Humans have been making music for around 40,000 years, so there must be a reason we’ve kept it around for so long, right?
We all live with music–it’s everywhere. In cafes, grocery stores, cars, religion, our homes, phones, and let us not forget the infamous bluetooth showerhead speaker. We have found so many ways to implement music into our lives but have you ever sat down to think about what music means to you? What it does for you and how it affects your everyday life?
Humans have been practicing the tradition of music for around 40,000 years, so there must be some reason we’ve kept it around for so long, right?
Music-making varies dramatically between cultures with different instruments, notation systems, and reasons for performing but the fact that it is found in all cultures suggests that there is a deep human need to create, perform, and listen to music. As ancient as music is, it could explain why we are so essentially connected to it. Indulge me; I believe we love music so much because it’s the closest thing we have to magic–it has the capability to dive deeper and ignite more of our subconscious emotions and instincts, more than most art or language can.
Finding people that you connect with musically is so important (not to mention fun!) and doing so could be as easy as asking your friend to jam after school or sharing a playlist with classmates. Music is the driving force for a better sense of community, collaboration, self growth, and emotional intelligence. So next time you pick up your instrument or listen to your favorite song, take some time to think about why you have decided to play this specific bundle of organized sound on repeat. Or why you’ve spent your lifetime applying yourself to the skill of playing an instrument!
Music has taught me to stay childlike in my curiosity and intuition–I hope the next time you sit down to enjoy music, no matter the fashion in which you do it, you can take a step back and really process what is being given to you.