Something surreal happened during the first Christmas of the Great War (1914). As a simple melody floated over no man's land, the British and the Germans started humming it silently. “Silent Night” was first hummed, whistled, and sung on both sides of the trenches.

Soldiers across the Western Front endured harsh winter conditions in the trenches. It was cold and muddy, and there was a constant threat of enemy fire. On Christmas Eve, the Germans started decorating their trenches and singing Christmas carols. The Allies saw this and responded by continuing to sing carols.

Many, but not all, welcomed this pause in the fight. The miserable conditions made this event appealing. In a way, the shared hardship due to weather fostered a sense of camaraderie among enemies.

They weren't soldiers for an evening (and Christmas Day). They were just people missing home, sharing a love for a tune that reminded them of better times. It wasn’t a planned ceasefire, but miraculously, it spread along many parts of the Western Front.

It was the magic of music, reaching the hearts of those young men and offering a moment of peace in a world on fire.

The men put down their rifles and crawled out of the trenches, and for that day, the war paused. They traded chocolate, cigarettes, and stories. Soldiers sang carols, and the battlefield suddenly became a concert hall.

Music helped share a moment of unity among human beings, indifferent to which side they were on. They saw each other as men with families, dreams, and a shared love for music, if only briefly.

Sadly, the truce was a fleeting moment of sanity in a mad world. But it showed what could happen if the music spoke louder than guns.

If music can do this during war, imagine how much more it can do during peace. Music can become an effective tool for social cohesion, which we have undervalued until now.

Silent Night — the melody that unites

In his book about this event, historian Stanley Weintraub identified the German tenor Walter Kirchhoff as inspiring this spontaneous bond. He sang the melody in German and English, encouraging the enemy to join. This eventually led to an exchange of greetings and gifts between the two armies.

Here’s a beautiful version sung by the famous Vienna Boys Choir.

The song was composed by Franz Gruber in 1818 to the lyrics of a young priest called Joseph Mohr, written two years earlier. Mohr was inspired by the winter landscape and poured the peace and majestic silence he felt into the poem.

Mohr asked Gruber to compose a melody that could be played with a guitar because of the failure of the church’s organ in Mariapfarr, where Mohr lived. Interestingly, both of them performed the song during the mass of Christmas Even of 1818. Mohr sang the tenor part with his guitar, while Gruber sang bass.

A traveling family of folk singers, the Strasser siblings, helped this song gain popularity as they were the first band to perform Silent Night outside the church. Then another singing family, the Rainers, sang it in the U.S., playing it even in front of one of the founding fathers’ tombs (Alexander Hamilton) on Christmas Day of 1839.

Despite its German origins, it became a universal melody that everyone could sing and relate to regardless of where they were from. Its lullaby-like rhythm, simple melody and structure, and universal themes make it accessible to anyone.

No wonder UNESCO proclaimed it an intangible cultural heritage in 2011. And for the soldiers of 1914, it served as the perfect antidote to the chaos they were going through.

What does science say about music bringing us closer?

Researchers from the UK and Australia wanted to find out if there’s a link between people spontaneously syncing up their actions with music and feeling more connected to each other.

They gathered 49 students and split them into small bands of two or three players. They jammed on MIDI percussion instruments for ten minutes, and after each minute, they rated how tight they felt with their bandmates.

Music experts listened to the audio recordings and marked the times when at least two group members played their instruments in a coordinated, synchronized manner.

Those were considered instances of higher sync between participants.

But they took it a step further. Researchers had an objective index of synchronization, which involved a machine-learning approach to identify a rhythm that best matched the participants’ playing over time. The closer the participants’ notes were to this emergent rhythm, the better their synchronization.

What did they find?

• Groups with more extended sync periods also reported a greater sense of connectedness. The correlation was significant at 0.535, showing a moderate to strong relationship between synchronization and connectedness.

• More than a third of the participants (35%; 17 out of 49) showed a tight link between being in sync and feeling connected.

• There was no statistically significant difference in happiness levels before and after the task. This means that playing together does increase the sense of connection but doesn’t necessarily change their overall happiness.

In other words, playing together is more effective when finding a familiar rhythm. It brings the group closer. People feel a stronger bond, but that doesn’t mean it will boost the overall mood. But the shared musical experience might do wonders nonetheless.

Playing together among “enemies” is already happening

Although rare, musical cooperation between enemies has been reported in certain moments of history.

• During the Troubles in Northern Ireland (1968–1998), several musicians and music events aimed to bridge the divide between the Catholic and Protestant communities. As music historian Fearghus Roulston described in his Ph.D. thesis, punks from both sides would perform at the same music scene, a very unusual thing at the time.

• Over the years, concerts and music events have been held near the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. The most recent one is the Peace Train Music Festival, which features two former North Korean performers: pianist Kim Cheol-woong and Korean-Japanese producer DJ Little Big Bee.

Recently, an international orchestra has brought together young musicians from Israel, Palestine, and various Arab countries. It’s a beacon of hope in these troubled times.

This musical melting pot, called The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, has been active for over 20 years thanks to its co-founders, the legendary conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian literary scholar Edward Said. Said was known for his work in post-colonial studies and as the author of “Orientalism,” which critically analyzed Western cultural perceptions of the East.

The orchestra’s goal is to promote understanding and dialogue in the Middle East through the universal language of music.

Imagine a group where Israelis and Palestinians, who might never have a chance to meet otherwise, sit side by side and create beautiful music together. Doesn’t it sound wonderful?

For over 20 years, they’ve performed in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, received international acclaim, and even got a documentary, “Knowledge is the Beginning.”

If they can show the world that understanding and collaboration are possible even with deep-seated divisions, why not expand this method to other parts of life?

Here’s a wild idea

Imagine politicians getting together for a jam session before a major debate. They prepare their instruments, play for a while, and then enter the debate room. They might find common ground faster after grooving together. Or at least have a more harmonious discussion.

If politicians experience a stronger bond with others, they might be more prone to listen to them and not treat them as enemies they should obliterate ruthlessly.

It’s similar to the historical act of sharing bread.

• Enemies who share a meal symbolize their willingness to set aside differences and establish peace.

• Diplomatic feasts would start a peaceful and cooperative relationship between tribes and nations.

• The act of breaking bread is a symbol of a symbol of community and forgiveness for Christians.

So why not share a musical experience?

There’s a shared space and experience, whether food or music. This is crucial in humanizing the “other”. People cooperate and co-create in these instances, which is fundamental for social bonding.

Sadly, it’s straightforward to create an in-group and out-group bias based solely on arbitrary team assignments. The meme encapsulates it perfectly.

However, shared musical experiences can break this cycle. As a universal language, music transcends these arbitrary divisions effortlessly.

When people make music together, they cooperate, which requires listening to others and creating harmony. Music breaks down barriers.

Why not turn “Team A” and “Team B” into just “Team Music”?

Takeaway

Both historical examples and scientific studies show the power of music as a social superglue. Luckily, we can vouch for it from both sides.

Just like music broke down barriers between enemies in 1914, music shows us that it’s more than just a form of entertainment. It reduces tensions and unites people in ways no other form of art can.

• Historically, music has shown to be a powerful tool against the “us vs. them” mindset (e.g., Christian and Protestant punks), building bridges among people who don’t even speak the same language (e.g., Allies and Germans, Arabs, and Israelis).

• Scientifically, research shows that groups strengthen bonds, especially when people find their rhythm together.

Sadly, today’s world often feels like a bunch of solo acts. We’ve lost sight of the symphony we could create together. Music is the key to harmony. Think of it as a bridge to a more in-tune future, a future we desperately need to achieve sooner rather than later.