The Importance of Music in Our Lives

I love music. From the time I was a preschooler, I remember hearing my father improvise jazz on the piano, and my family listen to records. I was brought up with the music of the 50's, and as I grew up and took piano lessons, I became very fond of classical music. Enter the Beatles in the early 60's, and I was attracted to "pop" and "rock" music. As time went on, I grew to like almost every type of music, from opera to new age. Music did something for me. It helped me in every mood and lifted me up. My husband and I can go to a broadway musical, or an opera, and be on a "high" from the music. What is it that attracts us to music? Why do we have ipods today with thousands of songs? It's because music is a part of the earth and our nature.

According to biomusicologists (Biomusicology is a new field of science, according to Pennsylvania State University "What's in the News" website), music entered the world from the time only animals roamed the earth. It is theorized that animals used a form of music to communicate. Certainly the song of birds is musical and is a form of communication among their species. Humpback whales are said to sing sonatas as a form of communication.

Biomusicologists believe that human brains are wired for music. It appears that even the first humans in prehistoric times made music. The first musical instruments were probably whistles, carved out of animal bones and were also used for communication. Around 5,000 years ago, people were making musical instruments for pleasure, as well as for use in ceremonies. The breakthrough in music came about 2,500 years ago, when the Greek scholar Pythagoras devised a mathematical formula for what is today's musical scale. Each note would be one step higher than the next. Each note was then given a letter so that music could be written.

It was over the next thousand years that music became more complex. Various cultures adapted their own type of music. The number and type of musical instruments expanded. In Europe, music developed mainly for the Christian religion. The music played and sung in Christian monasteries 1,500 years ago became the basis for modern music in the western world. As time went on, music began to reflect the political times or the culture of life at the time. Classical music was of the Beethovan and Bach era, and composers starting reflecting intense emotions in their music. This has been carried through to today.

We like music and listen to music because of the emotions it conjures up. Why do we listen to "oldies"? It's because it is nostalgic. Perhaps it brings us back to a time when we were younger, or life was more carefree. It brings us back to where we were at the time. The music we cherish is usually related to good memories or a time that is particularly sweet to us.

Music is for every age. Mothers sing lullabies to their babies and are able to put them to sleep. It is also thought that babies in the womb hear music. When young, pre-school children listen to music, it is thought that it helps them understand the beginnings of mathematics. Music is therapeutic. It has been used in medical settings as a way to soothe and help heal victims of post traumatic stress syndrome. It also helps people grieve, when music is played and sung during a memorial.

While we enjoy music everyday, we don't think about all of this. However, we listen to music regularly because it is an integral part of our earth's rhythms, it heals, and helps us feel and cope. So, the next time you listen to music, think of it as a gift that you partake of at any time and can have with you always.

Source: Pennsylvania State University - Witn - What's in the News