Without Music, What Are We?

Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be, without a song or a dance, what are we
So I say, thank you for the music, for giving it to me! ABBA

IMAGINE a world without music. A world without melodic sounds and harmonious rhythms – without songs to listen to, sing along with, dance to the beat of.

Imagine a world that knows not the cadenced beating of drums and cymbals, the tuneful blowing of trumpets and clarinets, the pulsating stream of symphonic strings, the torrent of melody produced by magical fingers over ivory keys, the wondrous resonance of vocal cords often lifting the senses to heights that cannot be described.

Imagine if musical notes were never created, lyrics were never written, instruments were never invented. Imagine if all that ever came out of the human voice were drones and moans, mumbles and grumbles, howling and wailing, gnashing and growling and snarling.

Imagine if all that we ever hear are engines roaring till kingdom come, car horns blaring like nothing, voices just ranting and rambling from all over, machines whirring and buzzing without let-up, wheels chugging on and on and on...

Would the soul have known its universal language? Would the heart have seen where to find freedom from temporary pain? Would the mind have discerned where to seek shelter from the cold, biting winds of change?

Would humanity be as human if music, as we know it now, never was?

If there were no songs of love to memorize each line, no songs of praise to raise up into the heavens, no songs of hope to bring cheer to the dejected, no songs about friendships to celebrate through thick and thin, no songs about people to dedicate to, identify with, express affection for, immortalize in stirring refrain – how sad.

How sad for the lovelorn boy yearning for the one who knocks him off his feet, while his guitar gently weeps. How sad for the lonely girl waiting in vain for Valentines that never came. How sad for the young at heart dreaming up Mona Lisa smiles, spending the hours hopelessly reminiscing.

Music provides the palliative for broken spirits in need of solace. It offers a sanctuary from the miseries of the moment, a breathing space from everyday burdens, a quick fix out of needless worry, an easy way to unwind, loosen up, calm down, chill out. It is like an oasis for barren emotions, a panacea that makes the body whole again.

If there were no songs to dance to, what a pity for the aspiring ballerina eternally struggling with fouettes and pirouettes, sweating it out to achieve that magical illusion of flight. What a pity for ballrooms everywhere empty of twirling bodies and gliding feet, of sensuous moves and bouncy steps. From simple swaying to soaring leaps and intricate strokes grooving to the beat of a rhythmic accompaniment – dance will forever be inextricably linked to music.

What of the great musical creations through the ages – DeBussy’s Clair de lune, Chopin’s Sonata in E Minor, Mendelssohn’s Wedding March, Schubert’s Ave Maria, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music and South Pacific, Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot and My Fair Lady… all timeless and enduring, awe-inspiring and soul-enriching.

And the great musicians of times gone by – Caruso, whose incredible voice and powerful range made him one of the most famous tenors in history. Wagner, whose operas allowed him to flee from personal troubles that would have brought him over the edge. Beethoven, whose deafness did not deter him from creating more concertos and sonatas that otherwise would have driven him to the abyss.

What of Santana’s breathtaking guitar playing, Dylan’s poetic songwriting, Sinatra’s inimitable crooning, Lennon and McCartney’s chart-topping deluge that changed the face of popular music, Yanni’s flights of fantasy that defy categorizing, Marley’s poignant songs of peace and redemption, Mancini’s orchestral maneuvers out of the dark – the world won’t be the same without the sweat of their genius.

What of the solo saxophone evoking sensual visions and motions, the weepy violin wailing strains of melodies unchained, the unobtrusive flute whistling a soft lullaby that wrenches the heartstrings, the wistful tambourine weaving magic all its own. What of the gongs and chimes, the drums and bugles, the mantras and bird calls, the temple bells and wooden blocks, the Gregorian chants of yore, the choir of angel voices singing prayers from hallowed halls.

Listening to the songs of our life makes us swoon like the starry-eyed youngsters we once were. It makes us fly on the wings of love up and above the clouds. It makes us shed tears for the days of wine and roses we wish would come again. It makes us smile through our fears and sorrows and gives us reason to believe that the sun will shine brightly tomorrow.

What is a world without music but a world without a soul. All concrete and steel, no flowers or sunbeams. All sound and fury, no passion and warmth. All coldness, no comfort. All darkness, no moonlight. All hell, not a sign of heaven. All gloom, not a bit of rain.

A world without music is a world without love – bereft of feelings and sensitivity, devoid of dreams and romance. For the heart speaks through it, conveying a whole gamut of emotions all at once and all too clearly – ardor, desire, bliss, longing, pleasure, despair, happiness, loneliness, emptiness, lust. And it speaks to the heart as well, in a language too beautiful to resist, too pure and simple and true, too deep but not unfathomably so.