Music Diplomacy: Music, brings the people together
© Tomáš Teslík
One thing I have been doing a lot of during confinement is listen to a considerable amount of music. I absolutely love music and can not imagine my world without it. Through my career as a dancer, and subsequently as a Director and Artistic Director, music has been a central part of not only of my professional life, but also my personal life.
“Without music the world would just have noise. A mass of sound without any true purpose or meaning. Without music, our world would lose a considerable amount of meaning, as well as the essential emotional and intellectual stimulus and effects music gives us.”
We would lose a universal language and the world would become fragmented and divided with a reluctance, and potential incapacity, to understand and embrace our differences and diversity. Music helps us convey our emotions like nothing else, and can express in the most personal way to someone how we feel about them, and in some cases, how much we love them. A music-less world would result in a detrimental breakdown in our communication with one another and see the deterioration of both professional and personal relationships.
Joseph Fowler
Since the beginning of human history there has been music. Music transcends linguist barriers and, unlike language, music activates every subsystem of our brains, triggering a multitude of sensations, feelings and emotions. This makes music especially effective in initiating and forging meaningful connections between us. The role of music as a force and means for social cohesion can be traced back to the earliest musical forms and the use of music to promote political, diplomatic, or societal objectives is more evidence of the undeniable power that music can have as well as the crucial role it plays in our society and lives.
What is quite remarkable is that there is no known culture in the history of the world that does not include music. As human beings we posses a natural and instinctive need for communal activity, to connect with one another, and music has more than often played a fundamental role in initiating a new connection or maintaining, strengthening and developing an existing one.
Once we start considering music as more than entertainment but instead as a powerful and fundamental tool, as something that can be utilised to influence change, we then start to discover and appreciate that music has considerable influence and immense impact in so many different contexts.
““Music can change the world because it can change people.” ”
One of the most encouraging, and in some cases emotional, phenomena I have seen in response to the rigorous social distancing rules we have experienced during recent months, are the creative and innovative ways that people have managed to connect and bond with each other, and in particular, by using music to do this.
Italy was amongst the first European countries to introduce comprehensive lockdown, and no sooner had this happened videos went viral on various social media platforms of neighbours singing with each other from their windows and their balconies. People who had previously been total strangers, started to communicate and connect with each other for the first time using music. Israel, Spain, Iraq, Lebanon, India, the United States, France, Germany and many other countries would soon follow in Italy’s musical footsteps sharing their own videos of musical connections from balconies, rooftops and windows.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of immense uncertainty, frustration and acutely high levels of fear, we have also been experiencing what we could consider a social psychological experiment on a global scale, that has provided us insight into the very core of our humanity. During this time, music has facilitated our fundamental human need to remain connected with one another and enabled us to express our emotions.
What is also of great interest is that texting each other or making phone calls doesn’t seem to satisfy our need to connect. Equally, video conferencing has also not been enough for many. The conclusion that I draw from this is that this only emphasises and confirms our instinctive need to connect with one another in a way that will resonate with us on an emotional level. This again, is where music plays a key role.
But how is any of this possible? Music is, after all, nothing more and nothing less than twelve distinct pitches, organised and arranged in multitudes of orders for various durations. If you believe that this really is all that music is, then you might as well say that what you are reading now is nothing more than pixels on a screen, or a series of various unicode characters. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
I have done a little research to try and find out why music makes us feel the way it does and I have found scientific evidence that when we sing with other people, our social brains are activated to produce oxytocin, a naturally occurring hormone which is produced by the hypothalamus, a small region at the base of our brain. Oxytocin is sometimes referred to as the “cuddle” or “love” hormone as it is most often released when we form social and intimates bonds with each other. Research on music has shown that oxytocin is not only produced when we sing, but also when we listen to music. Music is therefore scientifically proven to make us feel good and who doesn’t want to feel good!
Whilst we continue to face this global crisis, music has arguably never played such a major role in our daily lives. It continues to keep us positive and feeling good, even in forced isolation. Many have said that forced isolation can be perceived as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a step back and reevaluate our lives. Question the way we live our lives and what we really expect and need from life. During isolation, many of us have done some degree of soul searching and one thing that links us all is our need to communicate and connect with each other.
Our undeniable and absolute love of music lies at the very essence of our humanity, from reassuring and comforting lullabies sung to us as a child, to national anthems sung in unison by thousands at the same time, the increased empathy, social connection, and the cooperation music brings into our lives is not only undeniable but vital.
So, lets continue to create, share and listen to music and above all, continue to use music, in all its simple and spectacular forms, to connect with one another, overcome our differences and unite. In good times and challenging times, music will continue to help us maintain our sanity, our hope, and our empathy towards one another.
Joseph Fowler
Director Opera, Arts & Culture - Expo 2020 / Artistic Director
