Once I over heard someone say "music knows no language." That four word statement may seem simple or it might not make any sense, but it is pretty deep if you really think about it. The English language is used all over the world in a number of different countries, but it is not spoken in every country in the world; music is.
Music has been around for hundreds of years in countries; on every continent. I believe this can be broken down into two parts. One part being pop music or music that has lyrics, the other part being classical and jazz music or other music without words.
Artists who sing and travel all around the world to tour and perform for people. Singers from the United States often do European tours on top of their United States tour. When an artist travels to a different country, they likely do not speak the language of that country. But they don't need to speak the language, they just need to be able to perform their music. It may be in English while the country speaks primarily French, but that doesn't mean those people won't love the music and the overall groove of the music. Number 1 artists on the chart in the United States may often also be number 1 in other countries purely because they are so famous in the U.S. I like to believe it really is because of the power of their music no matter what language the lyrics are in.
The second part is music that has no lyrics. Music without lyrics can be understood and felt by people worldwide. The songs have no lyrics so there is absolutely no language barrier. When someone goes to a classical or jazz performance they are going solely to listen to the music, not to listen to the musicians talk. Often times there is no talking done by the conductor in orchestral concerts. Jazz, on the other hand, does occasionally have lyrics and can be much more interactive. There are also small groups like brass quintets that perform and may talk a lot more than an Orchestra or Jazz Band. I saw Mnozil Brass in concert last year in the United States but they are a group out of Australia. Australia is mostly and English speaking country, but only one musician spoke the whole concert and when he did speak, he spoke Spanish. This was confusing considering they were from Australia and were doing a concert in the United States speaking Spanish. But, there really was no reason to know what he was saying; the reason the audience was there was to hear them play music. That is true proof that music knows no language.
