Gratitude Day 6: Music

I wrote about personal music libraries on Day 2, but I'm just talking about music in general now. I think music is so commonplace and accessible that we often forget what a strange miracle it is. How would you explain music to a completely alien being that had no concept of it, if you were communicating over text and couldn't just play some for them? Would you talk about harmonics? Would you describe the mathematical rules that most music follows? Would you talk about the various cultural movements that had their own music? How would you explain protest music? War songs? National anthems? Religious music? How would you explain the fact that music has the ability to move people to tears, to dancing, to action, to rebellion, or (sadly) even self-destructive behaviors? How would you explain how some songs seem to define a generation, while others become super popular for a period, and then fade away with no real lasting effect? While writing this, I'm watching a video of a worship band…