In the situation where humans have drained the earth of its resources and get the opportunity to move to another planet, we need to consider the ethics of extracting resources from our new home. Some might say that humans should not take any resources from this new planet, but given that we need to extract natural resources from our current home to survive, would it stand to reason that we will need to extract resources from this new planet to support basic life essentials as well? Basic life essentials include: food, water, shelter, and aspects of culture. Aspects of culture include the physical arts as well as music and the performing arts. These basic essentials influenced my research question: what advancements and or achievements are possible in music and the arts because we extract materials from the planet? It is worth it for humans to take the resources from our current and future home in order to create music and other performing arts because they are important creative outlets for many people and it has been a part of human society for many millennia.
When it comes to the sustainability of the creation of instruments, it very much depends on the instrument being talked about. The environmental impact can even vary between two kinds of the same instrument, with some being electric and others being acoustic. A popular resource used to make instruments is wood and steel. These can be found in pianos, guitars, harps, and other instruments. When it comes to wood, there are ways to gather wood that are better than others. Here on earth, there are measures in place to make sure wood for instruments is sustainably gathered and not from endangered species of trees (BBC). Music is also written down on paper which comes from trees, as well as music can use a lot of paper, since in orchestras, there are some very long pieces and everyone needs access to the written music. There is currently no easy way to dispose of steel strings beyond throwing them in the trash which is a strike against them (BBC). However, compared to the production of many other man made inventions, it uses very little and gives a lot of benefit to people.
Music has been shown to help with many people’s mental health and with keeping the brain happy. Going to live performances is associated with better brain health and music in general has been shown to help people manage their anxiety and stress as well as help with their cognitive abilities (Budson). Because this helps people with stress and anxiety, it is worth it to keep making instruments a part of our world. Although instruments are not always necessary to make music, having them allows for more complex and intricate music to be made that could help people more than music made without instruments. Also, without written music, people would struggle to memorize and play the song properly.
Music, and subsequently instruments, have been a large part of human history. Musical instruments have been around for millenia, possibly dating all the way back to 67,000 BCE (Shurkin). Instruments were originally made from animal skin and bones, and as time went on, these instruments evolved as different cultures did (Shurkin). For example, the didgeridoo, an instrument still played today in Australia, was first created about 10,000 years ago by the aboriginal population (Shurkin). The fact that this instrument is still around today and is a large part of aboriginal culture shows how instruments and music can be tied to culture and why it may be important to keep producing these instruments which have a lot of cultural value for the people that use them.
Beyond shaping culture, instruments and music also help to connect different cultures to each other. Studies have found that people across different cultures and musical backgrounds were able to tell what kind of music they were listening to, which shows that music has the ability to transcend boundaries of language to convey emotion in a universally accessible fashion (Reuell). Without instruments, this language that everyone can understand would be greatly stifled by the inability to use instruments as a part of that expression. Each instrument brings something different to the table than the next, so having no instruments as a part of music would greatly minimize the emotional depths music would be able to reach.
As already discussed above, listening to music has its benefits, but creating music does as well. Studies have found that creating music by yourself or in groups can have a positive effect on people, including improving memory and causing people to be more empathetic (Stewart). Without instruments, there would be many people who could not participate in this process since they might not enjoy singing or other ways that people make music with their bodies such as clapping and stomping. Having no instruments would make it very difficult for a large number of people who enjoy music to participate in it fully, and thus they would miss out on the many benefits that creating music can bring.
Each instrument has its own unique sound that composers can use to build complex harmonies and sounds within their compositions. There are many things the human voice can do, but it cannot truly replicate the unique sound of an instrument. Without instruments, composers would be greatly stifled in the kind of music they could make, since they would be limited to music with just voices. As well, there would be a lot of music lost if new instruments were not made because you simply could not perform it without instruments. For example, classical performances would quickly die out since you would need an orchestra to perform it, and without instruments, it would not be the same.
Writing music also takes resources, whether it is paper or digital, but music notation is worth the resources because without it, it would be extremely difficult to create complex pieces and harmonies. Music has been written down for millenia, and there is even musical notation written by monks in the middle ages that is still preserved today (LoC). Without the means to write down music, it would be near impossible to share music for others to play. Very few people can listen to a piece, especially one with intricate harmonies, and replicate everything they hear perfectly. Music notation and sheet music help people to share their music with others. It is important for people to be able to share their music this way because it would be complicated to play other people’s pieces without it.
There are arguments that could be made against using physical instruments or sheet music in the wake of the rise of synthesized instruments and digitized sheet music. Now, if you have access to a computer, you can use instrument presets to have basically any instrument you want to play whatever you want it to play. However, doing this is not the same as having the real instrument there.
The significance of music to humanity cannot be overstated, and a large part of that is because of the inclusion of instruments and music notation. Without instruments or music notation, music as we know it would be entirely different and likely less complex. Music is able to explore the emotional and technical depths it does through the use of instruments and music notation. Because music in general as well as musical instruments provide a creative outlet for many people as well as have a cultural and cross-cultural significance for millenia, it is worth it for humans to extract resources from our new planet in order to ensure that musical notation and instruments continue to be created and played.
Sources:
Budson, Andrew E. “Why Is Music Good for the Brain?” Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health
Publishing, 7 Oct. 2020, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-is-music-good-for-the-brain-2020100721062.
Reuell, Peter. “Music May Transcend Cultural Boundaries to Become Universally Human.”
Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 26 Jan. 2018, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/01/music-may-transcend-cultural-boundaries-to-become-universally-human/.
Library of Congress. “Music History from Primary Sources.” The Library of Congress, 2015,
“How Eco-Friendly Is Your Fave Instrument?” BBC Bring the Noise,
www.bbc.co.uk/teach/bring-the-noise/how-eco-friendly-is-your-fave-instument/zbhbvk7. Accessed 24 Apr. 2023.
Shurkin, Joel. “Exploring the Evolution of Musical Instruments.” Inside Science, 18 Oct. 2012,
Stewart, James. “Timeline: The Benefits of Making Music.” Vermont Public, 29 Apr. 2019,