Life’s Purpose - Incorporating Music
“I will make music an integral part of my life. I will use it as a source of healing and enjoyment. I will also use it as a way to connect with others, and to connect more deeply with myself.”
Music is a source of healing and enjoyment.
What is the real meaning of music? Music is an intentionally organized art form whose medium is sound and silence. Music is an arrangement of sounds having melody, harmony, and rhythm.
Music improves your health and well-being. A study done at Harvard has shown that relaxing music may lower blood pressure and heart rate after physical activity. It can also improve your mood and reduce anxiety. Music is a way to connect with others and by bringing people together, it can be an antidote to loneliness and social isolation.
Making music is a universal human trait that goes back to at least 35,000 years ago.
The Hurrian Hymn No. 6 is considered the world’s earliest melody. The Hymn was discovered in the 1950’s on a clay tablet engraved on an ancient marble column used to mark a woman’s gravesite in Turkey. The song was inscribed with Cuneiform text. It is the oldest surviving melody and is over 3,400 years old.
The oldest musical composition to have survived in its entirety is a first century AD Greek tune called the Seikilos Epitaph written to honour the composer’s deceased wife. This piece gives us a glimpse of what the music of Ancient Greece was really like. The piece is still being performed today. The first verse is played using a harp-like instrument. The second verse is played on a recorder or flute-like instrument accompanied by a harp or lyre strumming chords.
A good song needs to have great chords, melodies and lyrics. But it should also create some sort of reaction or evoke a specific emotion. Many songwriters craft their music from specific events or experiences that they have had. This makes it very relatable to others.
Music is an essential element of culture. Sharing music from one culture to another gives people an insight into another way of life. Music can heal, break down barriers, reconcile, educate, and even promote the protection of human rights. Music has the capacity to make the world a better place.
Is music part of your life? I enjoy directing and playing handbells. The friends I have made around the world through this musical experience have definitely enriched my life.
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