The Evolution Of Instruments

Hmm, the idea of music. At times I sit and wonder who brought or what brought about the idea of music in the first place. Something that comes from a simple beat and words yet so melodious to the heart and mind when composed nicely.

Am not gonna lie, the traditional music is what our old folks like simply because they have true meaning to it. In the past music was made to give or teach people lessons. These days what music talks about is totally different from what traditional music talks about.

A few years ago I was having a word with my mom and she was comparing the olden-day artist to what we have now and what she said was fascinating. She said in the past before someone was called a musician the person had to know a lot of stuff. The person had to at least know how to play one instrument; this was a criterion for people who were not too good at music. Having a good voice didn’t give you a pass to do music. She said in the past it took more than having a good voice to be a musician.

These days because of technology and the likes of new machines you don’t even need to have a good voice to be a musician. All you need is to have good lyrics; In fact, having good lyrics doesn’t even count. All you need is a stage where your music can be heard and publicised enough. The moment you have the crowd behind you then you are good to go.

Yes, I did agree with a lot of things my mum said but not everything. I first of all don’t think a good artist is one who should know how to play at least one instrument to be called a good artist. First of all, I think what is important is the voice. For someone who knows how to play an instrument, I think it is a plus to their career but shouldn’t be a defining factor.

Old music as I love to call it is very different from new music(modern music). What most modern songs have always been about is women, sex, money and the like. What old music is mostly about are moral values, God and respect for the elderly amongst other things.

Growing up, I’ve been previewed to listen to these types of traditional music, the only problem is that by the time I could understand the lyrics of these traditional songs we were out of my place of birth. My life happened outside my place of birth and it’s only these days that I can place meaning on these traditional songs. At times when you listen to these songs you can’t help but wonder if the artist looked at your life or a situation that you have been through before composing the song.

These songs are filled with life lessons which helped the old folks navigate through life in their youth. Some of these songs have been a guiding light to some of the decisions they have taken as some situations that the artist sings from are similar situations people have passed through and have been able to overcome.

Modern music on the other hand is the complete opposite of what these traditional songs are. I’d be a complete hypocrite if I sit here and say all modern songs are bad, but at least I can say close to 80% of these songs are bad songs which can sway the young from the core values they are supposed to uphold while growing up. Modern songs expose the young to things they shouldn’t even know about before they are of age. At times you see a young boy or girl singing songs about sex so passionately, most of the time they know the lyrics so well but don’t even know what they mean. Is this what we want for the younger generation?

Do we want the younger folks to be listening to this type of stuff? Nope, but that is where we are right now so what can we do about it? The only thing we can do is hope it doesn’t get worse from where we are right now. I like modern music and the types of modern songs I like are kindda different.