By Ainsley Benbow
Reflecting on the recent Grammy awards, I thought about how important music is in our daily lives and the world. For generations, it has been intertwined with joy, history, power and wander around the world. However, getting into the history and origins of music would be a much lengthier article, so today, we’re just focused on music as a contributor to the welfare and development of societies in our current age.
As I am sure you know, it is an integral factor in our lives today. It has the power to affect our mood, reduce stress, language development and how well we study, some might even say it inspires change and alters perceptions - but that was just Google.
One thing that Google also mentioned was its ability to ‘unite’. With all the vastly different music genres from pop to rap and even slow jazz, people share interests regarding particular styles, songs and artists. Have you heard of the ‘Swifties’... exactly. Music is not just a thing to listen to, sing, dance and karaoke with all your friends, although that is the part we all know and choose to do. However, beneath the surface of what music is, it brings people together. Much like the meaning behind lyrics in a song, music benefits us and our communities in more ways than what meets the eye. This can also include shaping cultural identity, improving memory and much more. However as a society, the emotional benefits that it has, besides provoking arguments about best songs, the album of the year awards and don’t even get me started on the Kanye vs. Taylor Swift beef, are so great.
If we think about it, when we are in a restaurant with family or friends, there is always music playing. Sometimes depending on the restaurant there might be a specific genre of music playing like Italian, French or even just a random playlist, this can integrate you more into their culture and have fun learning the words or the difference in lyrics compared to other songs you may have heard. By doing this, you may speak to family or friends about this, and throughout the night, continue to enjoy your food in a healthy, fun and well-spirited environment filled with laughter, joy and mostly, but not necessarily always acknowledged, music.
Continually, music is key to one’s creativity which can influence other aspects of life and people’s mental and even physical health. This is because of the motivational prospects that it gives people to be more organized, productive or physically active than usual. This can lead to an increased involvement in community activities such as workout groups, study groups and more.
In conclusion, music is the language of the universe. It’s like how math doesn’t have multiple characters or symbols across different languages, it's all the same. In music, the language may change but that doesn’t change the rhythm, the genre, the instruments or how it makes people feel. Of course, I know that all music is different however, music in general, as a concept for something that people listen to and hear regularly, is something that people can enjoy, sing and find connections with.
Music is all around us and provides so many reasons for motivation, personality and most importantly communities. This could be your friends, people who share your same music taste as you, different restaurants and so much more. And that is the importance of music for society and the world.
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