The Question: “If Aliens Exist, What Might Their Music, Scales, & Theory Be Like?"
What a great question! In Arthur C Clarke's 2001 A Space Odyssey, the author examines how two alien life forms might communicate to each other. It's a meta piece, and his conclusions are elegant and profound. What a fun though experiment!
It’s unlikely that aliens would use a 12 tone scale. But do remember that much of the laws of theory that we’ve used to codify music are observed, not “invented.” An octave is just double the vibrations of a root and a 5th is a ratio of 3 to 2, etc. The 12 tone tempered scale is not quite the correct track to be on here- what we’re looking for is the harmonic overtone series. This is where the laws of music, are more the laws of physics, rather than cultural guidelines. This is where the laws of music can also be used to describe things like how the Nautilus’s shell or the sunflower’s seed arrangement unfolds exactly like the frets on a guitar.
Sound is just vibrating air. Vibrations that coexist in harmonious fashion are very similar to ripples on a pond coexisting together. If two waves smash into each other in discordant ways their reaction is destructive and both waves are destroyed or distorted. Harmony would be ripples that can coexist without killing or fundamentally altering each other. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking ripples (vibrations) in the earth, through the ocean, or through the air: again, when it’s through air, it’s called “sound.” This is why an octave sounds so good, the vibrations exist perfectly within each other at a factor of 1 to 2. The 5th is the next cleanest interval at a factor of 3 to 2, and it keeps going. What’s happening is that the peak of one wave is positioned exactly as far as possible from the peak of another wave. This creates as few “nodes” as possible. Nodes are essentially the source of dissonance. Infinite nodes chaotically jumbled would sound exactly like static on an old TV set. Nodes slightly less chaotic, or at least extra overtones, are also the source of a guitarist’s gain/distortion or a singer’s soulful moan (burn/fry/thing).
Red Dots = Nodes
Virtually every culture in the entire has independently discovered the pentatonic scale. The pentatonic is a scale made up of the 5 most harmonic notes (sort-of) . Native Americans, African tribes, ancient Celts,- just about everyone has music using the pentatonic scale. There are flutes from the ice-age that can play pentatonic stuff. We still use the pentatonic as a primary structure for our music. Most blues, rock, and even pop these days is pentatonic based. Much of the most sophisticated classical music uses the pentatonic, if not tactically in phrasing, strategically is structure. Some cultures like their scales with many more than 5- Western music typically uses 7 notes, but it could and does go further. In fact, western society likes seven notes, but actually skips several more fundamental harmonics, in preference to later occurring more dissonant tones. Musicians play around with these notes by playing them consecutively (Melody), and simultaneously (harmony), and when we add time to mix , we get rhythm. We codify the way moving between these sounds and ‘tension-feelings’ using terms like Tonic (Home-base), Dominant (primarily wants to move to Tonic), and SubDominant (primarily wants to move to Dominant). These can largely be looked at as simples states of energy resolution.
Ice Age Pentatonic Flute made of Bone
In nature everything moving wants to eventually stop. When a sound (or vibration of air) is created it too wants to eventually reach a resolution. We can use predictable (and unpredictable) ways to turn vibrations in air to move through a progression of Subdom’s & Doms moving to Tonics to create something we view as beautiful. In some ways it could be compared to pouring a pail of marbles down a hill - and choreographing the marbles to cascade through a visually delightful course. The term we use is cadence, and it is as much a noun as it is an adjective. It is an energy unfold- classical cadences unfold dramatically with Dom chords moving to Tonic chords. What we like today is a plagal cadence, a Subdom to Tonic. The cadences are science, the preference are cultural, sociological, and personal.
Ok- back to aliens. Ignoring the 4th dimensional aspect, and the experience of time (Music being an art uniquely dynamic in a temporal sense), and assuming that they come from a planet that has matter in one of it’s three primary states, well- they’ll be very familiar with harmonious and dissonant vibrations. Although we don’t have to, lets assume they breath some type of air (it would work for a liquid too). While undoubtably every atmosphere bearing planet will have a unique barometric pressure, that air is going to to be able to vibrate, and an octave would fundamentally describe the MOST harmonic state two vibrations could exist. Bear in mind, their planet may have such a light atmosphere that an octave may be imperceptible. Likewise it may have such a heavy atmosphere that an octave may be a physical impossibility. If such conditions existed- the alien species certainly wouldn’t have evolved sensory organs to fully enjoy our music. Creatures/life don’t evolve sensory organs for things that they can’t sense. Sighted animals that migrate to caves slowly lose their eyes, etc.
However- with the constraints of waves existing in harmonious fashion, their music theory could arguably be EXACTLY the same as ours. And they would almost certainly have different genre’s- assuming it’s not a hive mind or the like. If taste differs in any aspect of our aliens: in mates, place of home, or in art of any fashion- it would make logical sense that genre’s highlighting different aspects of harmony would vary from individual to individual, or group to group.
John Williams knows what’s up, and he made sure the music the aliens communicated with in Spielburg’s Close Encounters was in pentatonic.
( Re Mi Do, Do Sol! )
Now- which of our music would impress them? First we must define music. Through much of written history, music has been defined as sounds that have Melody, Rhythm, & Harmony. However we’re going through an era where “timbre” is becoming not just an aspect, but rather- the aspect. Much of what people consider music, unfortunately, is not really music in a traditional sense. At the very least, it seems what is music is a bit of a moving target. So, with respect to the fact that what is “Music,” is fundamentally up for debate, (Even among humans) I would have to say that as a harmonic listener myself, and someone who loves chords and unfolding cadences, someone like Beethoven, or Stravinsky would be most fascinating to an alien species, but only if they value harmony. If they valued timbre for instance, they would probably love rap, EDM, or electric guitar music for the textures. Obviously I’m filtering this through the lens of a “westerner” (for lack of a better descriptor), if our aliens are more melodic based, they would probably prefer Indian music, which doesn’t really have unfolding harmony. Indian music’s beauty and complexity is mainly exercised in it’s complex rhythms and melodies.
Great question!! Bear in mind - we flip our overtones inside of an octave, which could be looked at as anything from “cute to weird” or “sad to amazing.” All-powerful aliens with millions of hertz in hearing would be fascinated at our biology, but so would aliens with a smaller sensory capacity. Much like we’re fascinated by the range of a dog’s hearing ability, or a whales hearing ability.