"Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast - to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak" - written by William Congreve, an English playwright in 1697.
This theory has always intrigued me. I know how music affects me, but I am a musician. I had the opportunity to test it out though, when I worked at a theme park as a "roving musician." The now defunct themepark, Opryland, had a mini "petting zoo" with goats, rabbits, lemurs, marmasets and several monkeys. One, in particular, was named "Goblin."
Goblin was the loudest, wildest monkey in the park. Goblin would scream and chatter, and had a reputation for throwing things at the guests (sadly, I witnessed on several occasions, little human monsters throwing things at Goblin to instigate this behavior.) Nonetheless, Goblin was a handful. So one day, I thought I'd see if there was any truth behind Mr. Congreve's writings, and purposely stood by Goblin's cage as I sang "Twinkle Twinkle" to the little ones passing by with their parents in tow. Sure enough, Goblin immediately sat still then began slowly bobbing back and forth. Not knowing whether or not this was a fluke, I decided to make it a point to swing by the petting zoo (pardon the pun) on a regular basis and get a song in nearby (for) Goblin. It worked every time, and by the end of the season, Goblin would see (or hear) me coming, and assume the I'm-ready-to-bob position.
The next season, Goblin was gone - too "unmanageable" is what I was told. I gottta admit, I miss my little friend, and hope that wherever Goblin has ended up, someone knows of William Congreve.
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