Playing For Change

Recently, while mindlessly scrolling through videos on YouTube, I came across a channel called Playing For Change. These videos demonstrated people filmed from different parts of the world playing one song together.

The video shown above was Stand By Me, originally by Ben E. King.
These videos really made me think about the power of music and how it plays a role in humanity and peace. The people included in the video varied from region, ethnicity, language, and race, however they all came together to play and enjoy the universal language of music.
Playing For Change was born in 2002 by founders Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke, to "hit the streets of America with a mobile recording studio and cameras in search of inspiration and the heartbeat of people." Since then they've been travelling around the world and have created a global family. They also began a non-profit organization called Playing For Change Foundation, which is dedicated to building music and art schools for children all around the world.
This got me thinking to how exactly music empowers people, and how we can use that to bring down differences and unite through music.
El Sistema is a music program in Venezuela that brings students from poor socio economic backgrounds to learn and play music. It watches over hundreds of youth orchestras and around 500,000 children and is financed by the Venezuelan government. El Sistema was began by Jose Antonio Abreu, a classical music enthusiast and former economist who believed everyone regardless of economic or social background should have free access to music. It has brought the children together through music, and has arguably brought down crime, drug use, and more of these children are continuing their education which they may not have done otherwise. There is greater attendence, better test scores, and more overall motivation in these Venezuelan schools.

Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, an orchestra a part of El Sistema

So, in conclusion, something that we perceive as a normal typical hobby can have tremendous effects on the welfare and outcome of many people, and brings us together regardless of background.