music
music:
the panacea the world needs today
- lauren carvalho
Music is for everyone. It has been known to break barriers and connect people from all over. It plays a vital role in our well-being, but many researchers have come to the conclusion that it helps strengthen social bonds. It impacts our ability to connect with others by affecting brain circuits involved in trust and empathy. This perhaps explains why it has survived in most cultures and brought unity. Research has shown that it reduces stress and helps in uplifting your mood.
If music connects people and brings them together, it should have suffered in this time of social-distancing, right? Well, that wasn’t the case. Musicians came up with solutions to continue making music, to share with the world and help in making our current circumstances a little less gloomy.
Italians singing in their balconies for national solidarity
Source: The Guardian, 92.7 rock
Italians are embracing music as a means to communicate with their neighbours. Many citizens have been seen singing from their balconies and doing flash mobs from their homes to uplift the mood. Italy closed all their music halls. But the people of the country began to fill the silence with their own voices and instruments. This has been an encouraging sight to behold and is just one of the many things that people are doing to transcend the stress and worry that this pandemic is bringing.
Virtual choirs are also becoming increasingly popular at this time. This is a global phenomenon, which brings singers and musicians around the world together, through the use of technology. Community choirs are finding new ways to unite their members though they are apart. Although putting together a virtual choir is quite a tedious task, many choral leaders are taking to this method and finding ways to promote their work. Choirs like The Boston Children’s Chorus, the Houston Show Choir and the Camden voices have been putting their music out on the internet to raise the spirits of millions across the globe.
Music is yet to suffer, thanks to the efforts of people around the world. While it is crucial to keep in touch with the news and be aware of what’s happening, it is wonderful to see people out there trying to spread some hope despite the current situation. Yes, the pandemic has brought much destruction, but humanity is slowly picking itself up and uniting to fight back in several ways like never before.
Music and humanity
- aashaya anand
A simple picture showing the evolution of the devices used to play music.
Source : Shutterstock
Music started off as a form of storytelling. Storytelling has been the most persistent art form for ancient civilizations. Tales were told orally, through paintings and sculptures, through dance, and of course, through song.
Songs would be passed on from generation to generation orally, with people memorising and passing them on. This was until literacy came along, and people started documenting their songs. Documentation began as simply writing lyrics, as music theory hadn’t been invented yet. These documents were the first traces of music in ancient life.
People sang about warriors and kings, about myths and fictional tales and about religion and gods. Then, instruments were introduced. Harps and drums were some of the firsts. These advanced into the variety of instruments we have available currently. People expanded the content in their music and gradually, the style of documentation changed from just lyrics to notes and harmonies.
Today, we have so many artists and genres to choose from. Every individual has their own music taste. From pop and rap to Bollywood and classical music, I have a wide music taste. I make sure to never criticize my parents for what they listen to because the music that defined their generation awakens a feeling of nostalgia in them. In about forty years, we won’t be much different from them.
Like how mankind has evolved with the ages, music continues to enrich and grow. Without music, our world would be devoid and left empty of expression. As Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life would be a mistake.” Which I think sums up the importance and relevance of music in today’s changing world.
Music is an integral part of all our lives, and I myself cannot go a day without listening to my favourite artists sing. Everything I do involves music because I listen to music while I’m studying, doing chores, attending classes and during any free time I have in between. Once, I overheard my parents criticizing the music I listen to and it got me wondering. The music we listen to today is so much different from the music people used to enjoy about twenty years ago.
With each generation, the kind of music people enjoy changes. Music evolves with people, and it’s been this way for a long, long time. Every civilization we know today has some history of music. Among these, the civilizations of Mesopotamia, India, Persia, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome are remembered the most.