A Love Letter to Music

Welcome to our new Student Corner, where we highlight the work of young writers and young artists around Rockland. Our first installment comes from Nanuet Knight Times writer Ancelin Mathew, with accompanying artwork by fellow Knight Andreas Noval. Would you like your students to be involved? Reach out to editor@rocklandcountytimes.com

By Ancelin Mathew 

Let’s set the scene: It’s 6 A.M., and I’ve woken up early to cram for a chemistry quarterly. My late-night decision to leave a chunk of review for the morning felt great at the moment, but now leaves me with pangs of annoyance and regret as I stare at my phone screen. It’s lighting up now, screaming my mistake at me every second. 

But Spotify comes to the rescue. Hurrying before I make another bad decision to just go back to sleep, I search for a generic “Wake Up” mix and hit play. Softly, so no one else hears but me, I listen. And like I expected, a wave of life passes over me and everything is perfect. 

Music has existed since the moment the first simple multicellular organisms swam in the ocean and made ripples in the water. When the first saplings sprung out from the earth and the first bees buzzed around, looking for nectar, music was made. Vibrations, muffled tones, and even silence is music. Earth was the first instrument, and wildlife was its master. Humans began to imitate animal noises millions of years ago, and those imitations have evolved into the very music I listen to now. Sometimes the beat is so strong that our bodies respond, moving in sync with the rhythm and creating meaning out of mere noises. It’s the rawest form of human creativity and passion, and transcends language, age, and religion. 

I truly have come to believe that music has the ability to fix all of society’s issues. Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch. I will say, however, that because of music’s ability to quell deep emotions from people, it does strengthen our collective empathy. Strong rhythms and moving melodies are found in music of every language and every time period. Lutes and bamboo flutes stir an ancient feeling of longing in me, while harp music from the medieval period has me daydreaming of running through cold and slippery castle steps. 

It goes further than just fantasizing about different time periods, however. We live in some of the most divided times in human history. Listening to music from various cultures that often promotes love, belonging, and change connects us. Music has the ability to bring all of us together, because there is something un-nameable that resides within us, moving our hearts and minds in rhythm with each other. It’s in our chemistry, programmed into every cell out of the billions in our brains, releasing dopamine and oxytocin with every beat drop and change in key. 

Have you ever felt goosebumps when listening to a particularly moving song? Aside from nearly floating away into the sunset, I and thousands of people experience frisson when listening to music. It’s a thrilling feeling, and those goosebumps happen when we feel a strong emotional connection to music. Chills and tingling often accompany these feelings, and it just goes to show how deeply music affects our bodies. 

Religion, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation do not matter when it comes to experiencing music. We are all human, and music affects almost all of us in the same way. From romanticizing morning cram sessions, to bringing entire communities together, music is proof that we all feel the same things. And sometimes, all it takes is a melody to remind us.