While listening to the Voyager’s Golden Record, I chose 10 out of 27 pieces of music. This was a difficult task as there were many more songs I would have included. I decided on these pieces as if I were an alien or a foreigner listening to the music for the first time.
As Rumsey states in her online discussion, we as humans, need to reflect on the past in order to figure out what is needed for the future (Browns University, 2017). Therefore, hearing these pieces could allow an alien to recreate the music as there were not many complex instrumental sounds in these pieces of music.
Here are my top 10 picks in no significant order.
| Song | Rationale |
| Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen. 0:38 | This song is purely in vocals with a female voice and no instruments. No outside technology is required and the voice included is sung instead of spoken. This song would let aliens know that music can be done acapella and that all they need is their voice to create a sound that is pleasing. |
| “Melancholy Blues,” performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. 3:05
|
This was a great upbeat jazz piece that I feel needed to be included. The inclusion of brass instruments gives variety to the piece. As for an alien listening to this piece I would love to see them try and imitate these specific sounds. |
| “Johnny B. Goode,” written and performed by Chuck Berry. 2:38
|
This song just makes me want to get up and dance. I feel like it would also have the same effect on any life out in space. There is such a positive and upbeat sound to this tune that your feet would simply just tap if you did not get up and dance. This piece is the only rock piece and is a must for outer space life. |
| Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. 2:08
|
This piece of upbeat music has many percussion instruments that makes it stand out compared to other songs. I also like how there are layers of sounds which can display to the aliens that more than one sound can be put together to create a pleasing track. |
| Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement, Munich Bach Orchestra, Karl Richter, conductor. 4:40
|
This song is soft and easy to listen to and can be playing in the background while doing just about anything for a nice ambience. This piece was included to represent mathematical foundations to communicate to aliens and for this reason I believe it should make the top 10 list for sure. |
| Mexico, “El Cascabel,” performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México. 3:14
|
In this song, it features a male voice, has an upbeat tune, and contains a guitar. This addition displays multiple voices as well as a deeper voice than the Peru piece. This could give aliens an idea of voice pitch or even gender. |
| Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor. 7:20
|
This piece of music is a classical song that only consists of instruments that are strings and does not include any vocals. This song is full of suspense which would show the aliens that music can sound different and allow listeners to feel different emotions. This is a piece that was created hundreds of years ago yet still is recognizable to the modern era. |
| Georgian S.S.R., chorus, “Tchakrulo,” collected by Radio Moscow. 2:18 | This piece shows how humans can communicate to organize ourselves. This piece also introduces the musical concept of harmonies and singing in unison as well as overlapping voices. |
| Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1. Glenn Gould, piano. 4:48 | This is an easy to listen to piece of music that includes piano. I would include this piece because of its mild tempo. |
| Solomon Islands, panpipes, collected by the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service. 1:12
|
This piece includes a primitive flute called the panpipes. This gives the aliens another instrument to hear that could be replicated without modern technology. |
References:
Brown University. (2017). Abby Smith Rumsey: “Digital Memory: What Can We Afford to Lose?”
https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/whats-on-the-record/music/