“If I were a sound, I’d probably sound like an old engine — reasonably quiet and a bit spluttery, and make a bit of a noise if someone puts their foot down.”

This was one response to an informal survey asking people to describe what sound best describes them. Another person responded: “If I was a musical instrument, I would be an extremely down-tuned six string guitar — metal and brutal.”

If people were to be described as types of music, then perhaps a calm person would be a gentle melody, a free spirit would be a jazz improvisation. A person could be described as a powerful symphony, or one could even describe people or events as the nuanced komal or teevra notes of classical Indian music, expressing ghambhirta or depth of thought.

Music is composed of sounds. The essence of life lies in movement, which in turn produces sound — the rhythm of a heartbeat, a breeze stirring the leaves, the sound of footsteps or rain. The tone in which words are spoken, and sometimes even silence, conveys as much if not more than the actual words spoken.

Astrophysicists have converted cosmic wavelengths into sound, literally creating the music of the spheres as once proposed by Pythagorus, Plato and Aristotle. Hindu mythology believes the universe was created from a primordial vibration. The Quran describes a trumpet blast by the angel Israfil that will initiate the end of the world.

From ancient flutes and tribal drums to ragas and symphonies, music has shaped human identity, culture, power and spirituality across centuries

Flutes made of animal bones, dating as far back as 60,000 years, are evidence that music and art were as essential as survival for human beings. The flute is found in nearly every culture. The Sufi master Rumi believed the sound produced by the flute to be closest to the human voice. It becomes a symbol for the soul’s longing for reunion with the Divine.

Drums were more an announcement of power, especially in war time. Tribes sent messages over great distances by coded drum beats. String instruments evolved. The ektara, for instance, is still used by folk singers in Pakistan, and it dates back to the fourth century.

Over the centuries, many thousands of musical instruments have been created and exchanged across cultures. The pan pipes of ancient Greece are now associated with South American Andean culture. The sitar is associated with northern Indian culture. But it was created by Ameer Khusro, who merged the Persian seter with the Indian veena. He also created the qawwali from Persian sama, and the tarana using softer Persian-inspired consonants. The fifth century Sassanian ruler Bahrain Gur invited about 1,200 instrumentalists to Persia from India. Persian music, in turn, influenced Arab music.

The harmonium, such a staple of Pakistani music performances, was the invention of a Frenchman and was introduced to India in the 19th century. It was modified into its present form by local musicians. The first performances combining a drum set and guitars was said to be by New Orleans jazz musicians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, it is a universal ensemble for pop musicians across the world.

Music is often seen as mere entertainment. But it is much more than that. Music is a narrative, regardless of whether it has lyrics or not. Folk music is a reflection of a people. Irish ballads carry the history of the Irish, their resistance to loss, and reinforces their cultural identity. Russian music reflects the ‘Russian soul’, with its intense passion, melancholy and a sense of vastness. Blues have the ability to transform pain into beauty, bringing harmony to the dissonance of life.

The complex theories of ragas composed for different times of the day explore the emotional impact of music. Raag Darbari creates melancholy or sadness, and Yaman creates a feeling of joy. Raag literally means “that which colours the mind.”

Music has also been used to endorse political power, such as national anthems or fanfare announcing the arrival of an important person. In the 17th century, the Catholic Church, reasserting its power in response to the challenge of the Reformation, commissioned baroque architecture for churches to echo with awe-inspiring orchestral religious music. New missionary zeal spread Catholicism to colonised territories. The complexity of creating and performing orchestral music mirrors the intricate coordination and discipline to create a harmonious and powerful whole, and the organisational leadership that defined colonial power.

Sufism spread through more intimate music integrated with mystical poetry — from the whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi in Turkiye to the qawwali of the Chishti order in the Subcontinent, or the mystical chants of Gnawa in sub-Saharan Africa.

Whether grand and public or quiet and personal, as Plato said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”

Durriya Kazi is a Karachi-based artist.
She may be reached at
durriyakazi1918@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 31st, 2025