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Paper 1
Section C. Essay
Question
“Music is the universal language of mankind.” Why is music considered as an important part of life?
This is written as an extra, self-directed exercise.
To the Ancient Greek, music on earth is an echo of the heavenly sound of the spheres – that is the most mellifluous in all universe. The worship of music can be found far beyond the limits of Grecian world: in the East, the Ancient Chinese linked music to ‘Li’, which can be translated to ‘rite’, the central quality ideally pursued by virtuous rulers. Even as the role of music shift in the centuries, its power endures – music still retains important functions in our life and civilisation – we turn to it for solace, for celebration, and for expression.
Music can be personal, a conduit through which various emotions and ideas can be captured. People who yearn for creative self-expression can satisfy their desire through making music, turning their ideas into lyrics and crafting melodies to accompany those words. Singers who write their songs often put what they think into the music and voice it; even for those who rely on professional songwriters can inject their own understanding into the ways they sing to express emotions. Particularly with the fast-developing technology, a growing number of amateur songwriters and singers can access digital music-editing tools that are easy to manoeuvre and produce their own songs. Mobile applications such as GarageBand, Fl Studio and Nuendo can be tapped upon as free studios where users can key in musical scores they write and decide the instruments with which the music is played – all they need to do besides all these is to sing. In an age where the idea of freedom can be articulated in innovative artmaking, music has value in giving people just a channel to exercise their creative brains and enjoy their artistic liberty. Taylor Swift puts her firm stance against those who blacken her name and belittle her effort into her songs “Look What You Made Me Do”; JJ Lin’s “I Pray for You” contains his sorrowful remembrance of the victims in an explosion. Besides them, there are many more singers who imbue their emotive pulsing in the rhythm of music. “Music is such a part of my soul,” the singer Victoria Justice once declared – don't her words stand testament to the indispensability of music in one’s life?
Music can be relaxing – which makes it a good medicine for mental health. As modern people suffer ever greater levels of stress with more competition in education and career, music becomes more valued because it offers a much-needed escape from the hectic reality: when people immerse themselves in music, they temporarily forget the worries of daily existence and liberate their souls onto a higher plane of aesthetic pleasure and inner contentment. More importantly, the soothing impact of music, especially light music containing only instruments playing gently and slowly, enables it to become a useful assistant in therapy – because those who listen to such music can calm down and stabilise their emotions. A Princeton research has indicated that music can be as effective as other forms of art, such as visual art, in pacifying patients under the torment of post-traumatic stress disorder. This highlights the clinical potential of music in curing – or at least improving – the conditions of mental health patients. Indeed, many institutions providing care have incorporated music therapy sessions into their services, such as hospices working with American Veteran Foundation and non-governmental organisations contributing to post-war peace-building processes in Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, music is valuable in helping not just those who seek a short reprieve from the hustle and bustle of modern life, but more crucially, in giving those who suffer prolonged pain a relief.
Music can be more than just personal – it is social – when a group of people sing together, music expresses their shared identity. From Grecian communal sing-along sessions affirming people’s socio-religious affiliation, to choir-singing as a common act of worship in Medieval churches, to secularised, modernised music attracting listeners from different backgrounds, the power of music in forging unity is not to be underestimated. When people sing a song together, they share their identification with the song’s values – which can be basis for them to build common identities. This is particularly true for music that explicitly calls for solidarity as the lyrics act as hints prompting the subconscious mind to act in accordance to words; the unifying effect of music could be amplified when people are physically together singing, because the actual body movements corresponding to the rhythm induce excitement – which then inscribes happy memories on the mind and encourages similar actions in future. In Singapore, beloved songs written specifically for National Day Parade every year such as “Home”, “We Will Get There” and “Count On Me, Singapore” encapsulate the hope and love Singaporeans bear for their motherland, and become the common languages through which the different races can reach out to one another and build bonds. Moving beyond the national level, theme songs of Olympic Games like “Hand in Hand” and “You and Me” win popularity across the globe, voicing humanity’s shared aspiration in attaining ever greater heights in athletic endeavours. All these prove that music is integral to communicating key identities shared by those who sing and listen, as expressed in the lyrics of “Ode to Joy”, “sing a song of joy /for men shall love each other!”
“The noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” As in Martin Luther’s praise, music bears gifts to humankind – it elevates us to the creative realm, consoles us in our sadness and connects us despite our differences. Music matters not just to you and me as individuals; it matters to us, as a whole.
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