In a recent post, Mark Singleton raised an interesting question
as to why anyone should want to listen to a musical box.  Although
the question is simple, it is certainly deserves careful consideration
by those of us who do enjoy such pleasures.  Rather than try to
explain why anyone "should" want to listen to a Music Box, I can
only explain why I find such joy in it.

It is difficult for us in today's world where, music is everywhere,
to understand just what a luxury it was in past ages to be comforted
by the sound of music.  But the truth of this statement is borne out
by evidence that more than a thousand years ago, efforts were being
made to find a way to make music on demand, not depending on a person
gifted with musical talent to provide it.

Many centuries passed before the objective of mechanical music was
met, the solution being what we now refer to as the music box or
musical Box.  What is particularly interesting is the fact that this
solution draws from the convergence of both science and art -- from
the metallurgist who converts the iron ore to a material capable of
producing a clear, peasant sound; to the designer who coordinates the
sounds into an appropriate mathematical sequence; to the craftsman who
fashions the wood and metal into an object of physical beauty; and to
the composer whose artistic imagination creates the melody that
ultimately fulfills the objective of the instrument.

It is worthy of note that the technology that underlies music boxes
was developed and perfected long before the advent of electronically
produced or amplified sound.  In fact, I would argue that the purity
of sound of a steel tongue being plucked and amplified by a wooden
sound board can never be properly duplicated electronically.

The music box is a pinnacle of human design and construction that
pleases the eye, the touch, and the ear, altogether delivering a
message that might be described as angelic, soothing to the mind
and delightful to the soul.

Kermit Hobbs
khobbs5@aol.com.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]