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Stephen Dafoe, MM, writes: “Every Mason learns of the importance of the liberal arts and sciences, of which he is instructed are seven; namely, Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy. Unfortunately few Freemasons today take this instruction with any degree of seriousness and make no further effort to examine the nature of these arts.”
“Like much of Freemasonry, the liberal arts and sciences come to us from the Medieval period, when they were believed to be the sum total of all knowledge that was worth while to a complete education. They were known as "artes liberales" from the Latin "liber" meaning Free [liberal]. In this sense they were the subjects available to free men and were a contrast from the "artes illiberales", which were taught for purely economic reasons that a man may earn a living. These arts were the operative arts of the workmen and were considered less desirable educational pursuits. While [Masons] have adopted the seven liberal arts and sciences from the Medieval era, they were known in the Pythagorean and Platonic eras and were broken into two groups; one concerning language and the other mathematics.”
“The first was the "Trivium," or, “three paths,” and included grammar, rhetoric and logic. Grammar is that portion of language that allows us to fine tune our speech like the ashlars and remove all barbarous expressions. Rhetoric is the art that allows us to persuade and have an effect upon the listener. The last and perhaps most important art of the Trivium is logic, which permits us the gift of reasoning; allowing us to understand our duties to God and towards each other.”
“The second was the "Quadrivium," or, “four paths,” and included Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy. Arithmetic is the process by which we are able to calculate all weights and measures, but in a speculative and philosophical sense can be best summed up by the following quotation: ‘For the Freemason, the application of this science is that he is continually to add to his knowledge, never to subtract anything from the character of his neighbor, to multiply his benevolence to his fellow-creatures, and to divide his means with those in need.’ “
Regarding Music specifically, Mackey's Masonic Encyclopedia says the following, “Music is a mystery to the Freemason and a mystery as to its connection to mathematics, but to anyone who practices this art, the connection is apparent. Our ancient brother Pythagoras was perhaps the first to notice the mathematical correlation between music and numbers.”
The following is from: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/16/science/the-mystery-of-music-how-it-works-in-the-brain.html?pagewanted=6&src=pm
The ability to perceive and enjoy music is an inborn human trait, said Dr. Mark Tramo, a neurobiologist at Harvard Medical School. While many animals use intricate sounds to recognize one another, attract mates and signal danger, humans have developed the richest musical repertoires of any species. …At the University of California at Irvine, researchers built computer models of how cells in the auditory cortex might fire together during learning. When the computer program was connected to a device that translated its mathematical code into sounds, musical themes appeared.
"It got us to thinking," said Dr. Gordon Shaw, a physicist at Irvine's Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. He said that the way cells are connected throughout the cortex might compose the basic neural language of the brain. "When you hear music, you are exciting inherent brain patterns that derive from this structure and connectivity. Then we made another big jump," he added. "Musical training at an early age might reinforce these patterns. Music is structured in space and time. Could it enhance or strengthen the circuits that help you think and reason in space and time?"
To find out, Frances Rauscher, an Irvine researcher, has been working with preschool children in Los Angeles. One group of 3-year-olds received weekly piano lessons and participated in daily sessions of group singing. Another group did not get the extra training. After a year, she said, the musically trained children scored 80 percent higher on tests of spatial and temporal reasoning, an ability that underlies many kinds of mathematics and engineering.
Could this explain why so many physicists and mathematicians are also gifted musicians [Einstein was a decent violinist]? Scientists who study music and the brain may soon find the answer.
We will look more deeply into the life-metaphor of Music in the next Trestleboard.
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