Makale

Ayşe Zeynep Kaya

Research Paper

Research Question: To what extent music has an important role in cultural movement? Choose specific genre/

culture to discuss.

ROLES OF MEHTER MARSH FOR OTTOMAN EMPIRE’S CULTURAL MOVEMENT:

PSYCHOLOGICAL BEHAVIORISM

The music is one of the most impulsive and universal factor on human psychology to determine the

human behavior. Actually, that is called ‘’psychological behaviorism’’ and it has got few different branches:

‘’methodical, radical, teleological, theoretical, biological and psychological’’. Moreover, music’s influence is

investigated by these branches of behaviorism. Thus, music can activate a vast population’s behaviors for a

cultural goal thanks to its moral contexts. Such as ‘’anthems’’ like Mehter Marsh by Ottoman culture. It has got

a power to impress psychological and behavioral which are foundations of the cultural movement for all people

during war periods. This is the reason why music is more powerful issue for human’s behavioral psychology.

First and foremost, music is relevant with the behaviorism in the paradigm of psychology’s basis. Initially,

the behaviorist movement arose with John Watson. Moreover, the behaviorism approach is solely connects with

observable stimulus-response behaviors, and clarify all behaviors are learned according to interaction with the

environment. Furthermore, definition of stimulus is something like an abstract or tangible which perceive by

a person’s chordotonal organs to cause a behavioral response. Also, every human is sensible for all stimulus

because it is come from disposition to survive on the world. In the other words, stimulus set a person’s im

pulse (reflex behavior) in motion. Thus, music is one of stimuli so that effects a person’s behaviors according

to its types. . For instance, thirty subjects were shown with a group of musical excerpts which were happy

or sad in the experiment. After listening to the sections, a photograph of a face that the subjects were shown

and few person choice a happy face while others choice a sad or neutral facial expression. (Changizi, 2009,

p. 1) Thus, researchers proved that music strongly attract the emotional ratings so happy music created happy

faces while sad music created hyperbolical melancholy. Besides, a music’s influence on emotions normally

can be stable for ‘’one day’’ or ‘’few hours’’ and it can observe from the person’s behaviors. That’s why mu

sic’s effect is temporary for human’s mind. For this reason, if people want to cherish their specific emotion or

thought such as hostility, they have to listen repeatedly a music which help to recreate that emotions or events.

For example; anthems are written to cherish a population’s all national values thereby anthems are played in

every ceremonies. Actually, music has few powers: firstly ‘’manipulation’’ because it influences behaviors of

others, secondly ‘’evocation’’ because it evokes specific responses from environments and thirdly ‘’motivation’’

because it gives energy and tenacity to human. Furthermore, anthems have them more intense rather than other

types from the perspective of cultural movement. According to Huron, music made of social bonds so it rises

the performances of group action. Work and war songs, lullabies, and national anthems depend each other with

families, groups also all nations.’’ (Schafer, 2013, p. 3) Certainly, anthems have a privilege to manipulate the

society directly with repression. Since, they symbolize a specific cultures’ independence, freedom also transmit

ted culture as an inheritance from their ancestors. Therefore, society gives a power to anthem’s manipulation

because it evocates their ancestors hereby, it motivates the cultural movements. Hence, these three terms follow

these dependent steps in each other to create the soul of anthems. Thus, ‘’reciprocal causality’’ is emerged to

say state keep alive their anthems or anthems keep alive their state. Actually, Ottomans shows it because they

use Mehter Marsh as a positive stimuli for their behavioral and psychological motivation also evocation so

they keep alive Mehter Marsh. On the other hand, Ottomans use it as a negative stimuli which is a unique war

tactic for breaking their enemies’ motivation and creating negative evocations to manipulate them that is called

‘’psychological war’’ so the Marsh keep alive the Ottomans. Briefly, Ottomans protect their significant anthem

otherwise the anthem protect Ottomans such as a physiological shield from enemies with the magic of music.

Secondly, music is universal for everyone from different races can feel the same emotions from any foreign mu

sic. Therefore, Mehter Marsh gave the same feeling of fear for hostiles. Actually, this music culture is remained

to Ottomans by their old feudalities so that it is very special. Ekinci (2014) suggested that Ottoman leader Osman

I is learned a bass drum and a plume by Seljuk Sultan Kayqubad III to salute the newly formed state’ in 1289.

(p.1) After, Ottomans’ awareness of these instruments, they established their bands and the Ottoman Empire is

known with ‘’janissary/ Mehter band’’. Furthermore, Mehter band is combination of music and culture and it is

directly associated with behaviorism. Ottomans use three types in Mehter marsh strategy with behaviorism for

themselves. First two are: ‘’Teleological l Behaviorism’’ which focuses on objective observations rather than cog

nitive process and ‘’Methodical Behaviorism’’ which is not relevant with cognitive process and internal situations

in human body. This band which comprised of hundreds of people played in front of the army when they were

going to battle because it incentive them to battle. Additionally, for Fatih’s period: the Sultan has ‘’twelve-layer

Mehter’’ and there was duodecimal instruments which were cymbal, kadum, shrill pipe and bass drum. Moreover,

sultan went to war with this Mehter and for increasing the soldiers’ bravery and spreading terror to enemies.

Thereby, the marsh which is a kind of music help to Ottomans’ success with the janissary attacks that cultural

movement. Furthermore, the marsh triggered their war ethos that known as Gaza which was the goal of Ot

tomans about their expansionist policy and religion spreading policy on entire the world. The Mehter Marsh

is played according to sultan’s command usually for some victory, ceremonies, Friday prayer, religious festi

vals and sieges. Additionally, the band also played the marsh repeatedly trough the midnight to keep guards

awake. Concurrently, the aim of marsh’s repetitive is reminding their transmitted culture and origins so they

could adapt to atmosphere of wars easily. Moreover, there is ‘’Psychological Behaviorism’’’ which is first

general behaviorism theory that remove human to the center. The two terms emerged with this concept that

enforcement and reinforcement. The marsh let them motivation and evocation (reinforcement) thus, they were

fighting fearlessly unlike their enemies. Conversely, the Ottomans arrived through the opposite army, they

leaved there because of the fear which outcome of loud drums. (Enforcement) Therefore, music has an import

ant role in cultural movement. Besides, music can act like our hormones which associated with psychology.

Definitely, psychology’s another compound is biology for behaviorism. ‘’Biological Behaviorism’’ emerged

after Skinner and this category oriented with perceptual and motor models and system of behaviorism theories.

Moreover, music relevant to perception which is about the chemicals in human body and it activate the motor

muscles. To illustrate, a concept of psychology which is ‘’fight or flight’’: When the body released adrenalin

hormone, a person is feeling the fear across a situation that gives signals of threatening for himself. Then, the

person have to decide a decision about escaping or overcoming from that situation. This ‘’hormonal dilem

ma’’ is known with this naming. Actually, Ottoman’s enemies face to face this hormonal dilemma all the time

thanks to Mehter Marsh. Powel (2017) claimed that music is like a drug to release chemicals of human body

and it can manage their amounts such as rhythmic music raises the adrenaline levels which has similar effect

with when a person in dangerous situation, his adrenalin increase and gives energy. (p.1) According to this

research, when Ottomans listen Mehter Marsh, their body starts to release adrenaline and they can be more

energetic and motivated. Also, it has effect on their bodily performance according to biological behaviorists.

In contrast, Mehter Marsh can give anxious which is another effect of adrenaline for enemies. Certainly, these

are the music’s background in human nature. Thirdly, music can change a person’s behavior into most

of the situations according to different atmospheres’ promotive. That is to say, music can make more intense

feelings in situation. Therefore, the Ottoman Empire’s enemies always felt the war atmosphere more intense

because of the Mehter Marsh with instruments triggered their negative emotions. These bad emotions that

panic, fear, and hopelessness match with the war atmosphere thereby they escaped or withdrew. Furthermore,

Additionally, ‘’Radical behaviorism’’ contains some changes within the human body without the external fac

tors. Also it is the idea of events are not associated with human’s behaviors. Actually, it is clearly seen difference

between Ottoman and the other cultures’ wars because their expand armies, strategies or weapons which were

some external factors could not be successful on their enemies. However, Ottomans use the internal (biological,

hormonal) changes for them with the Mehter Mash. That was the magic of Ottoman’s magnificent. Similarly,

‘’Theoretical behaviorism’’ accept the internal periods of body which observable. Thus, Ottoman soldiers could

observe enemies’ reflections of emotions. They played Mehter Marsh for every war so their enemies learned it

as a ‘’signal of Ottomans’’ and it symbolizes ‘’The Janissary Attack’’. Additionally, this situation proved with

Pavlov’s psychological experiment with a dog about behaviorism. This experiment had four steps: Firstly, he

gave a beef (natural stimuli) to the dog when dog saw the beef, its salvation (response) is started. Secondly, he

rang the bell (artificial stimuli) to the dog, there was no salvation. Thirdly, he rang the bell before he gave the

beef, the dog perceived this two stimulus and it started to salvation. Fourth and the last step, Pavlov achieved his

goal; when he rang the bell the dog started to salvation because the dog thought he gave the beef after the bell

ring. This experiment about the ‘’conditional learning’’ which is the relationship between stimulus-response in

behaviorism. When this experiment is applied to Ottoman wars across enemies, this steps are like this: firstly,

ottomans wars before they did not learn the band’s instruments yet, the enemies just ready to war. Secondly,

ottoman organized the band and Mehter marsh and go to the war with them, the enemies did not give response

at the first time. Thirdly, Ottomans with Mehter marsh, enemies perceived these two stimuli at the same time

and they gave reaction. Fourthly, when enemies heard the sound of Mehter marsh they stated to give reaction as

panic, fear or anxious before the seeing the Ottoman army. To give an illustration from the war of Constantinople:

‘’ …all the psychological warfare of the ottoman military band-amplified by flares, shouts and battle cries, Meh

met started to roll forward ‘the heavy infantry and the bowmen and the javelin-men and all the imperial foot

guards’. He directed them at a vulnerable spot in the Lycos valley where a section of wall had collapsed. The

citizens were panic-stricken, experiencing the high-raising sound of a full-throated ottoman assault for the first

time.’’ (Crowley, 2015, p.48)

There is clearly seen of the Mehter band’s psychological effects on Roman citizens. Furthermore, when enemies were

defeated by Ottomans for most of the battles during the centuries, the Mehter Marsh sound gave them a signal of ‘’

learned helplessness’’ and this situation causes the passive behaviors. In short, Ottoman military band with Mehter

Taking everything into consideration, music has a special psychological power in terms of Behaviorism which

is a foundation and activation of cultural movements. Also, there is why cultural movements are emerged by

anthems such as Mehter Marsh by Ottomans. Thus, the Marsh is positive stimuli and reinforcement to pro

vide some advantages for Ottomans’ cultural movements rather than their enemies with regard to negative

psychological effect of the marsh such as enforcement, some the other psychological concepts and negative

stimuli were causing their failure because of the lack of a music such as anthems for their cultural movement.

Referencences

Changizi, M. (2009, Sep). Why Does Music Make Us Feel?. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.

com/article/why-does-music-make-us-fe/

Crowley, R. (2005). Constantinople: The Last Great Siege, 1453, London: Blumsbury House. Re

trieved from https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=ftOp1cR7VK8C&pg=PT118&lpg=PT118&dq=OT

TOMAN+M%C4%B0L%C4%B0TARY+BAND+PSYCHOLOGY+ARTICLE&source=bl&ots=Pr

rH6Zcrk3&sig=QG_EMyU9EMUhbxOGQsj3YnCd-3s&hl=tr&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjgp_eJsLTYAh

VmM5oKHZ10BAwQ6AEIPDAC#v=onepage&q=OTTOMAN%20M%C4%B0L%C4%B0TARY%20

BAND%20PSYCHOLOGY%20ARTICLE&f=false

Ekinci, E. B. (2014, April 20). Ottoman Military Marching Band. Daily Sabah, Retrieved from https://www.

dailysabah.com/feature/2014/04/20/ottoman-military-marching-band

Powell, J. (2017, May 16). The Scines Of Songs: How Does Music Affect Your Body Chemistry?. The Guard

ian, Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/16/the-science-of-songs-how-does-music

effect-your-body-chemistry

Schafer, T. et al., (2013, Aug). Front Psychol: The Psychological Functions of Music Listening, doi: 10.3389/

fpsyg.2013.00511.

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