Erin Seils |
With the recent demise of a pop icon, David Bowie, I began to wonder: why does music mean so much to us?
In the early 1970s, Bowie introduced a new dimension to pop music and was partly responsible for pioneering the glam rock genre, so it is no surprise that his passing had a massive effect on people throughout the world. A list of his top ten most tweeted about songs was released on Twitter, in tribute to the singer, the day following his death, including Heroes, Space Oddity and Changes. There was also a spontaneous sing-song next to a mural in Brixton, London, where David Bowie grew up, when someone began to play some of his hits such as Ziggy Stardust and Starman. Crowds of fans laid down flowers, many were crying while some had a more celebratory attitude as they memorialized his life.
Madonna saluted Bowie in a message she posted on Facebook explaining the great influence he had on her life:
“I found him so inspiring and innovative. Unique and provocative. A real Genius. His music was always inspiring but seeing him live set me off on a journey that for me I hope will never end.” She thanked him, ” I owe him a lot”. Although his concerts are now a thing of the past, his music will live on forever thanks to technology and websites such as YouTube.
As we can see from the impact that David Bowie had on people, music can make a huge difference to individuals. What makes us want to listen to music? Why can it be so inspiring and empowering?
It is very hard to pin-point the origin of music. Some say that nature is music; for example, the sound of rain falling. Others say that music began when humans first stepped foot on the planet as the human voice has been around since then. If the human voice is music, is the call of a bird not also? Music can be defined as “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion” according to Google. With that definition I suppose that the joyful chirp of a bird is music. Even the pitter-patter of rain, although not the most beautiful sound in my opinion, could be music as some say that no single sound is prohibited from being classed as music.
Although music does not have an exact beginning, I’m sure that most people first heard music at a very young age, many babies can even hear while still in the womb. It is almost impossible to escape the sound of music, from the music we hear on the car radio to the humming of a bird on a walk through the woods, it is all around us. Music can teach us with the lyrics of songs, make us feel a whole range of emotions depending on the tempo and rhythm and gives humans and supposedly animals an alternative way to communicate and express ourselves.
Because of artists like David Bowie, along with many, many others, we can listen to a wide range of music that allows us to cheer ourselves up when we are feeling down and escape to a world of perfect harmony whenever we want to.
