Why do we listen to music?

Thanks to awesomesauce82 for this subject! He loves music. Check out his works.

This is the perfect essay to follow the one about how we hear sounds.

“Music has charms to soothe a savage beast.” This is attributed to William Congreve in his play ‘The Mourning Bride.’

Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. That’s a ridiculous definition because yelling is the same thing. I believe music is the heart and soul of human expression just like poetry. It’s the very breath of spiritual essence and it moves us in ways that nothing else can. That must be true if one considers the size and monetary value of the modern music industry. Look at all of the musical forms that have emerged over human history. There is a form of music for everyone.

Why do we like to listen to music? That question is answered by going back to our beginning. Sometime in our distant past, early man began to explore making sounds with his or her voice, clapping hands, or by banging on hollow logs or clay pots. Someone found that blowing into a reed or bone could create pure sounds and this resulted in the creation of a flute-like instrument. Eventually, stringed instruments came into existence. Making pure sounds and rhythms intrigued early humans and from this came what we refer to as music.

We know that music existed in ancient times. The Greeks, Hebrews, Arabs and Egyptians had musical instruments and made music. By the Medieval period in Europe, music had become fairly sophisticated and it led to the Baroque period where instrumental music became dominant. Classical Western music went from Baroque to the Classical period and then to the Romantic period.

African Americans are responsible for Jazz and this led to many of the popular American forms such as Ragtime, Big Band, Blues, Swing, Bebop, Soul, and Rock. African American slaves brought basic rhythms from Africa, added some church music elements like hymns and created early Jazz that soon took over popular music in the 20’s. Of course, Jazz music has morphed into several forms, some of which are localized to specific parts of the United States: New Orleans, West Coast, and Chicago.

One could write dozens of books about the history of music, but this wouldn’t answer the question of why we like to listen to music.

Let me count the reasons . . .

People like to listen to music because it’s a form of entertainment. In fact, it has become a huge part of the entertainment business, resulting in billions of dollars. Music is considered one of the arts. It’s art for our ears and we’re willing to pay a lot of money to enjoy listening to it.

Music appeals to our feelings and sensations. Our bodies are attuned to rhythm that’s syncopated to our body’s natural cycles. I believe that this is where dance originated. Music gets us up and moving. It’s how our nervous system works. Music appeals to our feelings of sadness and happiness, and we often like to use it to get in the mood, if you know what I mean. On the other hand, music can also relax us, make us drift off to dream like places and times.

Music also can serve as a backdrop for our lives. We’re used to seeing this in movies and it makes us amicable to the same thing in real life. Many people listen to music at work to help them tolerate the drudgery of their day. You see this especially with people that work at menial jobs. They often have an iPod plugged into their ears. Some people can’t function without it.

Music evokes emotion and some people like this. It’s a spark that ignites the heartfelt feelings that make us human. This is often noted in different cultures where music is paramount to ceremony and celebration.

The truth is that music brings a lot of joy to people. It can both relax us and motivate us and it’s often used to cure boredom. The real answer is that people love to listen to music for a variety of reasons that are inherent in our species. So, strike up the band! We humans love music! I think that plants do too, but I’ll leave that for another post.

Thanks for reading.