Throughout history, music has been used in various events to help sway emotion and bring connection between different cultures and languages. Melvin Chavez, Class of 2026 and member of the Chamber Orchestra at Coronado High School, stated, “Unlike other languages, you don’t need to learn the music; you can feel it without knowing the words, as emotions are put into it.” This truly illustrates that, regardless of background or language, people don’t need to know music to feel it; the rhythm and sound help convey the message and mood of the song.
Additionally, music has also been influential in tearing down communication boundaries in professional settings, such as conducting an Orchestra or being a performer in a country that doesn’t share the native language of the performer. For example, Coronado’s Orchestra teacher, Mrs. West, shared an experience where music helped her communicate with an ESL student: “I’ve seen a student who arrived from another country who wasn’t able to speak English be able to communicate through music with her peers and express herself by playing along with the Orchestra.”
It’s insightful to see that a student from a foreign country can have a voice through music without having to struggle to find a way to translate their mother tongue into the native language of that country.
Next time you decide to listen to a song or melody, take a second to really think of how it makes you feel or how it sways you, regardless of whether it doesn’t have lyrics or if it’s not in your native tongue.
