"Where words fail, Music speaks." The line quoted by Hans Christian Andersen definitely sheds some light on the polemical question, "Does Music need words to be of any interest?" I believe that Music is a language that doesn't have to be effable. One need not be a scholar or extremely talented to understand the meaning a certain song or piece wants to convey. Music with words definitely makes it simpler for someone to grasp onto the song's concept, however, that does not magically make a song more interesting now does it? Even without the lyrics, the music remains, and this in my opinion is the main highlight of any song; it is the instigator of interest in the listener.
Most people have definitely heard 'Fur Elise', the most popular work by Ludwig Van Beethoven, at least once in their lifetime. The tune is just so catchy and melodious that one simply can't forget it. 'Fur Elise' doesn't host lyrics of any kind, yet still why is it so popular? When you listen to this piece, it speaks to you. It tells the story of a broken hearted man, someone who loved but who wasn't loved. Words are not necessary to explain the feeling this piece gives to someone; it can simply be interpreted by one listen. In fact most of the famous musicians in the classical era had no words in their songs or requiems. Famous composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Liszt and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky are some of the many Classical era masterminds who helped develop Modern Music. They also didn't sport words in most of their works. Now, they definitely wouldn't have been famous if their music wasn't interesting, so this just proves that words aren't a necessity for Music to be interesting.
Moving on to the present day, lyrics are ubiquitous in the music industry. There might only be select few which don't host lyrics. However this doesn't change the fact that without the main music, lyrics cease to have the same impact on listeners. Often in the process of producing a song the music is composed first. After a feel for the music is obtained lyrics is written accordingly. This gives the impression that music is the core of any song, whereas lyrics just compliments it, but when music and lyrics go hand in hand, the most melodious songs are created.
Music is actually a very flexible language as well. It can be anything one wants it to be. The euphony of birds chirping early in the morning to funky tunes made from banging pots and pans; music is all around us. Perhaps that's why composer John Cage's most famous and amusing work, 4'33" , features nothing but silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. He implies that music is everywhere around us, the noises people make or maybe just a simple sneeze. The harmony of our enigmatic yet exuberant life is in fact music, so why would words really be needed to make it any more interesting?
In a nutshell, Music itself is explanatory. It doesn't require any sort of words to elucidate itself. Moreover, on the topic of arousing interest, I really don't believe that words are the major factor which makes music interesting; rather I believe that the music itself is the most interesting component of the song. Thus the conclusion drawn is that Music doesn't need any sort of words for it to be interesting, rather it is the words that require music in order to be more exciting, more interesting.
Milashka, I agree with everything that you said about music not needing any words to be of any interest. Your examples coming from the classical era of music are the perfect examples of this belief. The classics you mentioned require no explanation. Perhaps you would be interested in presenting some contemporary music as well in order to show your reviewer that you see a constant application of that belief.
For example, The Music Box Dancer by Canadian composer Frank Mills is a perfect example of a modern instrumental classic. It is from the 1970's but the way the piano and other instruments were used to make the instrumentation sound like it came from a music box turned it into the number one easy listening hit of its time. You an do a Google search for it if you think you can use it in your essay. Discussing that piece of music will definitely create a much more effective transition paragraph before you talk about how music is all around us.
I think that you should also mention that the songs that do come with lyrics these days, often translate very well into instrumental pieces. Songs like Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" in an orchestral interpretation can really blow your mind. I think you need to balance the essay with some pop culture information so that the reviewer will see that you are open minded when it comes to music and you are able to analyze music in any given setting.
Overall, the paper is already well written. I am just offering a few suggestions that I believe can help enhance it even further :-)
Overall, your writing is very good, all the ideas you explain very clearly and there are no serious grammatical errors. but you need to consider more is the use of the article a, an and the. In this article, I found some words that should use the article a, an or the, but you do not give. One quick note, remember to use comma (,) for several conjunction such as However and in fact.
Words are not necessary to explain the feeling this piece gives to someone; it can simply be interpreted by one listen. In fact(USE COMMA) most of the famous musicians in the classical era had no words in their songs or requiems.
There might only be select few which don't host lyrics. However(USE COMMA) this doesn't change the fact that without the main music
"Does Music need words to be of any interest?" I believe that Music is a language that doesn't have to be effable(AFFABLE)
Music(THE MUSIC) is actually a very flexible language as well.
KEEP SPIRIT!!!!
Mila, I really think you managed to bring the whole essay together to tell a clear story of your interest and opinions regarding the prompt. Your opinion is sound and should resonate well with anyone who is a true music aficionado.
The inclusion of the pop culture reference reinforced your claim that music is all about the instruments rather than the lyrics. Those of era's gone by insist that modern music is all about noise and nothing more. I do believe that you have successfully made your point and that you have used enough acceptable examples to support it. Your statement reinforces the fact that when the music is good, it won't matter if it doesn't have lyrics. It will resonate with the listener and stir up a specific emotion. Good work :-)
All that is left for you to do now is review this new version of your essay and see if there are any other points you would want to work on or if you think you can call this your final version. I think you can safely call it that :-) Good luck with your application.
Yup, you should! You can provide examples like how Hans Zimmer is internationally renowned as a composer for his music speaks without words or like how LOTR is popular partly because its soundtrack is highly acclaimed for being deep and 'soothing'. Further that by saying that playing a similar tune somewhere else causes people to evoke memories of LOTR, indicating that the music has formed a strong bond within their memories.
