Cultures around the world since the beginning of time have
appreciated, enjoyed, and incorporated some form of music in
their everyday lives. However, just as one man's trash is
another man's treasure, one man's music can often be another
man's noise, and vice versa. Still, certain universal
aspects of music can serve as a means of communication
between two people who have little else in common.

Some say that the only thing that makes music different from
noise is the culture of those listening to it. There is some
truth in this; you wouldn't expect a typical American
teenager to be found head banging to a CD of tribal African
chanting. Similarly, you'd be surprised to find that African
tribe knowing what to make of a boy band ballad. Of
course, such vastly different cultures may not share
musical preferences, many slightly more similar cultures can
enjoy a real connection as a direct result of shared musical
abilities and experiences.

In an attempt to appeal to newer markets, music artists are
evaluated for their international appeal as international
sales can equal or even surpass the domestic sales figures.
This worldly appeal can be successful in creating a shared
interest and bond between citizens of greatly different
lands: Americans and Chinese, Russians and South Africans.
It is thus not surprising that a typical music promotion
tour includes various international destinations.

Music artists of today and yesterday have been known to help
cross cultural divides in times of conflict and even war.
Their music can bring crowds of people in warring countries
to their feet, tapping their feet to the rhythm. News
broadcasts are frequently carrying stories of disheartened
soldiers abroad smiling again after a visit from familiar
pop music artists.

On the other hand, music is also a frequent bone of
contention between the generations. Why is the music of
different generations more often referred to by its
respective decade (i.e. "the sixties", "the eighties")
rather than by its most popular artists or a particular
genre? Grandparents are rarely found enjoying the same music
as their grandchildren. Much more common, they are often
heard complaining that the other's music is too loud, too
soft, too fast, or too slow. Even music artists with a
wide-ranging appeal, like The Beatles, are not always
appreciated by both extremes of the generation gap. Though
their music stands a much greater chance of acceptance from
fresh ears than rap has from a Frank Sinatra crowd.

Music hence signifies different things to different people
often extending to a deeply personal level. Each
generation~s music represents the aspirations, heartbreaks,
achievements of people living in that specific time period.
And as they carry different viewpoints on many daily social
and political issues they get further divided by varying
taste of music. However, the feeling to be human and alive
to the world around us, and the desire to express life's
experiences through music remains common to all irrespective
of the generation gap - and is capable of crossing the most
guarded country borders. 

Kirby Jones MBA, BSc is the webmaster for Dav Music - probably 
the largest information resource on music related topics. 
Visit his web site and get immediate access to his archive 
of articles here: http://www.davmusic.com/articles/