By Ashley Fries

Music is an art form that can be seen worldwide. In every crevice of the world, you can find music. With all aspects of culture, the music within differentiates greatly from region to region. The composition, the style, the words, the instruments and everything else that makes music, changes around the world.

What does not change is its ability to touch the heart and the soul, and evoke emotion. Whether the emotion be good or bad, music always brings out something within the listener. The reaction could be an emotional feeling of happiness, of content, of sadness or even annoyance. Depending on the personality of the listener, their likes and dislikes, their mood and the music they are listening to can change how the react.

But the reaction doesn’t have to be just emotional. Music can evoke thoughts, memories and inspiration. A song can bring the listener back to an important moment in life where they first heard it. There are even times when a listener heard a song numerous times, but at one instance, it became important due to the events that took place during that particular song. Listening to this song at a later date can make them reminisce in times long passed.

Furthermore, music can evoke inspiration, whether the music has lyrics, just instruments, or is even chanting. Music is known as a muse of many. Listening to all types of music from around the world can inspire someone to become a better person, to learn more about different cultures, to learn different instruments, etc. However, it can also inspire them to create something based off of the music they listened to. For example, listening to certain music can spark ideas for their own form of art. whether that be their own music, a piece of poetry, a short story, a painting/drawing, or any other form of art. Music has the ability to open the mind and enable the listener to create a masterpiece of their own.

Music also has the ability to make the listener day dream, or get lost in their thoughts. Listening to music can cause the listener to think about what it reminds them of, then their imagination goes from there. For example, “The Girl from Ipanema” by Astrid Giberto, Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz. This is a popular song from Brazil. When I listened to it for the first time, I first started thinking about a crowded elevator. It was slow, calm and soft. Therefore it reminded me of elevator music. However, the music changed and so did my thoughts. I then started thinking about a 1950s or so cocktail party. I saw women in their dresses and men in their suits, dancing and mingling. It was as if a movie was playing in my head.

The beauty of music is that it is different all over the world, but it still manages to touch the listener in the some way. All music, no matter where it originates from, has the ability to touch the listener, evoke emotions, thoughts, memories and inspire those who listen to it. Music is one thing the world shares as a whole. From one end to the other you will find music, and though it differentiates greatly from places to place, it is one of the very few things in the world, that connects every human no matter how different they may be.

So next time you listen to music take a minute just to appreciate it and all that it does for you.