Without Music Life Would Be a Mistake – Friedrich Nietzsche: “Without Music Life Would Be a Mistake”, a phrase from the book “Twilight of the Idols” published back in 1889 by Friedrich Nietzsche. Although, quoted centuries ago, it still resonates with our hearts on a personal level. We are blessed as a generation to have music so readily available.
Friedrich Nietzsche was a German Philosopher, and these words will be treasured by us and many to follow.
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Back in the past, listening to music was considered as a treat and a luxury since everyone could not afford Phonograms and live music.
I am sure if we try to imagine a world without music, it will not make sense at all. Just imagine for a minute, no music in movies, no music at weddings and festivals, no music at bars and clubs, and no music to listen to and relate to when you are going through a heartbreak.
This does not sound like our world at all. Even car honks are a type of music, so a life without it would be pretty weird. Also, ever wondered what would earphone sellers do if there was no music?
Friedrich Nietzsche also said:
“God has given us music so that above all it can lead us upwards. Music unites all qualities: it can exalt us, divert us, cheer us up or break the hardest of hearts with the softest of its melancholy tones”
Music has always been a source of solace for us. It has the power to increase our concentration span when we are doing a task, I can somehow relate to this because I am listening to Ed Sheeran while writing this article. This further makes sense by the fact that even in meetings we get to hear hall music in the background, so for sure, there is a correlation.
If you listen to a song from your childhood even today, it will bring back a bundle of memories. This is the beauty of music: to associate memories and moments with the words. Music has religious and cultural sentiments attached to it: drums at a wedding, church bells, trumpets on victory, and so on.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said:
“Music is the universal language of mankind.”
Music has the power to unite thousands of people together. Many bonds, relationships, and friendships are developed over the love of music. It is a language of its own. People listen to it despite language hurdles. Despacito was a Spanish song, yet it broke the record by receiving the highest numbers of YouTube views. It was listened to and admired by people globally.
Nietzsche taught us through his words that, music is the key to the door which opens human emotions.
Not only listening to music is a form of solace, but writing and performing music is also a form of catharsis. Musicians use this art as a medium to open up about their inner thoughts and emotions.
This is why we relate to some songs and excerpts on personal levels. We are so indulged and busy with the world, that we have forgotten one of the main principles of humanity; to show emotions.
Music is everywhere. We do not always focus consciously but a dental clinic has hall music being played in the background, therapists have therapeutic music playing, roads have car honks and even schools have period bells. It is always around us and in our subconscious minds. Music has been such a consistent part of our culture and routine, that not even in our wildest imagination we thought of a world without music.
Below mentioned are a few reasons for the significance of music in our lives.
Table of Content
What would the world be like without music?
Music is a safe haven:
Teenagers resort to music after having a break-up or a bad exam, adults resort to music after having a hard day and even old people resort to music for the sake of nostalgia and loneliness. It has become a safe haven for people. It is a non-clinical treatment for depression, anxiety, and related disorders.
It directly finds its way to our hearts. It is a part of us and our life. Listening to your favorite music is an alternative to retail therapy. In times of despair, all you need is a few minutes of a melodious voice and lyrics you can relate to. Therefore, a world without music would be a world without the most universal safe haven for people of all ages.
Music is a universal language:
The world is adjoined by one thing; music. We see French restaurants playing Arabic music, whereas Turkish saunas are playing Spanish music. There are no language and cultural barriers when it comes to music. It is admired, loved, and appreciated wholeheartedly by people all over the globe. Discos globally play music in all languages because it is a universal language.
The love for music is shared despite all cultural, religious, and social disputes.
Such is the importance of music in our life.
A world without music will take away the unity we hold collectively as a result of music. There are music festivals held all over the world. Tomorrowland in Europe is an example. These festivals are attended by millions of people with different nationalities due to their shared connection and bond with music.
A world without music will mean no music festivals. This is scary to even write let alone imagine or actually happen. Critically as well, these music festivals generate a huge amount of tourism and money. Not having music in our lives will result in an economic loss as well, so it is important to us and our world in every possible way.
What will you listen to while you workout?
This should be illegal to even think about. Can you think of doing anything better other than listening to Lana Del Ray during your one-minute plank? I cannot! Music is an integral part of our gymnasiums as well as equally significant in home-workouts. You cannot run on a treadmill without your favorite Jazz music playing in the background.
It is also said that listening to music while working out makes it easier to concentrate and increases motivation.
Now ask yourself, can you workout without music? Especially when it comes to heavy metal music?
You got your answer. Thus a world without music will actually be a mistake.
It will be something even worse than a mistake. I do not ever want to do 30 push-ups without music, ever.
What about the memories associated with music?
In order to remember XYZ memory from your childhood, all you need to do is listen to a song associated with it. For teenagers, it would be, “Baby by Justin Beiber”. Music tends to have the power to bring you back at that very moment.
I still imagine myself in that bowling alley where I listened to that song for the first time ever.
Each and every lyric makes you relive that specific moment. No matter how long it has been since the last time you heard a song that moment tends to remain fresh for the rest of your life.
Music has the power to boost our physical energy:
Listening to music can certainly boost our moods as well as our energy level. That is the reason we all have a workplace playlist. We listen to music while we work, while we de-clutter, while we do the dishes and even when we are gardening. This identifies and proves the fact that music has the ability to increase our concentration span and we perform our task better.
Listening to music out loud boosts our mood and serotonin levels as well. It also diverts your mind off from an unpleasant task, playing your favorite music while loading the dishwasher will make the task bearable, promise. With this being said, a world without music seems hard right?
Imagine not listening to your favorite Arabic song while making an excel sheet or not being able to dance to your go-to song while you are showering? That is torturous to even think off, so thankfully what Nietzsche said is just a quote, not reality.
No car honks and church bells?
Church bells and car honks are a form of music as well. I mean car honks are not melodious, but it’s okay. Without car honks, this world will be a mess for everyone; pedestrians, drivers, bicyclists, animals, and traffic officers. To even think of this for a minute seems like an event of ultimate chaos only.
Moreover, church bells are symbols of religion, sacredness, happiness, and emotions. Not having these either will make the world a rather sad place to live in. Let’s thank again that this was just a quote, nothing to do with reality. Even if it is a quote, it just gave us a moment of deep silence.
Even school bells, the ones that ring after every period, and break-time are significant. The whistles used by traffic guards are significant too.
Little things like these are of great importance in our lives as well. This quotation by Nietzsche gave us the realization.
Music is used for healing:
Music has been considered as an ancient source of healing. It was always related to healing, therapy, and meditation. Back then saunas and massage therapists played music as well. Nothing much has changed now, it is still considered as a source of healing.
The first thing we do after a heart-break is listening to sad music.
We do this because the lyrics and emotions of the song validate our emotions.
Since music is a universal language, you connect with the lyricist and the singer. It appears to you as if someone wrote a song on your emotions and state of mind. It is important for us individuals to have music which helps us with validation of our own feelings and emotions. So not having this resort will literally be, “Troublesome”.
Movies, plays, and screen-performances?
We all grew up dancing to songs in movies. Music is an extremely important aspect of all theatre performances. Be it dance performances, playwrights, or screen-plays. Leave alone music plays. Not having music in advertisements and soap operas, did theatre just die?
Not having music in this world is equivalent to killing all aspects of art. There will be art to please the eyes in the form of canvases, but there will be no melody and music to please your ears.
Life will seem like a blank canvas to us. Music is the dose of colors to that canvas. Music is the dose of optimism to our brains. Not having music to please our inner-selves will be nothing but self-destruction. We cannot have a world without screenplays and music plays. We “need” music while we perform the Christmas Carol.
It is an understatement to say that music is a part of the art.
Music is art.
Composers, singers, and lyricists are nothing less than artists. They have the power to connect with our souls and hearts.
Music is a release of emotions:
People write their emotions and feelings in the form of poetry and music. Ever wondered why that one lyric of a song is so relatable because the lyricist might be going through what you are. Music has been a release of thoughts, emotions, and feelings for a long time. It is considered as one’s strength to write down what their heart and mind are up to.
It might sound easy but it is not. To do so is an art.
This is the beauty of music.
It’s written by one but is related to a million.
Without music in this world, people will have to convey their emotions and feelings by having a direct conversation. Something humans cannot do very well. Music has the ability to indirectly convey what they have deep down in their hearts.
In a world with no music individuals will be like blank canvases, longing for color in the form of melodies. Such is the significance of music. This quotation gave us a few moments to think about the ways we are blessed in.
Songwriting provides with an expression of emotions, something dearly significant to us. Christian Andersen said,
“Where words fail, music speaks.”
Music is basic happiness:
This is the most significant yet basic explanation to why cannot we survive in a world without music. We cannot because music is basic happiness. No more explanations are required after this; it is self-explanatory.
A baby’s smile when he listens to the baby shark, a girls smiles when she listens to her boyfriend sing a tale of love for her, an old lady’s smile as she wakes up to birds chirping by her window. The amount of happiness these little sources give us is priceless. I still look forward to listening to my favorite OST at the start of a soap opera.
A baby still looks forward to listening to, “Hush little baby” while feeding on his milk.
These melodies are amalgamated in our lives to the extent that we depend on them for our daily doses of happiness.
Hence, music is happiness and happiness is a necessity
Conclusion:
While I wrote this article, I realized we are blessed in ways we cannot think of. Nietzsche just made us realize that we have taken things in life for granted. Things we should have treasured and valued were instead taken for granted. These include music.
We grew up to the sound of music and we will die to the sound of music too. It became difficult to imagine a world without music because we never thought about having a world without it. It’s significant for a baby of 3 months and an old man of 90 years. It’s significant for a Christian and an atheist.
It is significant for an Indian and an Australian. The language of music has no boundaries. It is universal and love is shared amongst the hearts of all races, nationalities, and minorities.
There is no world without music, let alone mistake. Music is happiness and music is a necessity.
Quoting from, the book of rites,
“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”
This is self-explanatory. A child cries when his mother does not sing him a lullaby. Imagine an adult’s world with no music. It does not exist, it never will.
Nietzsche gave us the ability to not undermine the importance of anything. Things we tend to take granted the most are the ones that matter to us the most. The importance of these things is realized when we try to imagine a world without them.
On a serious note, we cannot afford to have a world without Baby Shark in it. It is essential.
