If music be the food of love … play on
I have always wondered what the first musical instrument would have been? Presumably, the human vocal chords – chanting, singing or wailing around a fire pit would have been the first notes, and then some sort of drum or percussion instrument would have followed suit like beating a stick on a log or shaking a gourd full of seeds. But would we consider them to be musical instruments? The former is in our throat and the latter is just rhythmic, with no associated tone or melody. So, I decided to save time guessing and looked it up. Historians say a Neanderthal Flute, found in the cave of Divje Babe in Slovenia, is thought to be the oldest known musical instrument in the world. It was discovered by archaeologists in a cave near the Idrijca River in 1995 and dates back at least 50,000 years. So Music has been with humans for a very, very long time.
According to the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, we do not sing alone: “On land, four kinds of animals produce songs or calls: birds, frogs, mammals, and insects. Some of these (and fish) also do so underwater. The principal sounds such animal species make are signalling behaviours directly related to mating success.” Yet, I believe we are the only ones who consciously invented musical instruments purely for listening and playing pleasure. Now, why did we do that? Were we not satisfied with the a cappella sessions in the cave or around the campfire, or was there perhaps some extraterrestrial intervention? Whatever the reason may be, to date, humans have invented more than 1500 musical instruments. Many perform them to a different degree and a percentage of those even survive by doing so. Others try, but just don’t seem to have the patience or the ‘talent’ to do so, and lately, Artificial Intelligence has progressed to the point that anyone can make music by just prompting a software. It’s quite fascinating, come to think of it.
With such a demand and prevalence for Music in our society, it’s interesting to note that it’s not a popular or encouraged career choice for many, similar to any vocation that falls under the umbrella of ‘the Arts’, such as poetry, sculpture or painting. For some reason, when it comes to this umbrella, it’s just not good enough to be good, even if one excels in it? The financial remuneration, for most, is meagre and insufficient. Yet lately, the only thing that seems to be ‘free’ in this world is … Music. Who would have guessed that by the touch of an icon on a telephone, the world’s music library would be available to you, for absolutely free. Yet Music continues to exist and that is even more fascinating! So why is it so? Does it take a certain passion, personality, obstinance, stupidity or ego to be an Artist(e) of any kind? Or is it simply this:
“Dad, I want to be an Artist(e) when I grow up.” His father replies, “Sorry, Son: You can’t have it both ways.” Anyway …
Nevertheless, the fact remains that more people listen to music, attend concerts and shows than for any other profession. Not even politics can garner such an audience! It is so important to us. Even those of us who can’t play a musical instrument or lack a sense of rhythm can perceive and enjoy music. It calms, it soothes, it excites, it depresses, it angers – the list goes on. It seems to be some sort of life force that binds us; throughout my travels and lifetime, I have met many people who don’t like many things, but I have yet to meet a single person who says they don’t like Music! Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, spells it out perfectly:
“If music be the food of love, play on”
Words by Amir Yussof
Find out more about Amir here.
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