When Culture Becomes Language (part 1): Music

Music is one of the few languages shared by every culture on earth. While the sounds, instruments, and rhythms vary, the purpose remains remarkably consistent. Music communicates emotion, identity, and connection.

In some cultures, music is inseparable from spirituality. Drums, chants, and strings guide ceremonies, mark sacred time, and honor ancestors. In others, music is a form of storytelling, preserving history when written records were forbidden or erased. Songs carry grief, joy, resistance, and hope.

The differences in global music can be striking. Scales that sound unfamiliar to one culture feel natural to another. Rhythms may feel complex or simple depending on what the listener grew up hearing. Yet the similarities run deeper than the differences. Music is used to gather people, to celebrate milestones, and to process loss.

Music often appears in moments where words fall short. It fills silence. It carries emotion safely between people. It allows communities to grieve together and celebrate together without needing explanation.

Across cultures, music reminds us that communication is not limited to speech. Sometimes it is felt before it is understood.

Jordan Wells

All Shores Consulting

Staff Writer