Why is Music So Important to Humans? – An Exploration
rj frometa
Friday, May 31, 2019
34704
Music and language are such integral components of human evolution that it’s difficult to pin down even a vague time period in which they were first invented.
Trying to track down the origins of music and other art forms remains a matter of broad speculation.
Human civilization began in Africa, and we know that these early civilizations had both language and music. It’s possible that, as human communities spread throughout the world, they simply brought language and music along with them.
While both music and language changed over the centuries, every culture on the planet held tightly to these forms of communication and expression.
It can’t be overstated enough that every human culture to ever exist on planet Earth has created and enjoyed music.
The importance of music is so apparent and undeniable that it’s difficult to explain exactly why we’ve carried it with us for thousands of years.
Music has evolved alongside us, going through phases of increased sophistication, intentional simplicity, and outlandish experimentation.
But this long and storied history still doesn’t explain why so many people have been drawn to music, in its many forms, for as long as anyone can remember.
So why is music so important to humans?
An Expert Witness
There’s certainly value in exploring this question from a strict scientific perspective, but in this article, we’ll be examining the issue on a small, personal scale.
After all, playing and listening to music is an intimate, emotional experience, even when attending a performance with thousands of others.
We spoke with an expert witness who told us about her own personal relationship with music throughout her life and how it became one of her great passions, giving her life purpose, meaning, and a clear path to honest artistic expression.
Bebe Kim is a professional violinist, originally from South Korea and currently based in Los Angeles.
Kim performed as solo violinist for the award-winning Virtual Reality film “VR Buddy.” She is also a performer and composer, having released a solo EP entitled, “Bebe.”
Kim has built her musical career on cultural exchange and vibrantly personal performances that speak to the power music can have as a shared human experience.
She will serve as our guide through several major aspects of modern music, as well as trying to answer the question of why human beings continue to invite music into their homes and into their lives.
A Family Affair
It’s common for many musicians to have grown up in a home where music was an integral part of family life.
Whether one’s parents are musicians writing original songs or just big music fans who play their favorite tracks again and again through the years, an appreciation for the artistry of music can be infectious.
For Kim, music couldn’t be avoided at home. Her mother was a music instructor and much of her family enjoyed playing music in one form or another.
“Except for my father, all of my family members played at least one instrument, and I grew up playing with my mother’s students. We did not have a TV at home, but instead a record player and CD player. Classical music was playing all the time.”
What is a culture but a collection of families who share traditions, beliefs, art? While Kim learned much about classical music from her family, much more significant was the overall enthusiasm for what music represented and what it was able to communicate.
Gypsy Jazz and Cultural Exchange
While many ancient cultures existed in relative isolation, the internet has helped to demolish many cultural barriers.
“When I was young, I knew very little about jazz and heavily focused on classical music. While studying at Berklee College of Music, I wanted to learn more about jazz. But at first, I was not a big fan of jazz, and I felt like the genre didn’t work well with the violin. Then I started to find alternative varieties of jazz such as Latin jazz and gypsy jazz. These were challenging genres but so much fun to play. They helped me to finally understand the meaning of ‘feeling the music.’”
A Symbiotic Communal Experience
In addition to large-scale cultural exchange via the internet and digital media, music also has the unique advantage of allowing for on-the-spot collaboration with other players.
This is especially true in studio and live performance environments. Each musician has the opportunity to react to what and how the other musicians are playing, making it a fertile creative environment.
hile improvisation may seem like it comes naturally to skilled musicians, it’s a skill that has to be learned. Many musicians spend hours and hours practicing alone; playing with others and listening carefully is a different skill set.
Kim commented on her own journey toward effective collaboration:
“Growing up as a violinist who focused on classical music, I always compare myself to other players. After playing with other musicians more extensively, I’ve accepted that we all have different strengths and just need to share and enjoy music, especially when performing.”
Here we have yet another near-magical quality of music, namely the ability to feed off of other artists, creating something bigger (and more powerful) than the sum of its parts.
This passion for performance and collaboration is no longer just an enjoyable activity for Kim, but it has now become a source of creative sustenance.
“At heart, I think I’m more of a performer than a composer. Performing on stage and recording in the studio feel very different. As a composer, I mainly work alone at home, which I love, but sometimes I need energy and inspiration from people around me.”
Music is communal, and it’s often best enjoyed by sharing it with others, whether they’re other musicians, fans, or friends.
In Combination with Other Art Forms
Many art forms exist in a vacuum. For example, paintings, novels, and sculptures are rarely experienced in tandem with other works of art, despite the best efforts of the Bauhaus movement.
But music, in contrast, works extremely well when paired with just about any other art form. Most prominently, music has been a vital component of filmmaking since the age of silent films.
Film scores have the ability to elevate specific moments in a movie, enhancing the viewing experience for audiences and encouraging emotional immersion.
Today, music is a given for Hollywood movies in any genre. Composers such as Hans Zimmer, Trent Reznor, and Ennio Morricone have created music that deserves a listen with or without watching the associated movies.
For years, Kim has looked to Japanese score composer Joe Hisaishi for inspiration.
“I fell in love with Japanese animated films such as ‘Spirited Away,’ ‘Howl’s Moving Castle,’ and ‘My Neighbor Totoro.’ The music for each of these, written by Joe Hisaishi, was amazing. It’s music that works both in and out of the films. After seeing these movies for the first time, I knew that I wanted to be a film score composer.”
It’s a unique challenge to create music that complements movie scenes without drawing too much attention to itself.
But this inherent connection between these two art forms has undoubtedly helped music remain relevant and fresh outside of the realm of studio album releases and live performances, which is a feat that other age-old artistic mediums haven’t been able to accomplish, and it seems unlikely that they ever will.
The Question at Hand
It’s unthinkable that music would ever cease to be a part of the human experience. It means so much to so many different people, regardless of the specific reasons for this affection and appreciation.
Perhaps even more importantly, music can be so many different things. A skilled composer can make music say just about anything, and that’s one of the biggest takeaways we can offer here: music is a form of communication, one that can exist completely independent of language.
Maybe human beings have cared so deeply about music for so long because of its ability to communicate certain feelings, thoughts, and emotions that language has never been able to.
Music is another language unto itself, and it’s a language that can be understood by all.
by Giorgio Chang
Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
