Music and Group Unity

A while ago, Catrina wrote this post about how music plays a big role in religion and in connecting people. I agree, but in symphonic band rehearsal this morning I noticed it especially much. After our discussion yesterday about Quaker meetings and how they build group unity, I realized how much group unity is produced in music ensembles as well. This morning, I felt like I connected to the band music in a way I'd never quite achieved before. Our director, Mr. Mast, is always talking about how important it is to use your emotions to make music and I've done that to a certain extent before, but what I felt today was even more than that. Instead of only feeling "emotional" during the climactic sections of the music, I felt it the whole time. Inside my head I was singing along with the other instruments during my rests, and I felt very connected to the ensemble as a whole. I was really glad to have so many other people each doing their part to produce such wonderful music. We were all helping with our individual parts while also building off each others' parts and working together dynamically, following each other as we got louder and softer. It reminded me of our discussion of the Quakers, who tend to connect their statements to ideas in what people said earlier in the meeting, forming a narrative. In band, we form a song instead of a narrative, but it's the same priniciple. While the notes are already written out, it's our job to add the music with dynamics, articulation, etc. And we do imitate the people who play before us.

I think the teamwork involved in making music is one of the most powerful aspects of it, because--at least in my experience--there's something really special about being in a big group of people with one common goal. I've felt similarly in various ensembles, both secular and religious. Maybe the coolest thing about it is the fact that so many people can be united about their goal. I've played in bands with 500 people all playing the same music and working with one another. I've also sung worship songs with 24,000 people in one stadium, all focused on the same goal (God). In both of these cases, there's a very real group unity even when I don't know the vast majority of the people I'm making music with.

So what does this mean? I'm not really sure, but here are a few possibilities. Humans are naturally group-oriented and therefore feel good when they're in groups. This would explain why so many religions include community as a core element. Or, it might just be that music unites people (like Catrina said). However, this could be because it allows people to find something that they all share so that they have a common goal and can therefore feel united. We all have emotions, and if music produces emotions, then it's something that can be that common ground. So it could be both that humans like groups and that humans like music. That's true for me, at least. :-)