A Plato Primer

The section from Plato's Republic which we read deals with Plato's view on particular modes of music. As with poetry, Plato believes that music should be used only for the purpose of instilling and promoting virtues in the public. The most conspicuous difference between Plato's musical didacticism and a typical contemporary view is the diminution of emotional expression. This point is made explicitly clear when Plato begins to eliminate specific modes of music:

'Which then are the mourning modes? You're musical. You tell me.''The Mixolydian,' he said. 'The Syntonolydian. That sort of thing.''Should these be banned, then?' I asked. 'After all, they are no use even to women - if we should want them to be good women - let alone to men.' (398e)

Here Plato begins to curtail any musical expression that does not fall in line with the sentiment of "the prudent and of the brave in failure and success" (399c).

(I hesitate here. There seems to me to be an obvious path of critique before us. However, having just sustained two weeks with Schopenhauer-who was rather unmercifully criticized by many, including moi-I am rather disinclined to launch an offensive on our good friend Plato. Is there anything, one may ask, so sophomoric as to fancy yourself in a position to criticize one of the greatest philosophers? I would answer yes. You could criticize two in a row. One may also say that I am perhaps falling prey to such a baited section title as "The Dangers of Music and their Makers". And one would be right. With all this being said, I nonetheless feel compelled to launch a criticism, so launch I will.)

Putting aside the uncomfortably gendered comment, Plato's main point itself is rather disagreeable. Briefly, musical modes are types of scales, differentiated by the different intervals between notes. In a general sense, the difference between modes is similar to the difference between major and minor keys. Plato and Glaucon attribute various sentiments to each of the modes, ultimately deciding that there are only two modes acceptable for composition in an ideal society, which sounds to contemporary ears like an idea straight from the good people of Footloose. 

It would be nice if we could attribute this purely didactic view of music to Plato's era. It would be so convenient if we could say that this ideological curtailing of artistic expression was just the current expression of how music was viewed in Plato's day. However, not only would this fail to explain why Plato needs to stipulate this requirement, we have music from the period where the entire purpose of the piece is to heighten drama. One of the earliest pieces of western music is an accompaniment to Euripides' tragedy Orestes, enhancing and expanding on the feelings of fear and stress felt by the characters. This piece was written around 408 BC, and Plato's Republic was written about 30 years later in 380 BC. So for a little glimpse into the expressive music Plato is responding to, I give you the Stasimon Chorus from Euripides' Orestes: