Is Music a Universal Language?
Picture yourself at an international conference where everyone is speaking a different language. You would like to communicate with as many people as possible. You wonder how you can do it. You think for a while and then you marvel at the thought that music could be a universal language.
I believe music is in everyone. Whether you are a musician or not, people respond to music on so many different levels. Many people listen to music for most of their day. If you put on a song with a great beat, people will start moving, tapping, clapping, or humming.
As musician, I find it hard to do work when music is playing because my mind gravitates to it. I think about what the melody is, the rhythm, the key, the instruments, etc. It is so powerful for me that my mind wants to listen to it and not focus on my task at hand when it is work that I’m doing. When I relax, music in the background calms and relaxes me.
Anyone who is a musician and can read music has that in common with musicians all over the world. We read the same music and rhythms. We feel the music the same. We know how instruments, tempo, and keys can change the mood of a piece. I have been at conferences where a group of musicians got together and just played. We did not even get a chance to introduce ourselves to each other, but music was the common thread. If you can read and play music, then you are communicating, and for me, music is indeed a universal language. Would you agree?