Whatever those functions are that made music into a human necessity,
they are universal.They are felt and understood by all,even if the sounds
that support them differ in superficial ways.It is a funny thing about the
story of the Tower of Babel—two things are always left out.First,no one
ever mentions anything about whether music suffered the same fate as
language during the big scramble;the answer is almost certainly yes.
Second,despite the terrible confusion that ensued after the actions of
the great deity,people never stopped trying,even for a second,to com-
municate the same things they had tried to communicate before the big
scramble.We are all,in fact,saying the same things to each other but
using different sounds to say them.This is no less true of our musics.They
all communicate the same basic things wherever we go,wherever we are;
and if you don’t believe that,you’ve probably never been to Babel.
But Babel’s musical version will have to await a future telling,because
the end of the beginning is here.And just like those fragile moments that
follow the ending of a sheeringly beautiful piece of music,it is hoped that
the melody and the rhythm of this book will linger for a while to come
...and perhaps even fill your dreams.484 Listening to Music