Music: Universal language between all nations?

Abstract

The author was asked to address a flawed proposition. Music is a universal phenomenon but not a universal language. The title of the talk is therefore not a description of how things are, but perhaps an invocation (itself contentious) as to a more ideal situation. Further: since music is not a universal language, it takes more effort to understand the music of cultures other than one's own. A multinational music curriculum is inevitably superficial. But music's great advantage in education, compared to most other objects of study, is its rare value as a doorway to a deeper, more complex experience. We should not abandon this special possibility of depth. Finally, from a perspective of cultural evolution, our invocation can be seen as a political intervention in the evolutionary process which may not be universally welcome.