Ever since a young age I’ve always had a certain fondness for music especially music with a particularly strong beat. As a small child, my favourite activity would be (to everyone’s displeasure) create as much noise (and chaos!) as possible by battering and banging anything I could get hold of. It was at the age of four that my parents realised that was more of a skill than an inconvenience made me start playing the tabla- a set of Indian drums used in instrumental and vocal accompaniment. To this day, my love for a good rhythm lives on , and I have also taken up a new instrument- the drums. However earlier on this week I came across a quote that got me thinking:

“Music is the universal language of mankind.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As a person who plays two percussion instruments coming form totally different backgrounds and cultures, this quote intrigued me as it linked together two instrument that I initially though had no connection. After all, do all the various types of music we listen to and play , be it jazz or pop , hard rock or blues, stem from the same musical concepts?

First of all , I found that consistent and steady beat is essential to all music. In both tabla and drums, good timing and rhythm is needed to give the tunes and melodies that are in the music a basic structure. Without good rhythm, music sounds out of place and disorganised as our ears are tuned to find sounds with a rhythm and repeating tunes more memorable and enjoyable.

 In addition to this, I found that , for both instruments, it is necessary to make variations in the beat that is being held, to prevent the music from sounding monotonous and over-simplified. Switching around beats from time to time not only sounds impressive, but it is also interesting to see how countless variations can fit into the same four-beat bar. The possibilities are endless!

Lastly there is one final attribute of music that makes it so “universal”-it is played and listened to for enjoyment. Ultimately, there is no point of creating music if it does not make the musicians and the audience happy. From the time of our great ancestors, music has been known to bring people together. It has been known to aid relaxation and meditation, and to energize and vitalise at the same time. The power of music is something so powerful and refreshing that can be felt by everyone.

“I think that all music is great in it’s own way and it’s always good to try to listen to a good range of music. I don’t think that cultural differences should prevent you from listening to new songs as all music is the same in the end” says an avid music listener , Nicole Fernandes.

In conclusion , I think it is fair to say that no matter what the lyrics or what background the music comes from, the language of music is universal.

Shruti Cotra, Newstead Wood School