when you want to
10:14get excited you go faster but somehow I
10:16went to II Peretz they go slower and
10:19they want to show how intense they are
10:21expression agony and pain and they dance
10:30and they kind of outdo each other and
10:38they lead each other around doing these
10:40slow slow slow things it's very elegant
10:43[Music]
10:50well by the time you get involved in
10:52that everybody's sweating and pouring on
10:54the energy slowing down then no longer
10:57were they like when you came into the
10:58room it's a different different place
11:00and I think that's it's magic
11:03[Music]
11:14the power of music itself can be the
11:17force that draws people together at rock
11:23and roll concerts worldwide musical
11:26performance often facilitates the
11:28creation of community large concerts
11:30such as those by the Pittsburgh based
11:32band Rusted Root are highly interactive
11:35and transformative events that bring
11:38participants together in ways that often
11:40transcend the performance itself I think
11:48the question of what is powerful about
11:51music or a musical experience is very
11:53interesting because I think it goes
11:54beyond the scales that are being
11:56performed or the particular rhythms or
11:58even necessarily the execution of it I
12:01think that the environment that's
12:02created between the band and the
12:04audience provides some sort of emotional
12:09venue in which many magical moments
12:12happen
12:17[Music]
12:19from the stage to the audience you can
12:21see how the sound pulls people together
12:24into a collective because they're all
12:26moving to the same pulse you know the
12:28music is providing something for them to
12:31move to and they're in agreement with us
12:33on stage and somehow some way we're all
12:37in this together
12:49[Music]
12:56they'll come and watch the suit show and
12:58they'll dance together and afterwards
13:00the go outside and get their their drums
13:02out of their trunks and play drums in
13:03the parking lot it's a way to bring
13:05people together in an age where it's
13:08really hard to do that because the
13:10society is increasingly not set up that
13:13way I think the performance of music is
13:19very cathartic even for the people
13:21performing I know that I get into a very
13:24meditative space myself when I'm
13:26performing I'm you get lost in the music
13:40[Music]
14:09[Applause]
14:13[Music]
14:20music plays a fundamental role in
14:22religious expression around the world
14:25american gospel music is a uniquely
14:28african-american musical genre during
14:32the service music acts as a catalyst
14:34that draws the whole congregation
14:36together in active participation the
14:42word gospel actually means good news it
14:46comes from the word Evangel and the
14:50Evangel is the spirit of good news and
14:53some when we speak of evangelism in the
14:56New Testament we are speaking about the
14:58good news of God's love in Jesus Christ
15:02all who are able stand to your feet and
15:05let us call ourselves together for
15:07worship and celebration technically what
15:12happens with music in our service is it
15:17begins with a prelude and from that
15:19point on music is almost analogous to
15:23the old steam engine
15:25it starts rather slow but as it builds
15:29up speed it increases its energy
15:33[Music]
15:37he called our service of worship a
15:41service of celebration and jubilation
15:45primarily because of the good news and
15:48we hear good news you are celebrated but
15:51I also recognize that on any Sunday
15:54gathered in the pews of this sanctuary a
15:57persons who have not had a great deal to
16:01celebrate during the week and so music
16:04serves not only as a rallying point but
16:10it also serves as a therapeutic means
16:15this music has one message you've got to
16:19feel something you leave here you should
16:21feel better than when you came in the
16:23door
16:27Tom Dorsey was he was godfather if you
16:30will of gospel music now who was he
16:33the blues musician jazz musician playing
16:36in the honky-tonks and all that and then
16:38one day according to Tom
16:40Dorsey God spoke to him and said no no
16:42no you're gonna stop playing this music
16:43we're gonna bring this into the church
16:45now at that time
16:47I mean gospel music was resisted who are
16:50these people
16:51bringing this boogie-woogie music into
16:52the church there was a lot of opposition
16:54to it but slowly over time you know
16:57cream rises to the top and you couldn't
17:00hold it back this this this avalanche
17:01this feeling this desire because it does
17:04speak to the people in a way that you
17:06know no other music form in our church
17:08really speaks to us
17:12[Music]
17:16the lyrics of gospel music being
17:19scripturally based do give a message of
17:22hope but gospel music in and of itself
17:26has its power from also the musical
17:30accompaniment
17:33[Music]
17:36there is a beat there is a cadence of
17:44rhythm so the music must connect with
17:52people's interior
17:55[Music]
18:06when you walk in to a service you may
18:09feel down you may feel troubled you may
18:11be distraught
18:13[Music]
18:17but then the music begins and it's
18:21soothing and it's uplifting and then you
18:25begin to feel you have strength
18:27[Music]
18:33you know you've come home
18:36[Music]
18:43I'm a kid of the 60s so for me I came to
18:46this gospel music not through church but
18:49really through the movement I mean
18:51whenever we were in demonstrations or
18:54White Sea demonstrations there was
18:55always music being played music has the
19:01power to unite people in common cause it
19:04is often able to convey a political
19:06message in stronger and more emotional
19:08ways than speech in the 1960s during the
19:14civil rights and anti-war movements
19:16music became a driving force in the
19:18struggle for social change there wasn't
19:23a single meeting that didn't have
19:25singing we shall overcome was the most
19:28famous song but there were hundreds of
19:31others they change over a gospel song
19:35and put new words to it very common
19:38technique been done around for centuries
19:45we shall overcome was originally a fast
19:47song i overcome overcome overcome son
19:56[Music]
20:00when you sing we shall overcome your
20:03shoulders are touching because here
20:04you're crossing your arms in front of it
20:06and swaying of course from right to left
20:08we well a month after the founding of
20:16snick this song was throughout the whole
20:18south it was the song it wasn't Ehsan it
20:23was the song in its own quiet way it was
20:27taking the confidence I know we in the
20:39presence they would sing songs when they
20:41were being beaten by the dogs they would
20:43sing songs and you'd have to ask
20:45yourself you know what was this thing
20:47about why would they sing these songs as
20:48they're being beaten and the reason why
20:51they sang the songs was just like when
20:53the the priests chanting Ligurian chants
20:55or when a Buddhist has a mantra or when
20:59you say Hail Mary Mother of God in the
21:01Catholic religion it was a means of
21:03going inside of yourself to find the
21:05strength within to deal with the outside
21:07world
21:10one of my mentors was a real consonant
21:13it was one scene he told me about when
21:16he was in Birmingham where he was
21:19representing dr. Martin Luther King and
21:21they had come from demonstration to
21:23rally and King had been told that there
21:26were men looking to kill him that night
21:27and they drove up to a house and bill
21:30and King was staying in the house
21:31together with a group of other people
21:33and Bill told the story that people were
21:36petrified that night I mean they thought
21:38that the house is gonna be bombed and
21:40they darkened the house so with no
21:42lights at all and he was afraid for his
21:44life and King must have sensed this was
21:48fear in the room and he walked over to a
21:51piano and start to play this little
21:53light of mine and the whole group TISS
21:56started to sing this song and they sang
21:58songs all through the night and bill
22:01said at the end of this time it was like
22:03there was nothing to be afraid of I mean
22:05he himself a non-religious person was
22:08moved by this music and himself
22:11strengthened by it
22:14[Music]
22:25it was back in 1942 what was a member of
22:29a good platoon Plato was supposed to
22:33have said it's very dangerous for the
22:35wrong kind of music to be allowed in
22:37Republic it's an old Arab proverb when
22:41the King puts the poet on his payroll he
22:44cuts off the tongue of the poet and when
22:46people ask me can songs really change
22:49people's minds and I think I can't prove
22:51a darn thing all I know is the people in
22:53power think so because they keep songs
22:55off the radio and off the television
22:58that they think are dangerous for the
23:01people to hear especially during the
23:03Vietnam War my song waist deep in the
23:06Big Muddy
23:08[Music]
23:14waist deep in a big muddy the big fool
23:18says to push hard it didn't mention
23:21President Johnson by name didn't mention
23:24the up man but everybody knew what I was
23:26singing about didn't told us that's how
23:31it all with the gun we were knee-deep in
23:35the Big Muddy the big fool said to push
23:38off
23:40it was a song which was inspired by
23:44seeing a photograph showing American
23:46troops wading through waist-deep in the
23:49water of the Mekong Delta probably we
23:52were waist-deep in the Big Muddy the big
23:59I was asked to be on The Smothers
24:00Brothers program the first time I sang
24:03it
24:04it was scissored out of the tape in
24:07October of 1967 but The Smothers
24:11Brothers took to the print media said
24:14hey CBS is censoring our best jokes it's
24:18censored secrets best song what's going
24:20on here and finally in January of 1968
24:24CBS said okay okay you can sing the song
24:28[Music]
24:34[Music]
24:39friend of mine was working in the
24:42distribution office for Columbia Records
24:45in Denver Colorado he says Pete you know
24:48my boss took one listen to this record
24:51and exploded he says those people in New
24:53York must be nuts
24:54to think I can promote a record like
24:57this he said Pete your record did not
25:00leave their shelf so as I say I can't
25:08prove that songs do anything but people
25:11in control of the country I think they
25:13did about a half mile from where he'd
25:19gone we were lucky to escape from the
25:22Big Muddy
25:24[Music]
25:47[Applause]
25:49[Music]
26:09waist-deep in the Big Muddy Annenberg
26:27media
26:35for information about this and other
26:37Annenberg media programs call 1-800
26:40lerner and visit us at
26:44[Music]

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of exploring the world of music - the transformative power of music by Walter Brath, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 2,769 words across 433 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.