The Significance of Music

“What I like best about music is when time goes away” -Bob Weir

Music has brought humans together for centuries. Before I can talk about why I, and many others, find music so significant to society I must first talk about its history. The roots of music are a major part of what makes it so significant to humanity. Music is believed to have begun in 1400 BC. The first song is called “Hurrian Hymn No. 6.” It is interesting to listen to this song to get an idea of how we went from this very melodic tune played on a flute to listening to the Beatles or Kendrick Lamar. Music has evolved so much and is still evolving to this day. These next two paragraphs are going to explore the history of music. It might be long and boring to some so please feel free to skip it.

There have been 8 eras of music. However, it did not start with the Hurrian Hymn. The first era of music was the Medieval Period. The Gregorian Chant is the most famous song of this era. Most commonly the music was played on flutes and fiddles, but toward the end of that era there was much more emphasis on the Violin. The next era was the Renaissance Period. This period took priority on Church music and started the inclusion of lyrics into the songs. The next period was the Baroque Period. This was the first era where music was mass produced and published beyond the Church. It was a very prominent era for the Piano. Most of the compositions of this time were all made on the Piano. The next era is the Classical Period. This was the first period where orchestras were used on a major scale. Mozart was a very prominent figure from this time. This is the earliest era of music that people commonly listen to today. The final period before entering the modern era was the Romantic Period. This period explored emotional individual music. Many people can hear the emotion coming from these works. It often brings tears to the eyes.

The beginning of modern music began in around 1910. It derived from Southern Americans playing the blues with their friends and family. Until around the early 1920s, recording music was not very popular. The first ever record that was recorded was called “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith. This opened up so many opportunities for the future. The more people listened to this music the more inspired they became. By 1950, there were 9 new genres fully derived from blues. The main two being Jazz and Folk. These genres dominated for 20 years. Leading the Jazz scene was Miles Davis and Frank Sinatra (Although some consider Sinatra as a big band artist) and leading the Folk scene was Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. These artists were on top of the world. Everyone was looking at them as the future of music. However, in the mid to late 60s everything changed. The Grateful Dead and The Beatles started growing and began getting people's attention. The Grateful Dead showed this whole new genre of music that was meant to enter the soul. They simply played the music they loved, because they loved it. This was different from musicians before them because since the the 1920s and the rise of producing and selling music, it had become a huge market. The Beatles also created a new genre. This genre would go on to take over the world. With their first album they had become a huge name. A household name and the phrase “Rock n Roll” was on the rise. People wanted more. Thus we got new bands with similar popularity such as Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones. Rock n Roll continued to dominate through the 70s and died down in the early 80s. Throughout the early 70s heavy metal began to grow through Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. The 80s were known for funk and hair metal. The 90s were dominated by grunge and early rap. The 2000s were scattered with Nu-Metal and a new form of rap growing from Eminem and Ye. The 2010s brought us more rap that is now taking over the world.

Okay, now with all the boring history out of the way I can talk about why all of this is so significant. Music has not only shaped our society as a whole, but has also helped so many people's individual lives. Music is so versatile and can always be used to meet new people or create peace with people who you do not usually want to talk to.

Music has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life. Whenever I’m feeling down or like I have nowhere to go, I always have a song I can play to make me feel better. When I’m feeling sad I like to listen to some Jeff Buckley and Radiohead. They have mellow themes that make me feel seen. When I’m feeling confident I will listen to Verum, Kanye West, or Kendrick Lamar. It gives me great vibes to get me feeling even more confident for the day. When I’m feeling neutral I will always be listening to Bob Dylan. 

Music is by far the most important thing in my life. It has gotten me through the worst times ever and makes me a better person. I have studied many artists as if they are literature and I find so much joy in going to concerts. I have made many friends through simply talking about the music I like or even by just talking about the music I don't like. It gives us connections to the people writing the music. Such strong connections that we feel strong emotions when something happens to them. I believe music is the sound of the human soul.

B. Smith