The Power of Rhythm - Milford Graves and the Universal Heartbeat

Jazz drummer, martial artist, radical botanist, educator and ground-breaking, self-taught cardiologist Milford Graves dedicated his life to these origins of rhythm and pulse.
“My research originates from a belief that music is a universal language, and a curiosity to define the primary building blocks of that language,” Graves explained in the notes to his recent ICA Philadelphia exhibition A Mind-Body Deal, echoing the idea that rhythmic sounding is thought to have predated verbal communication. “You can look at any culture’s approach to music and find commonalities… Exploring these universals led me to what I believe is the common denominator: the human heartbeat.”
From Yoruba rituals to Afro-Brazilian candomblé, these commonalities have been key to the creation not only of spiritual meaning but of physical well-being and even altered states of consciousness. In music therapy, drumming has been used to treat anxiety, ADHD and autism, while collective percussion exercises have been proven to increase synchronisation and cooperation between groups. On the communal dance floor, 100-120bpm are tempos at which our bodies find comfort in movement. It is also the recommended range for performing CPR, where humming The Bee Gee’s aptly titled ‘Stayin’ Alive’ is a suggested time keeper. Anyone who has listened closely to the sound of their own heart will recognise the power and vulnerability inherent in that elemental thud.


 

Although primarily known as a musician, Graves consistently transcended any category that might have limited his creative and imaginative potential. In fact, it was while working as a veterinarian that he first came across a 12” record of stethoscope recordings designed to help identify heart murmurs and arrhythmias.  
So began Graves’ investigation into the rhythms of the heart. Using an electronic stethoscope connected to a reel-to-reel tape machine, he recorded the heartbeats of everyone who came to his house (he accumulated over 5,000 recordings). Using cardiograms, LabVIEW technology and an array of increasingly sophisticated equipment, he was able to generate waveforms from heart sounds, sub-dividing and expanding segments to reveal the variations and oscillations buried like coded messages deep within the standard ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum we recognise as our pulse. 
Writing algorithms to generate data visualisations and melodic sonifications, Graves gave shape to the variable vibrations of the human heart. In 2017, he co-patented a technology that uses heart sounds to regenerate stem cells. On a microscopic level, Graves had identified a single circular breath between the heartbeat, musical rhythm and vibrating cells that form the basis of life on earth.
It was with a sense of defiance then that Graves put his research to the ultimate test; his own body the subject of his mind’s work. “It turns out, I was studying the heart to prepare for treating myself”, he told the New York Times in August 2020. In practice, this saw Graves listen to and interpret his stiffening heartbeat on a drum skin, modifying the resulting rhythms to create biofeedback loops that tied his musical spirit to his own life-giving breath. That he outlived his medical prognosis six-fold was evidence enough to Graves that he was on the right track. Inspirational to the end, in an interview in late 2020, he proclaimed, “I feel like I’m at my highest creative point I have ever been.”