My Music is Sacred, Yours is Noise

By Callum Dunphy

What is it that makes the vast majority of us so inexplicably drawn to music? Furthermore, what is it that makes us so defensive of our musical tastes and so utterly critical of others? Just as in traditional religions, the sacred can only be recognized as an extension of the self and our own attitudes. As we can see the sacred change between not only each religion, denomination, but on an individual basis, we can only see these trends with music. Each nation, subculture (whether racial, socioeconomic, or identity based), and individual has musical tastes that help to define it. The sacred element of music in this respect is the way we use music to define ourselves; but perhaps more important is how we use music to assist in our experience of the divine. One of the most interesting facts regarding how we use music to assist us in our search for transcendence is that music plays a role in almost all religious ceremonies, whether it be a tribal dance to the hypnotic rhythm of a drum, or the miracle of the human harmonies performed by choirs at Sunday Mass. Music is sacred not only in the literal religious sense, but even to those of us who remain secular, allowing us to seek transcendence and assistance in our daily introspection without the use of peyote or communion wafer.