a brief history of music and society
Music is within reach at nearly any time or place, thanks to our current handheld technology. Long gone are the days of waiting in line to purchase your favorite record. The second an album is released, it exists just a few clicks away on one of the popular streaming apps. Plus, it never sells out! This is music in the digital age, and it’s not slowing down any time soon. In 2019, streaming accounted for 80% of the United States’ recorded music market.1 But even with the new avenues of consumption available to us, the deep embeddedness of music in our lives is hardly new.
Music has existed almost as long as modern humans have. And as humans spread across the globe, so did music. Evidence suggests that the first musical instruments appeared 40,000- 45,000 years ago, around the same time Homo Sapiens migrated from Africa to Europe. The oldest known instruments are “flutes made of bird bone and mammoth ivory”.2 While the original purpose of music cannot be known for certain, we do know it has functioned in a wide range of ways across cultures worldwide. From serving recreational purposes to the emergence of music-based digital therapeutic techniques drawn from the medicinal benefits of sound, the functionality of music remains a broad spectrum.
1. Music as Communication
Music has served as an effective communication method which can convey thoughts or feelings in a way that language is sometimes incapable of. A mother may sing a song to soothe her crying baby before he has the ability to speak or understand spoken language. Music has also been used to tell stories and spread information to different communities around the world. Troubadours and trouvères, traveling musicians from the Renaissance period, journeyed across Europe and Asia telling tales and singing ballads.3 We still use music to communicate today. The soundtrack in your favorite movie may inform you how you should feel during a specific scene. Cue the tears during Titanic’s “My Heart Will Go On”.
2. Music as Bonding
Music has also functioned to promote bonding and socialization. People that share musical tradition tend to form relationships and work better as a group, rather than look out solely for their self-interests. It was thought that “dancing or singing together before a hunt or warfare binds participants into a cohesive group.”4 And this still applies in the modern world. Think about it. Ever found yourself screaming “We Will Rock You” in a sea of fans in the bleachers of a sports game? That’s bonding through music.
3. Music as Healing
The medicinal benefits of sound are undisputed, and cultures across the globe have used music as a form of healing throughout history. A number of Native American tribes believed that song and dance were powerful ways to treat illness. When a member of the tribe became sick, the tribe’s medicine man or woman “would fast in order to receive a song in dream or vision” from The Great Spirit “instructing them in how to carry out the treatment of their patient”.5 Today, people of varying cultures, as well as many medical professionals, believe in the medicinal benefits of sound or the power of music to heal. Techniques such as guided meditation and music therapy have gained popularity in recent years as legitimate treatments for a variety of health issues.
The list of music’s many varying functions goes on, but one thing’s for certain: music has always been a part of us. It’s this integration of music into our societies, combined with the capabilities of modern technology, that makes sona possible. Now we can utilize music to heal, de-stress, and restore our minds with the technology that’s already sitting in our pockets. Relax, refresh and rejuvenate with a unique music-based digital therapeutic experience at sona.
Written by Brooke Kessler
