A smooth tempo that gets our feet tapping, our fingers clicking, our head moving. The steady beat of the drums, the melodic sound of the guitar. Then comes the beautiful voice, voice that sends shivers down our spines, gets our emotion flowing and finally the lyrics that melt our hearts. This is why music has always been in our hearts. The reason why everyone is addicted. It relaxes us, soothes us, and changes our mood. Why do we love music so much? Maybe it’s the instruments, maybe it’s the lyrics or the combination of all.
The definition of music differs from person to person just like their taste in food or clothing. Music has been a way to express oneself but what if the lyrics from a song were to be taken away. Would the song mean anything? Would the song still mesmerize us? Will rest of the song have any value? Music has existed through centuries maybe even before the evolution of humans itself.A person can find harmony while listening to nature, isn’t listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops or the chirping of birds lovely?
The sounds or the music of nature have no lyrics yet we are always keen to listen. Do we need lyrics to enjoy the sound of nature even though it is music to our ears?
The greatest masterpieces that have survived through the centuries composed by people who have remained immortal in our history have no lyrics. The classical masterpieces written by famous composers such as Wolfgang Mozart, Sebastian Bach or Ludwig Van Beethoven have survived and will remain forever. These masterpieces are still listened to and played too. Its not only in the olden days where music did not have any lyrics but even now there are people who prefer to play music without lyrics.
Yanni a self taught pianist from Greece uses only instruments in his songs. He does use voice in his songs but never words. He has millions of listeners and followers. His sales total more than 20 million copies. His live concerts include places like the Taj Mahal in India, the Kremlin in Russia, China’s Forbidden City and many more. Similarly Andrew Bird a singer, song-writer and a multi-instrumentalist uses violin as his main instrument. These two artists have learned how to wow people through their music.
Many of the recent artists that have gained popularity have favored techno or house music over genres that have instruments. These genres are known to be a form of electronic dance music and are famous throughout. Played particularly in clubs and bars these songs can lift our spirits and send us to the dance floor. The songs are played with the help of electronic machines and also computers. These genres have gained popularity in the past few years and don’t have words or lyrics. Not only have they earned their places in clubs but also in the portable music players of the public especially the teens of this generation.
If one were to imagine movies without its background music, how tasteless would the movie be? The popular background music that Darth Vader had in Star Wars had a certain appeal to it. It was why he was so scary and why the audience was always at the edge of their seats.
If music without lyrics were to have no value any solo played in concerts would have no meaning
Be it the legendary Stairway to Heaven, Light My Fire by The Doors or Hotel California by The Eagles.
The song Gangam Style or Gentlemen by the Korean artist Psy, have more than five hundred million views each and not everyone can understand the lyrics yet it has been played millions of times. It is due to the catchy tune and music of the song, and also the video. This applies to any foreign song we listen to, it is always the music we get attracted to not the lyrics.
Music has no definite language, one need not care about the language of a certain song. Just the genre. To conclude, lyrics support music but not the other way round. Lyrics are used to convey the meaning or the general idea of a song but a song is not completely dependent on the lyrics. Lyrics without music can be considered a wonderful poem but music without lyrics can be considered a masterpiece. It’d be fair to say, even music without lyrics possesses great value.