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Chapter
Working and playing
DOI link for Working and playing
Working and playing book
Working and playing
DOI link for Working and playing
Working and playing book
ABSTRACT
After dance and theater, the next step is work and play (Chapter 5), and a consideration of magic as a source of musical invention. Schaeffner lists the musical instruments used in hunting and fishing, as weapons, in livestock farming, agriculture, and smithing, as ornaments, in connection with sexuality, and in games: bullroarers, buzzers, ratchets, clappers, tops, etc. The mistake, Schaeffner argues, would be to limit such uses of music to a merely rhythmic role. The absolute appeal of certain sounds, the pleasure afforded by the rustle of timbres, and their role in magic all lend characteristic sounds to many everyday gestures. If we agree that there is universal concern for embellishment and beautification in the shape of utensils and tools, then music similarly can be found in all aspects of life, or for more exclusively magical ends.