Music is not only for entertainment but also for communication. Ideas, history, and culture can be expressed through music across centuries. Therefore, music is a heritage and people should work on preserving it and passing it to coming generations. While some musical compositions are attributed to specific nations and are considered to be their heritage, classical music belongs to everyone. Heritage is a property that descends to an heir and social responsibility is the obligation of an entity or an individual to act for the benefit of the society at large. Even if one’s nation does not have its history of music, they have the legacy of classical music, which everyone is responsible for saving.
There is power in music, with which one can entertain or inform other people, and because everyone is affected by its history and presence, one should think of using music for benefiting society as a whole. It means learning about its history and building awareness among those that do not possess enough information. It is everyone’s social responsibility to take part in preservation efforts. Whether or not one likes music, they are a part of the culture we all live in.
It is critical to preserve this heritage because it is bound to the history of our nations. For instance, the history of Central Asian folks is passed down from one generation to another in the form of music (Bunn 566). Unique instruments such as komuz play a significant role in these musical and lyrical compositions (Bunn 570). Losing this musical heritage would mean forgetting about history and culture, and neglecting the skills of playing the instruments. There are negative implications of lacking cultural identities, such as issues with language and the emergence of radicalization (Adams et al. 42). Scientific evidence shows that strong cultural background positively affects children’s health (Adams et al. 48). However, current knowledge is limited, and the exact reasons why culture is strongly linked to the well-being of children are not yet known (Adams et al. 59). Therefore, preserving a musical heritage is important because it is a part of saving societal values. This significance cannot be measured because the borders of music stretch to the beginnings of human life.
For the preservation of national music, nationwide efforts should take place. The global musical heritage, such as the works of Beethoven and Mozart, requires a worldwide endeavor. For both national and global efforts, it is not possible to achieve the objectives without substantial investments in terms of time and money. For instance, some of the potential activities for preservation are building public awareness about musical heritage and promoting the significance of music for saving the culture. The burden of the cost should lie on all citizens equally – national efforts should be funded by the taxpayers’ money. The presence of agencies like the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is necessary because, in contemporary society, many nationalities live side by side. Each of these groups has its own culture, art, and music, and they should be supported by initiatives like NEA. However, NEA should not take all the responsibility – it is important to remember that each citizen has to contribute to the preservation of musical heritage. For instance, learning to play an instrument is also a way to support music forms that do not generate enough income to be self-supporting.
Similar to how music plays a significant role in the lives of many people, it is an important aspect of history and culture. Saving this heritage is the responsibility of all people in the world. One shows this obligation by discussing it with friends and by actively participating in preservation efforts, such as music festivals and culture weeks at schools. There should be efforts to raise public awareness about this significance, and people should try to contribute.
Works Cited
Adams, Mick, et al. “Cultural Identity and Practices Associated with the Health and Well-being of Indigenous Males.” ab-Original: Journal of Indigenous Studies and First Nations and First Peoples’ Cultures, vol. 1, no. 1, 2017, pp. 42-61.
Bunn, Stephanie. “Time as told: Telling the Past in Kyrgyzstan.” History and Anthropology, vol. 29, no. 5, 2018, pp. 563-583.