Is Music Just Something We Listen To, or a Way to Understand Ourselves?
Have you ever listened to a melody and felt that it touched something within you that you could never quite express in words? Is music merely a form of entertainment, or can it also help us understand our emotions, connect with the feelings of others, and discover something about ourselves?
Recently, I found myself thinking about these questions after looking at a painting created by my 15-year-old niece. The painting featured a heart, headphones, and a cassette player. At first glance, it appeared to be a simple artwork about music. But as I continued looking at it, a different thought began to take shape in my mind, leaving a lasting impression on me.
I started thinking about how much we carry within ourselves—thoughts we never share, emotions we struggle to explain, and feelings for which we cannot always find the right words. Sometimes, we do not know how to express what we feel. At other times, we may want to speak but find ourselves unable to communicate what is happening inside us.
But does that mean our emotions have no other way to find expression?
Perhaps not.
We have more than words through which we can express ourselves. Some people communicate through writing, others through paintings, and some find a way to express their feelings through music.
And perhaps this is where music becomes more than something we simply listen to.
Music: A Medium for Expressing Emotions
For me, music is a beautiful way to connect with others. Through it, we can explore different cultures, life experiences, and human emotions.
People living in different parts of the world may speak different languages, follow different traditions, and have different ways of living. Yet music can bring us closer to their worlds and encourage us to understand their experiences.
When we listen to traditional music from another culture, we may become curious about its history, lifestyle, and the people who have kept its traditions alive. A folk song can offer us a glimpse into a community’s happiness, struggles, and way of looking at life.
Music gives us an opportunity to step beyond our own world and explore the worlds of others.
But for me, music is not only about understanding other people. It also has a connection with understanding ourselves.
I prefer instrumental music to songs with lyrics. There are only a few songs whose lyrics I particularly enjoy, but I find myself drawn to melodies played on different musical instruments.
I believe we do not always need words to experience music. Sometimes, a melody alone can bring us peace, take us back to old memories, or awaken thoughts we had not fully understood before.
Interestingly, our choice of music is often connected to our mood. Depending on how we feel at a particular moment, we may find ourselves drawn to a particular kind of melody.
But have we ever stopped to wonder why we want to listen to a certain kind of music at a particular time?
Do we listen only for entertainment, or do we sometimes turn to music because we are trying to understand the emotions moving within us?
Perhaps the answer is different for every individual.
When Music Becomes Our Companion in the Uncertainty of Life
Life never remains still. Time continues to move forward, and our circumstances, responsibilities, and experiences change along with it.
We often find ourselves thinking about tomorrow. Sometimes, worries about the future occupy our minds, while at other times, memories of the past refuse to leave us alone. We keep trying to improve our lives, yet somewhere along the way, we forget to experience the little moments that make up the present.
We do not know what the next moment will bring. Still, we continue moving forward with our hopes, worries, and plans.
In such moments, music can become a way to step away from the constant movement of our thoughts, even if only for a little while.
Sometimes, a melody encourages us to sit quietly, while at other times, music fills us with renewed energy. We may lose ourselves in our thoughts as we listen, or simply feel a little lighter without knowing exactly why.
Music cannot solve all our problems, but it can give us an opportunity to sit with our experiences and recognise what we are feeling.
And perhaps, sometimes, that is exactly what we need.
We cannot always remain strong, know the answers to every question, or find immediate solutions to every problem. But we can make time to understand the emotions we carry within ourselves.
Perhaps music reminds us that, amid the constant demands of life, making a little time for ourselves matters too.
The Place of Music in the Lives of Our Ancestors
When we look back at the past, we find that music was never limited to entertainment alone. It was also an important part of our ancestors’ lives, traditions, and ways of expressing emotions.
In the region I come from, music has many forms rooted in local traditions. During celebrations, people traditionally sang folk songs such as Phag and Rasiya. These songs reflected the joy, enthusiasm, and collective spirit of such occasions.
There were also Harbole songs associated with the labour and lives of farmers. Through these songs, people connected their work with music and shared experiences. Singing while working in the fields could offer a way to express emotions, maintain enthusiasm during demanding tasks, and feel connected to others.
Similarly, Sohar is a traditional folk-song form sung to celebrate the birth of a child. These songs carry family emotions, blessings, and glimpses of cultural traditions.
When I think about these folk traditions, I realise how deeply our ancestors connected music with different moments in life. Whether it was a celebration, a festival, or collective labour, music had a place in their everyday experiences.
This makes me wonder: when our ancestors did not have the many forms of entertainment available to us today, wasn’t music an important source of joy, encouragement during hard work, and connection with one another?
I believe the beauty of these folk songs lies not only in their melodies but also in the experiences they preserve. Through them, we can explore the lives of our ancestors, their happiness, their traditions, and their relationships with the communities around them.
Our lifestyles have changed over time. Today, we have countless modern ways to listen to music, but the significance of traditional songs reminds us that music has always been connected to our social and cultural lives, not merely to entertainment.
Perhaps one of the most beautiful things about music is that it helps us carry moments of our lives forward, preserving them through emotions, memories, and traditions.
Music and Our Relationship with Memories
Have you ever heard an old melody and suddenly remembered a moment from your life that you thought you had almost forgotten?
Perhaps it was a childhood day, an occasion spent with your family, an experience from a journey, or the memory of someone who once played an important role in your life.
Sometimes, music takes us back to moments that time has nearly erased from our conscious minds.
We hear the same melody, but suddenly, an entire world of memories begins to unfold within us. Sometimes, we smile as we remember those moments. At other times, an old memory leaves us feeling emotional.
Music cannot bring the past back, but it can give us an opportunity to experience the emotions associated with it once again.
Perhaps this is why the importance of a melody cannot always be measured by its popularity or beauty. Sometimes, an ordinary tune becomes special to us because it is connected to an experience from our lives.
A piece of music that means nothing more than a pleasant melody to one person may represent a memory, a relationship, or an important chapter of life to someone else.
This reminds me of something else: we do not all experience the same things in the same way.
We carry our memories, emotions, and experiences with us. These shape the meanings we attach to the world around us.
Therefore, understanding what music means to someone involves more than simply knowing their preferences. Sometimes, it also means understanding the memories and experiences connected to those preferences.
Perhaps this is where understanding other people begins—with an interest in the stories behind their choices rather than simply comparing those choices with our own.
From Music to the Journey of Self-Discovery
When I looked at my niece’s painting, my thoughts began with music. Gradually, however, they moved beyond music and led me towards questions about human emotions and self-discovery.
I started wondering how many things we do in our lives actually give us an opportunity to understand ourselves.
We talk to others, listen to their stories, fulfil our responsibilities, and keep moving forward. But do we always make time to understand the thoughts and emotions that arise within us?
Sometimes, we take our emotions for granted and never stop to examine them. At other times, expressing them feels difficult, or we cannot fully understand what we are experiencing ourselves.
In such moments, music, writing, and art can offer us an opportunity to look within.
When we listen to a melody and allow our thoughts to wander, we may become aware of something within ourselves that we had not paid attention to before.
When we write, putting our thoughts into words can sometimes help us understand them more clearly. Similarly, when we create a painting, our imagination and emotions can take a form that we might struggle to communicate through ordinary conversation.
Of course, everyone’s experience is different. Not every melody brings us closer to ourselves, and not every piece of art needs to contain a profound message.
But when a piece of music, a written passage, or a painting encourages us to pay attention to our inner thoughts, it becomes more than just an experience. It can become a small part of our journey towards understanding ourselves.
Perhaps self-discovery does not always begin with finding answers to life’s biggest questions. Sometimes, it begins with understanding the little things that make us happy, move us emotionally, or encourage us to think differently.
And music can be one of the paths through which we begin that journey.
In the End, Perhaps There Is a Question We Should Ask Ourselves
My niece’s painting made me realise that not everyone sees the same meaning in a piece of art. The imagination of the person who creates it has its own significance, while the experiences of the person who views it bring another dimension to its meaning.
Music, too, can hold different meanings for different people. For some, it is a source of happiness. For others, it brings back memories, connects them with their culture, or gives them a few moments of solitude.
Yet, among all these meanings, I believe music offers another beautiful possibility: it can encourage us to look within ourselves while also helping us become more open to the worlds of others.
Perhaps we should not try to understand people only through the words they speak. We can also remain curious about their creativity, their preferences, and the things they value in their lives.
Sometimes, understanding another person’s world does not require us to change them or find answers on their behalf. It simply requires us to listen, learn about their experiences, and make room for their perspectives.
Perhaps we need to remember the same thing when it comes to ourselves.
We often become so busy trying to understand the world outside us that we forget to explore the world within. Yet, both understanding ourselves and making an effort to understand others can offer us a different perspective on life.
So, the next time you listen to music, look at someone’s painting, or read something they have written, ask yourself one question:
Are we simply listening to music, looking at art, and reading words—or are we also trying to understand the person who has left a part of their emotions, experiences, and inner world within them, a world in which, sometimes, we might even discover something about ourselves?
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