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Socialization -IS- essential to survival, specially when you have large numbers of the same species. All animals have it, in some way or another. Species would die out if they didn't have some mechanism that discouraged eating eachother for example (see piranhas.) With music, not so sure. It's still topic of debate.

Not essentially, no. But the fact that there has never been a society in past or present observed by anthropologists which didn't practice some form of music seems to imply by Darwinistic reasoning that it has some sort of function in aiding in the survival of the species. Certainly not directly in the sense that one needs food and air, but in some other need, perhaps in the cognitive sense. One could argue that socialization is not essential to survival, but evidence seems to suggest that it (and music) is essential to life.

This depends entirely on what you're counting on as "good." Music can cheer someone up, so that's one way it can be a "good thing." But music can also bring someone terrible memories, so in that case it may be to them a "bad thing." ... I don't see what's there to discuss? Obviously saying it's "inherently good" is retarded for the same reason food is "inherently good," nothing like this is black or white.

Good Music is good, Bad Music is bad, if you put pain in one side and placer in the other, music can take you at any point between those.

I am not sure what good and bad is, so by following your guidance I am not able to answer that. I don't think I could answer any of those questions you stated anyway.

Music is essential for survival. It is an invariant across all societies. It is a good thing in the same way breathing, food, and shelter are good things. But then it doesn't mean you can't drown, be poisoned or burglurized.

uh

I prefer bad music.

... Not really, no. I mean people tend to do the whole "art" thing once they aren't, you know, running away from tigers and other things that want to eat them. Plus they don't tend to be very good musicians if they're starving. It's kind of on the bottom list of priorities, since strictly survival certainly doesn't include making noise that gives everyone your position away (yum.)

I had a friend tell me once that music is inherently a good thing. Music is something that everyone should enjoy. I agreed with that second statement, but not the first. He quickly did a double take. Why isn't music a good thing? I answered with a second question: Why isn't language a good thing? Is it a good thing? Simply put, music can be good. It has potential to be. Then again, it can be bad. It has been said throughout history that "The pen is mightier than the sword." And indeed it is. Buddha even said "Words have the power to both destroy and heal." I'm sorry, but making the simple statement "Music is a good thing" is somewhat naive. That's like saying "sharp knives are a good thing." Music is a tool, a weapon, and an art, and like all three, it can be as destructive or as constructive as you want it to be. Well, that's the way I feel. How do all of you feel? How can music be good? How can it be bad? How can we, as composers, use this information to our advantage? And please don't say "There is no good or bad" or anything of the like. Such a debate should be done somewhere else.