What is a need? Well, a need is something that promotes our survival like food, water, sleep, etc. So, is music a need? Many people consider music a want because they can't see how it is essential for us as a culture and as individuals. Music is actually a need. We as a society need music in our lives. We also need music for our individual health and growth. This ARTICLE has some great insight to the effects of music on culture.
Music in the most basic way is used as an identifier. Music can pinpoint a specific historical period, a location on the globe, or a specific culture. Music is a need for cultural reasons because it is a form of artistic expression. However, it is so much more than that. Music has physiological impacts on the brain. It can be used to actually make our brain feel certain emotions. Certain chords, intervals, instruments, and keys can be used to trigger emotional responses. This is part of the study of psycho-acoustics. Composers and sound designers use these tricks all the time in films to get the audience to feel for the characters and leave feeling emotionally invested. Psycho-acoustics is a great subject about how we perceive and process sound. I encourage you to read more about it. Here is an ARTICLE that talks a little more about how different spaces can change how we perceive sound and music.
So we as individuals need music to help us internally. We use music in a therapeutic way to cope with emotion. We also use in tandem with emotions. For example, if we are feeling sad we may listen to sad music to help us express that emotion. The music we listen to has an impact on how we dress, how we speak, who we talk to, and even what type of career with we take. With music playing such a huge role in our individual and cultural development, it's hard to simply say that it is just a want and not a need. We all want to feel like we are a part of something larger than ourselves. At some point we all ponder about who we are as an individual. Music allows us to complete another piece of that puzzle and act as a conduit for cultural development. So the next time you are asked if music is a need or a want, you now know the answer.
