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What My Musical Instruments Have Taught Me

By Jaron Lanier

“Waves Only Get Real When They Break,” by Colin Farish (piano), Jaron Lanier (guzheng), and Jhaffur Khan (flute).

It started after my mother died. She was a concentration-camp survivor—a prodigy concert pianist in Vienna who was taken when she was only a girl. She taught me the piano by holding her hands over mine, bending my fingers into arches above the keys. When I was just a boy, she died in a car accident. Afterward, I was both boundlessly angry and attached to the piano. I played it with extreme force, sometimes bleeding onto the keys. I still feel her hands when I play. I feel them even more when I’m learning a new instrument.

As I write this, on a laptop in my kitchen, I can see at least a hundred instruments around me. There’s a Baroque guitar; some Colombian gaita flutes; a French musical saw; a shourangiz (a Persian instrument resembling a traditional poet’s lute); an Array mbira (a giant chromatic thumb piano, made in San Diego); a Turkish clarinet; and a Chinese guqin. A reproduction of an ancient Celtic harp sits near some giant penny whistles, a tar frame drum, a Roman sistrum, a long-neck banjo, and some duduks from Armenia. (Duduks are the haunting reed instruments used in movie soundtracks to convey xeno-profundity.) There are many more instruments in other rooms of the house, and I’ve learned to play them all. I’ve become a compulsive explorer of new instruments and the ways they make me feel.

I keep a small oud in the kitchen, and sometimes, between e-mails, I improvise with it. Ouds resemble lutes, which in turn resemble guitars. But where a guitar has a flat back, an oud has a domelike form that presses backward against the belly or chest. This makes playing one a tender experience. You must find just the right way to hold it, constraining your shoulders, moving mainly the smaller muscles below the elbows. Holding an oud is a little like holding a baby. While cradling an infant, I feel pretensions drop away: here is the only future we truly have—a sacred moment. Playing the oud, I am exposed. The instrument is confessional to me.

But that’s not how all players experience their ouds. The most famous oud player of the twentieth century was probably the Syrian-Egyptian superstar Farid al-Atrash, who was both a respected classical musician of the highest order and a pop-culture figure and movie star. (Imagine a cross between Jascha Heifetz and Elvis Presley.) His playing was often crowd-pleasing, extroverted, and muscular. I have an oud similar to one Atrash played; it was created by a member of Syria’s multigenerational Nahat family, whose instruments are often described as the Stradivariuses of the oud world. In the nineteen-forties, my Nahat was savaged by a notorious Brooklyn dealer who tried to claim it as his own by covering the original label and marquetry. Later, an Armenian American luthier tried to remake it as an Armenian instrument, with disastrous results. After I bought the oud out of the attic of a player who had given up on it, two remarkable luthiers restored it, and the oud started to speak in a way that possessed me. Listeners notice—they ask, “What is that thing?”

Nahat ouds can be especially big. My arms have to travel more in order to move up and down the longer neck; the muscles around my shoulders become engaged, as they do when I’m playing the guitar. Moving this way, I become aware of the world beyond the small instrument I’m swaddling; I start to play more for others than for myself. The cello also makes me feel this way. You have to use your shoulders—your whole back—to play a cello. But cellos summon a different set of feelings. Playing one, you’re still bound up in a slightly awkward way, bent around a vibrating entity—not a baby, not a lover, but maybe a large dog.

The khaen, from Laos and northeastern Thailand, is the instrument I play the most in public. It’s a mouth organ—something like a giant harmonica, but with an earthy, ancient tone. Tall bamboo tubes jut both upward and downward from a teak vessel, angling into a spire which seems to emerge, unicorn-like, from the forehead of the performer. I first encountered one as a teen-ager, in the nineteen-seventies, during a time when I was exploring Chinese music clubs in San Francisco. These were frequented mainly by older people, and often situated in the basements of faded apartment buildings. The khaen isn’t Chinese, but I noticed one resting against a wall in a club and asked if I could try it. As soon as I picked up the khaen I became a rhythmic musician, driving a hard beat with double- and triple-tonguing patterns. The old men applauded when I finished. “Take it,” a woman holding an erhu said.

Later, I learned that my instant style was completely unrelated to what goes on in Laos. It emerged, I think, from how the khaen works with one’s breathing. On a harmonica, as on many instruments, the note changes when you switch between inhaling and exhaling—but on a khaen, one can breathe both in and out without changing pitch. Breathing is motion, and so the khaen and its cousins from Asia, such as the Chinese sheng, are liberating to play. I’ve been lucky enough to play khaen with many great musicians—with Jon Batiste and the Stay Human band on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” for instance, and with Ornette Coleman. When I played the khaen with George Clinton and P-Funk, Clinton stood facing me, leaning in until we were just inches apart; he widened his eyes to make the channel between our beings as high-bandwidth as possible, breathing ferociously to transmit the groove he was improvising. It was the most physically demanding performance of my life.

If playing the khaen turns me into an extroverted athlete, then the xiao—which is held vertically, like a clarinet or an oboe—invites me to explore internal dramas. This isn’t just a mind-set but a physical sensation: while playing xiao I feel a rolling movement in the air just behind my upper front teeth, and a second area of resonance in my chest, and I seem to move these reservoirs of air around as I use the instrument. I’m not the only one to have this kind of sensation: singers often say that they experience air in this way, and flute teachers I’ve known have talked about “blue” or “yellow” air flows. I’ve had long conversations with wind players about how we seem to be painting the flow of air inside our bodies. I have to suspend my skepticism when this sort of talk starts—I don’t think we’re really doing what we describe, but I do think we’re describing something real. It’s possible to shape tone by adjusting the mouth, tongue, lips, jaw, throat, and chest. When I find my tone, I even feel the presence of a structure in the air between my lips and the flute—a tumbling, ineffable caterpillar, rolling rapidly on its long axis. The caterpillar collaborates with me, sometimes helping, sometimes pushing back, and by interacting with it I can explore a world of tone.

Did the xiao players of the past perceive invisible caterpillars like mine? Maybe they did. Xiaos have come in many shapes and sizes over the centuries, but, judging by the illustrations that have been preserved, they’ve all been recognizably xiao. On the other hand, there are many ways to play a flute. Perhaps xiao notes used to end in elegant calligraphic rises; maybe the breath was emphasized so that the sound of the flute seemed continuous with nature; or possibly ancient xiao tones were lustrous and technical, with perfect stability. Perhaps the sound that xiao players sought was deceptively transparent but filled with little features, or maybe they were show-offs, playing high, fast, and loud. These descriptions fit contemporary flute-playing styles, and it seems possible that historical styles resembled them—or not.

In recent years, a heightened spirit of experimentation in xiao-building has developed. Most of the experiments have to do with the shape of the blowing edge—the place where one edge of a flute’s tube has been thinned, forming a tiny ridge that’s positioned against the bottom lip to receive the breath. At the blowing edge, the air alternately flows more to the inside or the outside of the flute. This oscillation radiates as sound. Flutists of all cultures are vulnerable to debilitating fascinations with the tiniest design choices in blowing edges and the nearby interiors of their flutes. In Taiwan, a small cult has arisen around the idea of combining an outside cut in the form of a letter “U,” which is typical of some schools of xiao design, with an inside form that’s more like a “V.” Debates about the new cut run rampant in online forums.

After reading some of them, I finally ordered a flute with the new cut. (That I could do this so effortlessly made me feel momentarily better about how the Internet has turned out so far.) When I played my “U”/“V” xiao for the first time, I made the futile blowing sound familiar to beginning flutists. Eventually, though, I managed a few weird, false notes. I was surprised but also delighted. Some of my favorite moments in musical life come when I can’t yet play an instrument. It’s in the fleeting period of playing without skill that you can hear sounds beyond imagination. Eventually, I cajoled the caterpillar and found a tone I love, solid yet translucent. When that happens, the challenge is remembering how to make those fascinating, false notes. One mustn’t lose one’s childhood.

I’m a computer scientist by profession, and I started travelling to Japan at the beginning of the nineteen-eighties, when I was developing the first virtual-reality headsets and searching for business partners and technical components. I was surprised to find few young people there interested in traditional Japanese music. Precious and playable antique instruments like the shakuhachi, a traditional bamboo flute, could be bought at flea markets for less than the price of breakfast—and they were being snapped up not by Japanese students but by young Westerners who worshipped the remaining teachers. Meanwhile, interest in European classical music, which was declining in the West, was growing in Japan. I met many Japanese musicians who found Mozart as appealing as the Beatles , and who played violin and piano along with rock and roll. In Western countries, the social institutions that kept classical music alive—conservatories, instrument builders, teachers, contests—were being sustained by an influx of stunning musicians from Asia. A kind of cultural trade was taking place.

My experiences studying music in Japan were often astonishing. I chased down a teacher who claimed to be the holder of an ancient Buddhist shakuhachi tradition that had been suppressed by the mainstream musical world; his lessons were fused with a tea ceremony. I met another teacher who would only accept a student who could walk into the forest and choose a stalk of bamboo that, when it was cut down, would turn out to be in tune as a flute. (He gave me only one chance to get it right, and I failed.) In one of the main shakuhachi “lodges” in Tokyo, I came across a culture of male-dominated locker-room talk, in which some styles of playing were approved as sufficiently macho while others were denigrated as “gay.” Much of what I encountered startled me—it didn’t reflect what I’d read in books back in America about the shakuhachi.

Music operates on a plane separate from literature, and a lot of information about it isn’t written down. Most of the world’s compositions were never notated, and what was written down is often minimal; although scores do exist for very old Chinese music—some of the oldest are for the noble guqin, a kind of zither—they amount to mnemonic devices, lists of strokes and playing positions. The earliest European scores are similar, with lists of notes. What we now call “early music” is largely a modern stylistic invention. I tend to learn the rudiments of my instruments and then develop my own style; I’m an eternal amateur. But I console myself by noting that there are very few musical conservatories structured enough to preserve musical styles over long periods of time. We can study how Bach’s music might have sounded, or how the shakuhachi was actually played, but we can never really know. What would it have sounded like to be at court in ancient Egypt, Persia, India, China, Greece, Mesopotamia? The truth has been lost to time.

The exquisite skills involved in making instruments can seem to hover just beyond the edge of scientific understanding, and can easily be lost when war, plague, and famine break the chains linking masters and apprentices. And yet the traditions of a lost musical culture can sometimes be revived. Modern instrument makers can copy preserved examples of old instruments, or even work from illustrations. In the case of the xiao, much was lost through the centuries, and then again in the Cultural Revolution —but xiaos are small and easy to hide. Some musicians are said to have buried them in secret locations, in hopes of escaping Mao Zedong ’s attempts to engineer culture from scratch. This complex history means that, today, there are contrasting contemporary approaches to playing the xiao. Some players see learning and performing with the instrument as a spiritual quest to reconnect with the past; others play what sounds to me like a Hollywood composer’s idea of Chinese music from the early twentieth century—a musical genre that’s aged surprisingly well. There’s no verifiably authentic way to play such an ancient instrument.

As a technologist, my work has often focussed on the creation of interactive devices, such as head-mounted displays and haptic gloves. It’s sobering for me to compare the instruments I’ve played with the devices that Silicon Valley has made. I’ve never had an experience with any digital device that comes at all close to those I’ve had with even mediocre acoustic musical instruments. What’s the use of ushering in a new era dominated by digital technology if the objects that that era creates are inferior to pre-digital ones?

For decades, researchers have been attempting to model acoustic instruments with software. Simulated saxophones and violins can sound impressive but only within an artificially constrained frame. Listen to one note at a time and the synthetic instruments sound good. Connect the notes together and the illusion fails. This may be because the experience of interacting creatively with such models is sterile, vacant, and ridiculous. One is usually clicking on little dots on a screen, or pushing buttons, or—in the very best case—adjusting variables with physical knobs and sliders. From a commercial point of view, this doesn’t make simulated instruments useless; embedded in the mix, splashed with reverb and other effects, they sound just fine. But physical instruments channel the unrepeatable process of interaction, a quality lost with modern production technology.

Human senses have evolved to the point that we can occasionally react to the universe down to the quantum limit; our retinas can register single photons, and our ability to sense something teased between fingertips is profound. But that is not what makes instruments different from digital-music models. It isn’t a contest about numbers. The deeper difference is that computer models are made of abstractions—letters, pixels, files—while acoustic instruments are made of material. The wood in an oud or a violin reflects an old forest, the bodies who played it, and many other things, but in an intrinsic, organic way, transcending abstractions. Physicality got a bad rap in the past. It used to be that the physical was contrasted with the spiritual. But now that we have information technologies, we can see that materiality is mystical. A digital object can be described, while an acoustic one always remains a step beyond us.

Today, tech companies promise to create algorithms that can analyze old music to create new music. But music is ambiguous: is it mostly a product to be produced and enjoyed, or is the creation of it the most important thing? If it’s the former, then being able to automate the production of music is at least a coherent idea, whether or not it is a good one. But, if it’s the latter, then pulling music creation away from people undermines the whole point. I often work with students who want to build algorithms that make music. I ask them, Do you mean you want to design algorithms that are like instruments, and which people can use to make new music, or do you just want an A.I. to make music for you? For those students who want to have optimal music made for them, I have to ask, Would you want robots to have sex for you so you don’t have to? I mean, what is life for?

Much of the music we enjoy today makes use of audio loops, by means of which a note can be repeated with absolute precision. Because of my work with computers, I had early access to looping tools, and I was able to play around with loops earlier than most musicians. At first, the techniques didn’t speak to me; music is about change, I thought, while loops are about artificially preventing change. When so-called minimalist composers— Philip Glass , Terry Riley—ask musicians to play the same phrases repeatedly, what emerges from this technique isn’t repetition but an exquisite awareness of change: using a traditional, physical instrument, each repetition reflects your breath, your pulse, the weather, the audience, the light, bringing subtlety into consciousness. My understanding of loops shifted when hip-hop appeared. Here was a genre that was often angry, often a protest—the use of loops could evoke the strictures a rapper raged against. Some musicians now make their loops a little blurry, as if to suggest impermanence. For many people, of course, loops have become so commonplace that it’s hard to perceive them as a contrast to anything else.

In my own musical life, I prize the edge of chaos; that which cannot be repeated. I usually don’t record myself when I play alone; I don’t want to trick myself into a false mentality that lives outside of time, as if we weren’t time’s prisoners. I want to send music out into the universe, not into a computer’s memory. As crazy as it is to learn to play a multitude of instruments, my madness is the opposite of the loop. I’m often asked if I’ve learned all these instruments in order to make a sample library, or if I’d be willing to have someone come to the house to make such a library. Though I offer positivity from afar to musicians who like samples, I am travelling in a different direction.

If you work with virtual reality, you end up wondering what reality is in the first place. Over the years, I’ve toyed with one possible definition of reality: it’s the thing that can’t be perfectly simulated, because it can’t be measured to completion. Digital information can be perfectly measured, because that is its very definition. This makes it unreal. But reality is irrepressible.

I sometimes dwell on these ideas when I play the piano. A piano is essentially a row of keys, plus some pedals. Once a key has been depressed, a mechanism sends a felt hammer flying toward a string, which is not in direct contact with the key. In theory, this means that a piano played without the damping pedal ought to be abstract, like an electronic keyboard. The only information the hammer seems to convey from a key to a string is a single number—velocity. That’s also how much information a key press communicates in an electronic keyboard. And yet the experience of playing an acoustic piano, and of listening to one, is that more is being conveyed. When pianists trade off on the same instrument, they perform with individual touches and sounds. Pianos are somewhat abstract devices that have transcended abstraction.

My fondest hope for computing is that digital devices will become as much like pianos as possible. But the subtlest qualities of analog instruments are hard to study, in part because the controls necessary to make studies rigorous risk obscuring important elements of musical experience. There have been many studies comparing old and new violins, for instance, or flutes made of different metals, in which a player is hidden behind a screen and listeners are asked to identify which instrument is being played. The problem with this approach is that the difference between a good instrument and a great one could inhere in the player’s experience, rather than in the external sound. If an instrument inspires a musician, then the music will be more meaningful, even if listeners can’t distinguish the sound of one instrument from another. Music is an interior art before it becomes exterior.

For me, the piano has an interior aspect. The piano is one of the few instruments that’s bigger than you. Playing it, you are the baby: strike as much as you like, it remains the same. After my mother died, I became obsessed with fast arpeggios, and I zoomed between the extremes of the keyboard; I was also drawn toward the American-Mexican composer Conlon Nancarrow, who wrote superhuman piano music for player pianos, using hand-punched player-piano rolls. When I was a teen-ager, I often hitchhiked from New Mexico to visit him in Mexico City. I was determined to play as fast as the pianos automated by Conlon; his machines, in their unreality, were a flight from human frailty and trauma. I emulated them by challenging them in my own piano playing. In my fury, the piano became a chunk of reality to obliterate, though quixotically. You can caress a piano or attack it, be loud or soft, become proficient or not, make as much beauty as you can or flail in chaos—the instrument will most likely endure beyond you.

Decades have passed since that time. Today, I love to have musicians over to my house, where we can combine different instruments to see what happens. The joy that transpires when things go well is multilayered. There is the pleasure of connection with other people, and there is also the happiness of finding a new little corner of aesthetic interiority together. Music can conjure a new flow, a new pattern, a new flavor, between and inside people. And playing sufficiently obscure instruments forces a different approach to music. How can you be competitive about raw skill, or get into some other macho trap, when the task at hand is so esoteric? Who is to judge the winner in a contest that must invent itself over and over? When music made collaboratively with other musicians goes right, I feel a budding, rising warmth and comfort. Is this my mother smiling on me? Or maybe it’s me, smiling on her. ♦

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Guide on How to Write a Music Essay: Topics and Examples

Let's Understand What is Music Essay

You know how some school assignments are fun to write by default, right? When students see them on the course syllabus, they feel less like a burden and more like a guaranteed pleasure. They are about our interests and hobbies and therefore feel innate and intuitive to write. They are easy to navigate, and interesting topic ideas just pop into your head without much trouble.

Music essays belong to the category of fun essay writing. What is music essay? Anything from in-depth analysis to personal thoughts put into words and then to paper can fall into a music essay category. An essay about music can cover a wide range of topics, including music history, theory, social impact, significance, and musical review. It can be an analytical essay about any music genre, musical instruments, or today's music industry.

Don't get us wrong, you will still need to do extensive research to connect your opinions to a broader context, and you can't step out of academic writing standards, but the essay writing process will be fun.

In this article, our custom essay writing service is going to guide you through every step of writing an excellent music essay. You can draw inspiration from the list of music essay topics that our team prepared, and later on, you will learn what an outstanding essay on music is by an example of a music review essay.

What are Some Music Topics to Write About

There are so many exciting music topics to write about. We would have trouble choosing one. You can write about various music genres, be it country music or classical music; you can research music therapy or how music production happens.

Okay, forgive us for getting carried away; music makes us enthusiastic. Below you will find a list of various music essay topics prepared from our thesis writing service . Choose one and write a memorable essay about everyone's favorite art form.

Music Argumentative Essay Topics

Music essays can be written about an infinite number of themes. You can even write about performance or media comparison.

Here is a list of music argumentative essay topics. These edge-cutting topics will challenge your readers and get you an easy A+.

• Exploring the evolution of modern music styles of the 21st century
• Is it ethical to own and play rare musical instruments?
• Is music therapy an effective mental health treatment?
• Exploring the Intersection of Technology and Creativity in electronic music
• The Relevance of traditional music theory in modern music production
• The Role of musical pieces in the Transmission of cultural identity
• The value of historical analysis in understanding the significance of music in society
• How does exposing listeners to different genres of music break down barriers
• Exploring the cognitive effects of music on human brain development
• The therapeutic potential of music in treating mental disorders

Why is Music Important Essay Topics

Do you know which essay thrills our team the most? The importance of music in life essay. We put our minds together and came up with a list of topics about why music is so central to human life. Start writing why is music important essay, and we guarantee you that you will be surprised by how much fun you had crafting it.  

• Popular Music and its Role in shaping cultural trends
• Music as a metaphorical language for expressing emotions and thoughts
• How music changes and influences social and political movements
• How the music of different countries translates their history to outsiders
• The innate connection between music and human beings
• How music helps us understand feelings we have never experienced
• Does music affect our everyday life and the way we think?
• Examining the cross-cultural significance of music in society
• How rock music influenced 70's political ideologies
• How rap music closes gaps between different racial groups in the US

Consider delegating your ' write my essay ' request to our expert writers for crafting a perfect paper on any music topic!

Why I Love Music Essay Topics

We want to know what is music to you, and the best way to tell us is to write a why I love music essay. Below you will find a list of music essay topics that will help you express your love for music.

• I love how certain songs and artists evoke Memories and Emotions
• I love the diversity of music genres and how different styles enrich my love for music
• I love how music connects me with people of different backgrounds
• How the music of Linkin Park helped me through life's toughest challenges
• What does my love for popular music say about me?
• How the unique sounds of string instruments fuel my love for music
• How music provides a temporary Release from the stresses of daily life
• How music motivates me to chase my dreams
• How the raw energy of rock music gets me through my daily life
• Why my favorite song is more than just music to me

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Music Therapy Essay Topics

One of the most interesting topics about music for an essay is music therapy. We are sure you have heard all the stories of how music cures not only mental but also physical pains. Below you can find a list of topics that will help you craft a compelling music therapy essay. And don't forget that you can always rely on our assistance for fulfilling your ' write my paper ' requests!

• The effectiveness of music therapy in reducing stress and pain for cancer patients
• Does pop music have the same effects on music therapy as classical music?
• Exploring the benefits of music therapy with other genres beyond classical music
• The potential of music therapy in aiding substance abuse treatment and recovery
• The Role of music therapy in Addressing PTSD and Trauma in military veterans
• The impact of music therapy on enhancing social interaction and emotional expression in individuals with developmental disabilities
• The use of music therapy in managing chronic pain
• Does musical therapy help depression?
• Does music reduce anxiety levels?
• Is music therapy better than traditional medicine?

History of Music Essay Topics

If you love analytical essays and prefer to see the bigger picture, you can always write a music description essay. Below you can find some of the most interesting topics for the history of music essay.

• The Significance of natural instruments in music production and performance
• Tracing the historical development of Western music theory
• How electronic music traces its roots back to classical music
• How the music industry evolved from sheet music to streaming services
• How modern producers relate to classical composers
• The Origins and Influence of Jazz Music
• How folk music saved the Stories of unnamed heroes
• Do we know what the music of ancient civilizations sounded like?
• Where does your favorite bandstand in the line of music evolve?
• The Influence of African American Music on modern pop culture

Benefits of Music Essay Topics

If you are someone who wonders what are some of the values that music brings to our daily life, you should write the benefits of music essay. The music essay titles below can inspire you to write a captivating essay:

• How music can be used to promote cultural awareness and understanding
• The benefits of music education in promoting creativity and innovation
• The social benefits of participating in music groups
• The Impact of Music on Memory and Learning
• The cognitive benefits of music education in early childhood development
• The effects of music on mood and behavior
• How learning to play an instrument improves cognitive functions.
• How music connects people distanced by thousands of miles
• The benefits of listening to music while exercising
• How music can express the feelings words fail to do so 

Music Analysis Essay Example

Reading other people's papers is a great way to scale yours. There are many music essay examples, but the one crafted by our expert writers stands out in every possible way. You can learn what a great thesis statement looks like, how to write an engaging introduction, and what comprehensive body paragraphs should look like. 

Click on the sample below to see the music analysis essay example. 

How to Write a Music Essay with Steps

Writing music essays is definitely not rocket science, so don't be afraid. It's just like writing any other paper, and a music essay outline looks like any other essay structure.

• Start by choosing a music essay topic. You can use our list above to get inspired. Choose a topic about music that feels more relevant and less researched so you can add brand-new insights. As we discussed, your music essay can be just about anything; it can be a concert report or an analytical paper about the evolution of music.
• Continue by researching the topic. Gather all the relevant materials and information for your essay on music and start taking notes. You can use these notes as building blocks for the paper. Be prepared; even for short essays, you may need to read books and long articles.
• Once you have all the necessary information, the ideas in your head will start to take shape. The next step is to develop a thesis statement out of all the ideas you have in your head. A thesis statement is a must as it informs readers what the entire music essay is about. Don't be afraid to be bold in your statement; new outlooks are always appreciated.
• Next, you'll need a music essay introduction. Here you introduce the readers to the context and background information about the research topic. It should be clear, brief, and engaging. You should set the tone of your essay from the very beginning. Don't forget the introduction is where the thesis statement goes.
• One of the most important parts of essay writing is crafting a central body paragraph about music. This is where you elaborate on your thesis, make main points, and support them with the evidence you gathered beforehand. Remember, your music essay should be well structured and depict a clear picture of your ideas.
• Next, you will need to come up with an ideal closing paragraph. Here you will need to once again revisit the main points in your music essay, restate them in a logical manner and give the readers your final thoughts.
• Don't forget to proofread your college essay. Whether you write a long or short essay on music, there will be grammatical and factual errors. Revise and look through your writing with a critical mind. You may find that some parts need rewriting.

Key Takeaways

Music essays are a pleasure to write and read. There are so many topics and themes to choose from, and if you follow our How to Write a Music Essay guide, you are guaranteed to craft a top-notch essay every time.

Be bold when selecting a subject even when unsure what is research essay topic on music, take the writing process easy, follow the academic standards, and you are good to go. Use our music essay sample to challenge yourself and write a professional paper. 

If you feel stuck and have no time our team of expert writers is always ready to give you help from all subject ( medical school personal statement school help ). Visit our website, submit your ' write my research paper ' request and a guaranteed A+ essay will be on your way in just one click.

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FAQs on Writing a Music Essay

Though music essay writing is not the hardest job on the planet, there are still some questions that often pop up. Now that you have a writing guide and a list of essay topics about music, it's time to address the remaining inquiries. Keep reading to find the answers to the frequently asked questions. 

Should Artists' Music be Used in Advertising?

What type of music is best for writing an essay, why do people love music, related articles.

• Practice Test
• Useful Tips – Tricks
• Full Writing Review
• General Writing Task
• Writing Task 1
• Writing Task 2
• Writing Exercises
• Writing Sample – Topics
• Writing Vocabulary
• Speaking Vocabulary
• Intro Question
• Speaking Part 1
• Speaking Part 2
• Speaking Part 2 – Audio
• Speaking Part 3
• IELTS Books
• Recent Exams
• IELTS Vocabulary
• Essay from Examiners
• IELTS Ideas

IELTS Writing Task 2: Musical Instruments

Some educators believe that every child should be taught how to play a musical instrument.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Many teachers feel that learning to play a musical instrument is an indispensable part of a student’s education. In my opinion, there are socioeconomic concerns with this tenet but it is still advisable overall.

Detractors can easily argue not every child has access to the supportive environment required to learn an instrument. Firstly, a family might not have enough money if a child wants to learn piano or buy a quality guitar. There are also related expenses that include the fees for private lessons and other equipment. Added to this, they will need their parents to have enough time to drive them to and from rehearsals and recitals. At home, the entire family will have to listen to them practice and this could be contentious if there are a lot of people living in one home or a child shares their room with siblings or relatives. All these factors affect underprivileged children and place them at a decided disadvantage.

Nonetheless, the above issues can be mitigated with more funding for schools and the developmental benefits of music outweigh all other concerns. Research has shown that in early development, physical changes take place in the brains of both children and adolescents. Some of these relate to music and children who take up an instrument, even if they quit later, have demonstrated improved cognitive flexibility and creativity in longitudinal studies across a variety of cultural backgrounds. Apart from the scientific grounding, it also common sense that children will feel more fulfilled and derive a lot of joy from playing music. This can provide a boost to not only academics but also their long-term mental well-being.

In conclusion, though policymakers will have to account for accessibility issues, learning an instrument is key for neurodevelopment. Schools, parents, and teachers should work together to ensure the best chances of success.

VOCABULARY

• indispensable  crucial
• socioeconomic concerns  questions about class
• tenet  principle
• advisable overall  in general good
• detractors  critics
• easily argue  point out effortlessly
• access to  can get to
• supportive environment required  good family support
• firstly  first of all
• quality guitar  good guitar
• related expenses  other money that must be spent
• private lessons  one on one lessons
• other equipment  other musical items
• added to this  moreover
• rehearsals  practicing
• recitals  a mini-concert
• entire family  whole family
• contentious  controversial
• shares their room with  live in the same room
• factors  elements
• underprivileged children  poor kids
• place them at a decided disadvantage  definitely worse off
• nonetheless  regardless
• mitigated  somewhat countered by
• funding  money for
• developmental benefits  positive impact on how they grow up
• outweigh all other concerns  more important
• in early development  as kids
• take place  happen
• adolescents  teenagers
• relate to  have to do with
• take up  start
• demonstrated improved cognitive flexibility  smarter
• longitudinal studies  research over many years
• cultural backgrounds  where someone comes from
• apart from  besides
• scientific grounding  research basis
• feel more fulfilled  feel satisfied
• derive  get from
• provide a boost  increase
• not only  …  but also  also includes
• long-term mental well-being  mental health
• policymakers  politicians
• account for accessibility issues  think about providing it for all
• key  important
• neurodevelopment  brain development
• work together  collaborate
• ensure  make sure
• best chances of success  will likely work out
• writing task 2

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IELTS Speaking: Musical Instruments Questions and Answers

It is possible to be asked about musical instruments in all parts of the IELTS speaking test. Below are some questions which mostly appear in part 1 but questions 4 to 5 can appear in part 1 and part 3. Two model answers are given below as well. This is topic currently being used in 2017.

You can vocabulary for types of musical instruments here: Musical Instruments Word List

Questions: IELTS Speaking Musical Instruments Topics

Check some possible questions for this topic:

• Did you ever learn a musical instrument as a child?
• If you could learn a musical instrument, what would you choose?
• If you had a child, what musical instrument would you encourage him/her to play?
• What traditional instruments are there in your country?
• Do you think traditional musical instruments have a place in modern society?
• How do you think traditional music could be made more popular?

Sample Answers for Part 1

Q. Did you ever learn a musical instrument as a child?

A. No, I didn’t but I always wish I had. If I had had the chance, I would have learned the guitar. The problem was that my parents thought it was more important to focus on school work than learn to play an instrument.

Q. If you could learn to play any musical instrument, what would you choose?

A. I think I’d probably go for the violin. It’s such a beautiful stringed instrument and I think the music that can be played on it, can be really haunting and moving. Yes, I’d definitely choose that one.

Sample Answer for Part 3

Do you think traditional instruments have a place in modern society?

Absolutely yes. Traditional instruments are part of our heritage and our identity. I believe that all school children should have the opportunity to learn to play one of them a part of their music lessons. For example, the tabla, which is like a pair of wooden hand drums, is a traditional instrument in our country and is part of most traditional songs. So, learning it would enable children to appreciate their country’s musical history more.

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Hello Liz, How are you doing? Could you guide me? Since this Covid pandemic, my IELTS preparation classes have been discontinued. So I refer to online sites like yours for my preparation. My exam was scheduled on 10th August after constant postponement. It was sudden and I was not confident with my speaking part. During my speaking test, I performed badly in part 2. I was not able to talk for 2 minutes. I stuttered and talked gibberish. I got nervous. Fortunately part 1 and 3 was good for me. The LRW modules were great as I did well. But I am afraid I might score less than 6.5 in speaking. What do you think?

I think you should relax. Why would talking gibberish affect your score in a big way anyway? IELTS speaking is an informal test, your aim is to chat, not to produce high level ideas. In fact, the ideas you relate and your task response is not even marked in IELTS Speaking. Coherence is part of the scoring, but your concept of “talking gibberish” might have been reasonably coherent with some good examples of language. For example “talk gibberish” is an extremely high band score expression. You might be judging yourself too harshly. So, my advice to you is relax, don’t worry and wait for your results. We cannot predict your score anyway without analysing the whole test. I will keep my fingers crossed that your results are better than you expect. Let me know when they arrive 🙂

Thank you soo much Liz. It means a lot to me. Your website + your teachings have been instrumental in preparing for IELTS. I will post the questions asked to me in writing task in the same thread to help future aspirants.

Liz, Liz, the awesome Liz. As predicted by you, my scores were better than I worried for. Your advice were helpful. Scored 7.5 in Speaking. Listening -9 Reading – 8.5 Writing – 8.5 Thank you soo much again. As always you are the best. Love from India

Brilliant news!! Very well done 🙂

Hi mam thanks I saw ur few Vedios it’s realy useful nd it’s good for learner as well

Hi, Im Raji…Preparing for my ielts exam. I would like to thank u for ur lessons and videos which is really helpful in my preparation part. Thank you so much….

You’re welcome 🙂

Hello ma’am … I want one speaking interview with you to check out my proficiency in English…please …

Sorry, I don’t offer any private lessons at present. All the best Liz

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I Took Google's Instrument Playground for a Spin, Here's How It Works

Does this mean we don't need to learn instruments to play them anymore?

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What is google's instrument playground, generating instrument clips with google's instrument playground, modifying my sample generation with google's instrument playground, downloading and making a song with the google instrument playground sample, key takeaways.

• Google's Instrument Playground lets you generate unique audio samples of various instruments with AI.
• The tool provides a hands-on experience allowing users to play with snippets and create music.
• While not perfect, the samples have depth and charm, offering a fun and accessible way to explore music creation.

Ever dreamed of playing the sitar, a cello, or a funky electric guitar but lack the instrument or the skill? Google's Instrument Playground puts a world of musical sounds at your fingertips. This AI-powered tool lets you type in an instrument, add a mood, and generate unique samples to play with and build upon.

Google’s Instrument Playground is a web-based tool that lets you type in the name of an instrument and an optional descriptive word. Then, you hit a button, and the tool conjures a unique 20-second audio sample based on your request. Where most AI music tools like Suno AI generate songs from a prompt , Google's tool provides a more hands-on experience by letting you play the instrument yourself.

The engine behind Instrument Playground is Google's MusicLM . Unlike a simple soundboard, MusicLM understands the nuances woven into different instruments and how musical styles interact. This understanding allows it to generate unique audio snippets that, while not perfect replicas, convincingly capture the essence of your chosen instrument and any descriptive flair you might add.

Think of it like a chef trained by tasting countless dishes. They wouldn't simply copy an existing recipe, but could create a new one with the same flavors and spirit as the inspiration.

I took the tool for a spin, and attempted to create a demo song using the sounds it gave me. Here's what I think of Google's Instrument Playground.

Naturally, I started with the familiar—guitar, piano, and even a dash of Chinese Guqin. I was pleasantly surprised. The samples weren't mere MIDI imitations; they had a richness and depth that felt surprisingly close to the real deal.

But this is AI we're talking about, so there were quirks. Most results weren't purely solo instruments; a sprinkle of percussion often snuck its way in. For absolute sonic purity, this might be a limitation and make it difficult to simulate a complete instrument. But as someone just playing around, it honestly added to the charm.

Google's instrument database isn't without its gaps. My request for a Persian Setar was politely rebuffed, and the Oud it did provide sounded, well, not very Oud-like. Still, for a free, AI-powered experiment, I could hardly complain.

The real fun of Instrument Playground lies in what you do after you get your initial sample. Each snippet comes with three playback modes: Beat, Pitch, and Ambient. Beat mode lets you trigger different portions of the sample like a drum machine, Pitch mode lets you stretch and reshape the original melody, and Ambient mode builds atmosphere by rapidly playing segments for a dreamy, textured effect.

My most rewarding moment came when I typed in solo Santoor . That hammered dulcimer sound somehow reminded me of the Sleeping Dogs theme and triggered a wave of inspiration. I was already launching Ableton to put some drums on the sample.

Now, I am far from a producer. Most of my attempts at music-making end up as short, experimental bits. If I wanted to play this with a VST instrument, I’d be clueless. But Google’s Instrument Playground had already provided me with the primary component of what I was looking to make.

If you’re already versed in sampling audio clips , you might want to download the full clip from Instrument Playground and then sample it in your favorite digital audio workstation (DAW) .

Although that sounds like a wise course of action, there’s one minor hiccup: you can't directly download those initial instrument samples from the Instrument Playground. In fact, the only time you can listen to the full clip is through the tour the website gives you when you’re using it first. But, you can download your recordings.

So, if you record the whole clip, you can easily download it. Start by setting the playback mode to Pitch . Drag the first segment to the start of the clip and stretch it to cover the entire clip's length. Then, hit the Record button and play the first key on the virtual keyboard. Once you're finished recording, stop the recording and download the modified clip.

Google's Instrument Playground features a simple sequencer that allows you to set notes like a piano roll and adjust the tempo to play them. Additionally, you can add up to four other instruments and play them together in the sequencer.

In my case, I didn't use the sequencer. Luckily, Google's Instrument Playground supports MIDI, and my MIDI keyboard was already connected. I switched to Beat mode, adjusted the segments, and recorded a clip which resulted in the output below:

Armed with my Santoor clip, I launched Ableton Live and imported the audio. A quick drum pattern, some basic automations , and before I knew it, I had an actual piece taking shape.

Below is what an amateur came up with in fifteen minutes using the Instrument Playground sample. Will it win any awards? Absolutely not. Does it sound like the fever dream of a very amateur producer? Definitely. But here's the thing: it was my fever dream, brought to life in a way that felt accessible and, most importantly, fun.

In addition, musicians can easily identify AI-generated music by ear. Given how Google's Instrument Playground doesn't make the song and only provides you with the sample, your track is exempt from being dismissed as AI-generated. It might still be dubbed amateur though.

Google's Instrument Playground isn't a replacement for real instruments, nor will it transform you into a musical genius overnight. What it does offer is a remarkably welcoming space for musical exploration. Seasoned musicians might find intriguing sonic textures to weave into their work, while those of us who normally just hum along to the radio can suddenly hear the music lurking within us. And that, in my book, is a powerful kind of AI magic.