Rhythm of Life

Phone ringtones to Spotify to a bird whistling in the wind. Music is all around us, but each type of music is distinctly different. The same goes with regions around the world. Each region, whether it’s Africa or America, all have their music that makes it different than the rest of the world.

In a Paper presented to the EASA Media Anthropology e-Seminar, Carsten Wergin states, “…musical styles function as forms of expression and representation of their ideas about culture and identity. Music here becomes a medium through which people articulate opinions, discuss problems and reach out to enter into contact with other regions…”

Music helps the musician express their ideas, personal opinions, and emotions without words. Have you ever had a time when you couldn’t describe what you were feeling, but you knew the perfect song that fits your mood? It’s because music doesn’t require words to be communicated. Music has a way of making people feel certain things depending on the way it sounds.

“… Whenever humans come together for any reason, music is there,” writes Daniel Levitin “….weddings, funerals, graduation from college, men marching off to war, stadium sporting events…” He continues by stating, “….music is and was [always] part of the fabric of everyday life.”

Music is all around us whether we want it there or not. However, not everyone has the same definition for what counts as music. For example, there was Bach, Handel, Mozart and all the other great classical composers who all created a harmonious pieces. But there was also musicians like John Cage, who wrote pieces like 4’33”. For those of you who don’t know what that piece is well you should listen to it on Youtube, I don’t want to spoil the amazing piece and want you to listen to it on your own.

Everyone has their own opinions of music and as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once observed, “….music is the universal language of mankind.”