How does music fit in with Western culture? It's easy enough to assume that our culture is heavily immersed in music, you can see that most people have some sort portable music player. Music has become commonplace in our minds, it's intoxicating. While music has became so common place, I think that many people don't really consider why it is so seemingly necessary.
A typical answer (I agree as well), I imagine would be simply: it would be boring. Music has been part of our species all throughout time; from back in the primordial days, through the Medieval Ages, through war, famine, plague, peace and prosperity.
What are the benefits of having music in our lives? What do we gain? What is it that only music can offer that nothing else can?
Music is an art. Different from visual arts (painting, sculpting, etc), music is an auditory art. We hear music; feel it if it's loud enough. Visual art is universal in humanity, and so is music. What is it that seperates music from a painting?
If you ignore the difference in media (canvas to violin, clay to drums, etc), in essence, there is next to no difference. I believe that the only difference between those two art forms is how "much" people can interpret them. I believe that visual arts are more open to interpretation than music.
For example, in a written song (usually) has a clear intent in it's composition ("I'm better than her/him, "go out with me instead", "slap me with a shovel", etc); whereas an oil on canvas is much more to interpretation. (especially nowadays; all those modern art movements)
Does music tap into that deep, primordial part of ourselves? Do we ritualize ourselves in the rhythm, tone, pitch and beat of music?
Of course with that being said, I'm listening to Yo-Yo Ma's Bach: The Cello Suites. Music, go figure. Whether or not there are benefits to listening to music, there is something undeniable: music is deep within our various cultures and civilizations.
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