Colin Oliva

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1103-035
16 October 2015
Not much has changed from my last draft. Most of the comments made by my peers were
on grammatical issues, such as sentences not flowing too well. Im not too sure about what else
needs to be edited/changed/removed, and therefore this hasnt changed much from the first draft.
Can Music Save the World?
Music is one of the most ancient, and one of the most powerful, forms of expression that
humanity has ever experienced. It is also one of the most diverse forms, ranging from more than
a thousand genres in the world to date. Some of these genres are more popular and well known
than others (such as Rock, Rap, and Country) while others are a bit more obscure (such as
Vaporwave, Deep filfthstep and Skweee). Music has always been a great asset to me, such as
being useful for good background noise to write this inquiry proposal to, but I am more than
certain that most, if not all, of my classmates enjoy a certain style of music as well. The idea that
music is a vast and accessible form of entertainment and even an outlet for career opportunities
for some had the gears in my mind churning, eventually leading me to the question I will be
presenting in this inquiry proposal: Can music save the world? I realize that this can be a very
broad question in terms of how I am referring to the term save. What could I mean by this? Is
there some kind of hidden message within every song thats ever been written that can be pieced
together to unlock the secrets to the universe? Or, perhaps, what I mean by save is that music is

the answer to life. I actually refer to neither of these, but instead propose that music could
possibly bring society together in a peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
Music has been around since prehistoric times, dating to a time even before the invention
of instruments. Many historians believe that the first form of music could have been the human
voice as it has the ability to create a vast range of sounds, like humming or whistling. It wouldnt
be long, however, before instruments were created. Bone flutes have been dug up that date to this
prehistoric times, and were soon followed by ones made of wood. Fast forward thousands of
years and we begin seeing musicians, such as the Persian musician Barbod (590-628 AD). Music
then continued to develop and diverge into its different genres. We see an era of composers
somewhere around the medieval period, which continues on into the 18th century, where the
genre of Classical music forms. It wouldnt be until the 20th century where we begin to see a
semblance to the music we listen to today, and where we see the beginning of genre divergence.
While music can diverge into different genres, and people can become divided by their
ideas of what is the best genre out there, music has been used for global good and as a benefit to
society as a whole. Many of us can remember the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti five years
ago. While many perished, and many more lost all that they had, humanity banned together
behind the flag of music. A relief concert known as Hope for Haiti Now was performed, and
brought together many performers onto a globally televised stage. Millions watched the concert
and donated to it, which in turn raised $58 million for the relief effort. Now, it is statistically
likely that these millions of people did not know each other, and came from all walks of life from
all over the world. If there was time to dive into each of these peoples personal lives and get to
know them, it would be more than likely that each had their own ideas of right and wrong, and
quite possibly held some differences that would have put two people at odds against each other.

This relief effort brought together a large portion of the world for a common purpose and in the
end, ended up helping millions more.
Before I began researching to this idea that music has the possibility of saving the world,
I knew just about as much as the next person on the topic of music. I have played guitar for a few
years, and constantly listen to the music on my iPhone day in and day out. However, when
applying that knowledge of music from my personal life to society, I was able to connect with
people who have similar tastes in music. I have made friends over conversations of what our
favorite bands are. Music has been an outlet I have been able to exploit to further myself as a
person, and learn more about the person next to me as a result.
It is my hope that the result of this inquiry sparks an interest in others to begin thinking of
music as a way to connect with others, and come together as a society. Understanding that music
can be a tool of good can do wonders for humanity as a whole. Music can be an enlightening
experience for many, and can possibly be what saves the world.