At an Asheville concert, a rap group lifted the crowd in a way classical pieces didn’t. It reminded me that rhythm isn’t intellectual—it’s embodied. In anxious times, predictable beats ground us, entrain us, and help the nervous system settle. Music matters now because it connects, calms, and brings communities back into themselves.

As a life-long musician, I notice that my attention now gravitates to the cultural   considerations of music. Since 1986, I’ve been a...