this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2026
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Mildly Interesting
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Hi, it's me, the devils advocate.
One could argue that every instrument made out of wood is needlessly taking lives, since the tree died. It's also possible to extend the argument so that every instrument is needlessly taking lives, since no matter what material you use requires use of energy and we have no way to generate energy without something dying.
The question naturally comes down to what is needless. Needless for what? Needless according to whom? When it comes to art, as music does, it is completely subjective. It is completely valid to think this use of materials is needless but who's to say what's correct. The marker of this probably didn't think their work was needless.
I'll counter your trees with my humans. Would you agree that skinning children to make drums would be "needlessly cruel"? The creator might have thought that it was necessary for whatever reason, but neither the children nor any sane observer would agree. It's fine to disagree on what's moral and what's not, and it's up to the invidual to decide for themselves. I think killing turtles for vanity project is cruel, especially since you have all those trees that just deserve to be carved up for being so tall. I believe there is some common ground most interested parties can agree on. And if not, then the situation is probably quite complicated and you should rethink making those drums.
If it hadn't used mother of pearl and tortoiseshell, which weren't particularly rare at the time, they would have used things like rosewood, ebony, and ivory. So either way, precious materials were going to be used.
At least they are being used in the service of Art, and Music, instead of something vain, or selfish, like jewelry or beauty accessories. If these materials are going to be harvested anyway, using them to create a fine musical instrument, which can then be used to create beautiful music for a century, or possibly longer, is a worthy use of those precious natural materials.
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