Defining the Purpose of Music

Because it’s been so long since my last post, I decided that my next post needed to be epically proportional to my greatest post yet. Which post that is actually depends on your definition of music. But instead of trying to figure that out, I’m going to start my series of What is Music in today’s world. It will not be a catalog of my favorite music and arguments for why it is the best. It will not be a list of quotes from famous musicians and poets. It won’t even be a rip off of Pink Floyd song lyrics. I will do my best to encapsulate the emotion of today’s music and blend that into definitions of why we listen to music so greatly, and in so many different fashions. I’ve put together a playlist of songs that help me write and I’m not the slightest bit tired, yet. So put on your “open mind” cap and relate to your favorite tunes, because, in my opinion, I’m defining music.

What better way to define music than from good old Wikipedia,

“Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture.”

Sounds good, figuratively. But I didn’t ask for a definition of the science of music. Honestly, when you listen to the radio, do you listen straight for the dynamics of the song? Do you find the texture of sound to be the utmost reason to press your ear to the speaker? Of course not! Your reason is for the final factor that all the key words in the definition of music can result in. Emotion.

Now you’re probably saying, what kind of blog post is this? Why do I have to read about something that I already know about? Will I potentially waste time by using this post to test my vocabulary? Why am I asking inconsequential questions to a computer screen that will inevitably turn my thoughts into an answer? Touché.

For those of you who are musicians. And I’m not talking about the teenager who picked up a guitar a year ago in hopes to play at their high school talent show. I’m talking about the true musician. The one who took time to learn their scales. Who has listened to the best of the best for hours on end because the sound takes your mind to new heights. The person who is actually moved by the music. One of the music teachers I had while going through school once told me that if you are unable to feel any kind of emotion from the music you’re playing, you might as well walk out the door right now and find something else that you can feel emotion from. That message was actually voiced to the entire band, but remembering from the silence in the room, either it hit heart to most or opened eyes for the others.

But naturally, if music is defined as emotion, then what is emotion? Why not Wikipedia it?

“An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and behavior.”

Yet again, we get a science definition for what can only be explained on a personal level. Trying to dissect these definitions is an infinite process, but I don’t think that I need to go any further than from emotion. Can you honestly read that definition and feel any emotion? Maybe pain, because of the attempt to unravel the possibilities from the use of nouns. But really, what could be a better way of describing emotion other than a combination of words that omitted the possibility of describing the word of itself. Wait a minute…yeah, that makes sense. I have an idea, how about using music to define emotion. But wasn’t I just saying that I wanted to use emotion to define music?

Of course, the fact that the World isn’t connected by a single sound that brings everyone to peace and happiness means that emotion and music cannot be equally connected. But how far can that statement be true? How about relating that to a personal level? And if that’s the case, does your personality affect both the style of music you listen to and the emotion that follows? As you can see, I have enough questions to start writing a book. However, these questions are not for me, nor for you personally. They’re more of a stepping stone to branch out your thought process for what you listen to now and why you should or should not continue down the same path. That is, if you’re willing.

Join me for the next few posts, which will hit on many of the questions just asked. Across most music styles, personality traits and the occasional example band. After all, I’m only trying to derive the purpose of this blog and ask, What is Music?

-BC