Music Without Borders

First, I categorized the 27 Golden Record tracks by continent. The Golden Record’s tracks represent five continents, but not in proportion to their 1970s populations. Asia, with 56% of the world’s people, had only four tracks, while Europe, with 18%, had ten. It shows an imbalance between cultural representation and population size.

In my opinion, making a list of famous songs/sounds and sending them into space to show Earth’s cultures and languages is a great idea. Many of the songs came from famous composers from the last few centuries. That makes sense, but we should also remember that there were other artists in places like India and China who were just as talented. Some of them didn’t become famous in west countries because they didn’t have access to universal distributing media like radio, television, or the internet. In these countries, the artists are loved by millions or even billions of people. So, if the songs had been chosen based on population and cultural diversity, it would have been fairer. This way, more people around the world could feel connected to this project that represents Earth in space.

So, I decided to select ten pieces according to the largest cultural groupings in the world. This list reflects the five major cultural families: four pieces from Asia, two from Africa, two from Europe, one from the Americas, and one from Oceania. In this selection, not only were the most populous cultures represented (Asia and Africa), but also those with enduring musical heritage (Europe and the Americas). Oceania, despite its very small population, was also included due to the distinctiveness and authenticity of its cultural traditions.

When I chose my 10 favorite songs, I only looked at the 27 tracks we had. There might be other songs in the world that are even better. I picked the songs that sounded the nicest to me. Some of them were in languages I didn’t understand, but I still liked how they sounded.

My Top 10 Selections

For each song, I tried to write one reason why I chose it.

Asia

• China – Flowing Streams: express the appreciation for the magnificence of nature..
• India – Jaat Kahan Ho:A golden voice calls across the sky with love and spirit. This sound is magic, expressing feelings of the human heart in a very different way.
• Japan – Shakuhachi:A beautiful song and wonderful instrument, producing a floating slice of life on earth. It represents humanity.
• Azerbaijan – Ugam:Mugam of Azerbaijan is considered the mother music of “Persian Dastgah”, “Raga of India”, and “Arabic Mugham”.

Africa

• Senegal – Percussion:The drums beat strong: the heartbeat of the earth itself.
• Zaire – Pygmy girls:Bright voices rise together like sunshine.

Europe

• Germany – Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 (Cavatina):the absolute greatest string quartet ever composed. The melody speaks both sorrow and hope in every note.
• Austria –The Magic Flute Mozart:The textbook definition of music. Music sparkles like stars: full of joy, wonder, and light.

Americas

• USA – Dark Was the Night:A lonely song travels through darkness, carrying a small flame of hope.

Oceania

• Australia – Aboriginal Songs:Beautiful, plain, and simple. Ancient voices sing to the sky and the land, keeping the stories alive.