Music is beauty manifested through sound waves. It is culture from every origin; it is identity and belonging. It is symmetry, rebellion, genius, prodigy, mastery, and virtuosity. It is remembering and forgetting. It has been a feature of human societies since the very beginning, with primitive tribes and religious practices using it to achieve enlightened states for thousands of years, and cutting-edge scientific research showing its profound effect on the brain and on society.
In ancient times, philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato emphasized the intellectual aspect of music. They believed that individual tones and their relations were to be understood as part of larger formal units that governed the emotional impact. The Epicureans and Stoics put more emphasis on sensation, but in their view the function of music was still primarily utilitarian and moral.
The Platonic-Aristotelian view was largely adopted by the Romans, who valued music’s utility to religion. Later, it was endorsed by St. Augustine, who was concerned about the sensual element of music and feared that it might detract from the importance of words. His views were echoed by the Christian philosopher Rene Descartes, who favored temperate rhythms and melodies so that they would not produce imaginative, exciting, and immoral effects.
Modern philosophers have questioned whether the purely mental aspects of music are as important as they claim. In contrast, some scientists believe that music evolved to serve a functional role similar to that of mating calls in the animal world. Others argue that music’s primary function is more like that of acting as a mirror to human emotion.
Musical genres are as varied as the people who listen to them. Some of the more familiar ones include pop, rock, heavy metal, and rap. Less well known are folk, tango, country, and psychedelia.
When writing about music, it is important to use a variety of terms to describe its various characteristics. Technical jargon may be useful in discussing particular musical features, but it should be avoided where possible, particularly when the readership is not particularly knowledgeable about music. Instead, descriptive language should be used to help readers understand the musical atmosphere of the work being discussed.
In addition, it is important to keep in mind that composers and their music are influenced by the events of their time and the development of philosophical and aesthetic thought. This is especially true for classical music, which combines the intellectual with the emotional.