musical evolution
by michael holland
“Music is the true universal language which is everywhere understood, so it is constantly spoken in all countries and throughout the centuries most eagerly and earnestly.” -Arthur Schopenhauer.
Schopenhauer is telling us that music can be used and understood throughout the world, no matter what language is prominently spoken in that certain country. Music can be read off of emotion. If it is a sad song, we can usually tell by the pace of the beat and the emotion in the singer’s voice. If it is a happy song it probably will have a faster beat and a sprightly tone in the artists’ singing. People are surely able to understand music in all cultures.
Schopenhauer’s core point is that music is meant to contain emotion and meaning for the listeners. If there is useless music, to him, you should just get rid of it and ban it forever. He believes that only true music should be put out to the public so that society benefits from the arts. He mentions that “a significant and suggestive melody very soon finds its way round the globe.” This relates to recent times in that all of the classic songs that were made many years ago that we still know have a true meaning and they stand out among the rest. Their meaning had an effect on society and to all of the listeners of that song, and some still affect us when we listen to it.
Schopenhauer also says that “music says so much to the heart, whereas to the head it has nothing direct to say.” How does music “say so much to the heart?” Music is able to say stuff to the heart in that it can touch emotions in us and provoke thoughts and memories that may be attached to the lyrics of the song. For example, at Tip @ UGA at the end of our dances, the song “American Pie” is the last song played. During this song many, if not all, of the current tipsters start crying. Why are they crying? The main reason they are crying is because this song is attached to many memories that tipsters have, and it is a time where they cry out of both happiness and sadness. It is a song that brings memories of the past week back to thought and it reminds people that they only have so much longer to spend time with their friends at Tip. What does it mean “to the head it has nothing direct to say?”I personally interpret what he is saying is that the lyrics and message do not need to be thought over and scrutinized every bit, but he says listeners should understand with emotion. Understanding with emotion means not to overthink it, just let it provoke thoughts and memories or emotions. Some people focus too much on the lyrics and the order and criticize every aspect of what emotions they fear should come out of them, let your emotions take over while you are listening to the song in able to gain the full experience the artist wants you to have.
He claims that if “a melody is poor and says nothing it soon dies away and is forgotten, which shows the contents of a melody are very easy to understand.” What does he mean by “saying nothing?” Modern music consists of fast beats and party focused lyrics referencing to drinking, smoking, and drugs. The songs promote having “fun” with alcohol, sex, and drugs, their target being young adults and college students who generally party more than the rest of society. He thinks that the songs “speak of nothing” by singing of useless lyrics that are not a help to society. Schopenhauer also says that the useless music should not be played because he thinks that if it’s not good, then don’t bother making it, don’t play it at all. What does he mean by “dying away soon?” These days, new songs pop up for a couple of weeks and drop off of a cliff a short time later. No more classic songs are being made i.e. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” That song is still being played, and it tells a story of two young kids being in love and never giving up in life, it’s a pretty simple message yet current artists are missing out on the meaning of music.
Schopenhauer is telling us that music can be used and understood throughout the world, no matter what language is prominently spoken in that certain country. Music can be read off of emotion. If it is a sad song, we can usually tell by the pace of the beat and the emotion in the singer’s voice. If it is a happy song it probably will have a faster beat and a sprightly tone in the artists’ singing. People are surely able to understand music in all cultures.
Schopenhauer’s core point is that music is meant to contain emotion and meaning for the listeners. If there is useless music, to him, you should just get rid of it and ban it forever. He believes that only true music should be put out to the public so that society benefits from the arts. He mentions that “a significant and suggestive melody very soon finds its way round the globe.” This relates to recent times in that all of the classic songs that were made many years ago that we still know have a true meaning and they stand out among the rest. Their meaning had an effect on society and to all of the listeners of that song, and some still affect us when we listen to it.
Schopenhauer also says that “music says so much to the heart, whereas to the head it has nothing direct to say.” How does music “say so much to the heart?” Music is able to say stuff to the heart in that it can touch emotions in us and provoke thoughts and memories that may be attached to the lyrics of the song. For example, at Tip @ UGA at the end of our dances, the song “American Pie” is the last song played. During this song many, if not all, of the current tipsters start crying. Why are they crying? The main reason they are crying is because this song is attached to many memories that tipsters have, and it is a time where they cry out of both happiness and sadness. It is a song that brings memories of the past week back to thought and it reminds people that they only have so much longer to spend time with their friends at Tip. What does it mean “to the head it has nothing direct to say?”I personally interpret what he is saying is that the lyrics and message do not need to be thought over and scrutinized every bit, but he says listeners should understand with emotion. Understanding with emotion means not to overthink it, just let it provoke thoughts and memories or emotions. Some people focus too much on the lyrics and the order and criticize every aspect of what emotions they fear should come out of them, let your emotions take over while you are listening to the song in able to gain the full experience the artist wants you to have.
He claims that if “a melody is poor and says nothing it soon dies away and is forgotten, which shows the contents of a melody are very easy to understand.” What does he mean by “saying nothing?” Modern music consists of fast beats and party focused lyrics referencing to drinking, smoking, and drugs. The songs promote having “fun” with alcohol, sex, and drugs, their target being young adults and college students who generally party more than the rest of society. He thinks that the songs “speak of nothing” by singing of useless lyrics that are not a help to society. Schopenhauer also says that the useless music should not be played because he thinks that if it’s not good, then don’t bother making it, don’t play it at all. What does he mean by “dying away soon?” These days, new songs pop up for a couple of weeks and drop off of a cliff a short time later. No more classic songs are being made i.e. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” That song is still being played, and it tells a story of two young kids being in love and never giving up in life, it’s a pretty simple message yet current artists are missing out on the meaning of music.