REVIEWS

What People Are Saying about Harmonology.

HEY PRESTO

Creative Synergy

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5.0 out of 5 stars Making Better Music Together

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2015.

In the esoteric world, sound or music is all around us. Musica mundane of the music of the spheres, for example, is the sound that the celestial bodies make according to Pythagoras who supposed that all of the planets make a musical sound as they traverse their courses in space and that this sound impacts the human who hears the harmony of the spheres imperceptibly or via mediation. Pythagoras is to some extent credited with helping Mr. O’Connor in formulating his Harmonology approach too.

Harmonology is akin to astrology in that it takes the 12 musical intervals and explores the relationships between sounds or notes as a way to understand human relationships. Just as there are 12 astrological signs and 12-months, so too are there 12 intervals, sounds or notes in musical theory. To be honest, I have never studied music and I have no idea what a flat second or a fifth maybe and I did find my lack of musical knowledge getting in the way of truly understanding and appreciating this book. In the end, I borrowed my daughters’ toy keyboard and played around a bit to explore the sounds and how they sounded. While I do play guitar, I am self-taught and although Mr. O’connor uses a guitar string analogy throughout, the keyboard was to me a better tool to explore.

I won’t go into the theory and practice of harmonology too much as that is what the book is about. It is however, as far as I know, a unique and new way to approach looking at human relationships and also in exploring oneself and it is to be highly recommended for that alone. It is a new tool that for many will cast another light on the dark inner recesses of themselves, others and their relationships. “The level of harmony you create in your life is a result of the choices you make, the thoughts you have and your actions that play out. It’s up to you to shape the consonance or dissonance you need in life in order to learn and grow,” says the author in one of the earlier chapters. Harmonology is another very useful tool in order to do just that.

Mr. O’Connor hasn’t just come up with an idea and written about it from a theoretical point of view. He even tried some research using friends and relations as guinea pigs. Throughout the book as he explains Harmonology in practice he uses case studies of relationships between these 98 people. I found these short case studies extremely useful in getting to grips with the theory as well as my keyboard. He also provides links to the <a href="http://harmonology.mx/">harmonology website</a> for further study and tools to make progress with the method. At the website, you can also explore Mr. O'Connor's blog and music too.

What was missing for me perhaps was a comparison of approaches. How does Harmonology align or supplement astrology? I suspect that this could also be the subject of another book but it also may have helped to shed additional light on the approach. Deespite that, there is no doubt that Mr. O’Connor is onto something here and that Harmonology is something many people will benefit from reading and studying. Another area that may be worth exploring is to explore the idea of the music of the spheres and its interaction with our own life music? Is this where astrology and harmonology meet? In the subtle interplay between the music we make and the sounds of the space in which we live?

Highly recommended reading particularly for those with interest in music and in understanding human relationships.