Music and it’s influence
It is no doubt that music has played a vital role in our society. Everything from loud, head-banging concerts to religious ceremonies have utilized the medium of music because of its awe-inspiring qualities. Music is basically the control of sound. We can control this sound by varying the pitch, tempo, octaves, dynamics and so on. There are thousands of ways that we can use music and to shape it to how we want to hear it. But how much has music influenced the way we think today? Why is it so popular?
Music dates right back to the prehistoric eras where primitive instruments were constructed using items like bone and wood. These primitive musicians would not have known many of the modern terms such as octaves and pitch, but they invented quite possibly the most important aspect of music today – just whack it!
Quite literally, they would have used things like 2 bones and they would have ‘whacked’ them together. This would obviously have made a sound – either loud or quite depending on how hard you hit them together. Take these primitive bones and add on 8 or 9 thousand years of musical evolution and you get the modern day drum kit. So how has the introduction of music developed society?
Picture this – even today if you go to some indigenous parts of Africa or Asia, you can see tribes of people performing primitive forms of music. They do this for both entertainment and their religious ideology. This form of music normally consists of basic wind instruments and small, hand-made percussion instruments normally made from animal skin or fur. This has been kept traditional by the tribe as they have not been into contact with the outside world. They have managed to keep their precious tradition for thousa...
... middle of paper ...
... play music and the radio due to customer demands. For example, the fridge with a built in radio.
Record labels have got so big nowadays, that they are starting to charge excessive fees for artist’s music. Many bands/artists have recognised this and have made their own record labels so they can have their own means of music distribution. Some examples of these would be Nothing Records, owned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and Morning Records, owned by the Cooper Temple Clause.
In conclusion, music has evolved substantially from its early days as a form of basic ceremonious compliments to a huge booming industry that plays a major role in our culture and it continues to change every day to suit the needs of the consumers, who enjoy music for what it is, rather than the profit that can be made from record labels.
Works Cited
Wikipedia
Music has played a role in society since the dawn of man. Said to be the beginning of communication in early civilization, music and dance have influenced how we think, act and treat members of our own society. Song and dance are used in rites of passage ceremonies such as births, weddings and funerals throughout the world. American and African people of color have contributed a brand of music that represented a struggle as well as a celebration during the civil rights movement. This Civil rights era fueled a people to stand and be accounted for and take pride in their culture and ethnicity after millenniums of oppression. The music played was the soundtrack to this movement. Soul, funk, rhythm and blues are a music born of a culture, protest and celebration. The use of this music as a reflection of cultural issues, values, and belief has been sampled by many cultures. Though some critics feel Soul music was merely a passing fad. I intend to discuss the Contribution of music on two contemporary cultures and its effect on their cultural issues, values and beliefs.
Music has evolved too many different forms that we recognize today. We trace this development throughout time. Beginning in the middle ages, we have seen advancement from the Gregorian chant all the way to the Jazz of the 20th century. The current events, politics, religion, technology and composers can shape musical eras during time. Here I will look at the middle ages, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and twentieth century periods. I hope that a better understanding can be reached to why, when, where and who are the reasons for musical evolution.
Music has been around since the very beginning of time. The human body flows in a rhythmic syncopation. Music is used to change one’s mood and to inspire those who open their minds. It has the potential to cure diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. Humans, of every culture and society, function with a type of rhythmic music. As humans, we are hard wired to respond to music (Mannes). The human brain responds to music in such a way that the brain becomes more open to new rhythms, ideas, and values. Music has the power to take over the human body. This makes it easier to overcome conflict and change the ideals of somebody while using music (The Power of Music).
Music is defined as vocal or instrumental sounds combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion, but music is not bound by its meaning. Music can be almost anything a person wants it to be. No one can put a date on the beginning of music. Some say it began before humans spread around the world or possibly originated in Africa. A conclusion that most people would agree on is that music has been around for mostly all of time. Whether or not people know it, music is a key aspect of their lives, and it affects them in many ways. One may begin to question why do humans participate in and enjoy music so much? This question can never have a concrete answer, but many have ideas of what might be the reason.
Music has been around since the beginning of time. Some Native Americans have done rituals that involve music and dancing. Our ancestors have made music with instruments that require materials that you would be able to obtain from animals and dead trees. Music started to boom when the radio came to be. It broadcasted lots of music that would be heard all around the world and for everyone to listen to. Music has been shaping the future for centuries and it has become very popular every time we hear it.
Music has been around for thousands of years throughout the world dating all the way back to prehistoric times proven by the digging up of a 9,000-year-old flute that had seven holes drilled into it to create a musical scale in China ("Prehistoric flute music:," 2000). Music went through numerous stages before becoming what we know music as today. The earliest periods of music were the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Periods which took place from the years 500-1760. The next cluster of periods were the Classical, Romantic, and Modern Periods which ended in 1930 to bring us to the most recent periods: Twentieth Century Period and the ongoing Contemporary and Twenty First Century Periods.
Music has been said to affect a persons brain in many ways. It is said to change someone's mood in an instant. It has also been known to influence someone's lifestyle and attitude just by listening to one song. Music is universal and there is a style for everyone no matter how different people maybe. It is an outlet for creativity and motivation. Music moves people in so many ways and can help people through anything. Almost everyone enjoys music and it is a force that brings people together. A song can reach out to anyone in any situation and the person connects with the notes and lyrics. If someone is sad they can listen to a sad song and know that someone else understands them and that they will turn out alright just like the singer. Sometimes if a person is happy they can listen to a song that expresses just how they feel and they become even happier when listening to this song. A simple melody can do so much and i began to wonder why. The human brain is a very complex and fascinating topic especially with music involved. After a bit of research i began to notice that I had no idea how music works with the brain on a physical level. So i looked into how music is able to be heard by the human ear and how the brain can process this information. It is a simple task that many take for granted however, it is amazing that the brain can change sound waves into different sounds that humans hear. Eventually the topic that fascinated my mind was how music really affects the brain physically and emotionally.
What is music? To some, music is only that of masters like Beethoven, Debussy, and Mozart. To some it is Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, or music groups like Moby. To the jazz aficionados, anything before 1940 or after 1960 is not music at all. So to examine how music affects our minds, thoughts, and spirits, it would be helpful to examine what music is made of. What are the basic building blocks of music, and how, through organization, do they come together to make music? To any sound, there are basic elements; loudness, pitch, contour, duration (or rhythm), timbre, spacial location, tempo, and reverberation. Just as a painter arranges lines into forms, our brains organize these attributes into higher level concepts like meter, harmony, and melody. So when we listen to music, we are actually perceiving multiple dimensions or attributes.
Music are a few things we tend to hear every day. Whether or not it’s from our own ipods, in our cars, or background music to our lives. A song exists for pretty much every feeling and music will be thought of as extremely healing mechanism. Over the years there are various varieties of music that everyone embrace completely different beats, sounds, and evoke different emotions. Such varieties of music is hip hop and rap, alternative music, and rock and roll music. Music incorporates a long line and every single sound and sort of music is tangled together inside each other and influenced by each other. For these reasons, music not solely defines a sort of sound, however additionally recreates lifestyles and defines entire generations. The ability of music will be seen from all differing kinds of music.
Music has been around sense the dawn of time. When man first started to discover music it was not the kind of music we have today. All it consisted of was grunts, moans, and banging things. Music has evolved just as much as the people that created it. From Chromagnum men to musician and from grunting too classical music, rock, and rap.
Music is one of the few things that has remained constant through the centuries this world has existed. Not only does music provide entertainment, it also has several effects linked to it. Music allows emotions of happiness and sadness to arise. From those emotions, physical effects, negative or positive, can occur. Music has a profound effect on the emotional, social, intellectual, and physical aspects of a person.
The first music era know to man was the "Prehistoric Music." This was quite possibly influenced by birds singing and other animal sounds as they were communicating with each other. It was developed with the backdrop of natural sounds. Some evolutionary biologists have theorized that the ability to recognize sounds not created by humans as "musical" provides a selective advantage.
Music has been known throughout time. It can help us through everything. There are so many solutions with music to help a person go through so many situations. Music can affect many people in many different ways. Without music some people would be lost and would have no motivation. Music can provide inspiration and insight through education. Music has influence on suicides, killings and shootings, and provocative actions. It can also influence good morals, respect, allowing differences, health, and much more. Music can come in many forms and categories and music is very good for the world.
There are many ways in which music affects and surrounds us. It is our creative outlet, our passion, our distraction, our night out or simply our moment of relaxation. Throughout the centuries, music has played a vital role in our lives. We as a society immerse ourselves in music day to day. From grandiose social gatherings and dances in the Middle Ages, to live concerts and monumental performances to date. Music is in films to elicit emotion and in television commercials to make us consumers of the newest technology. More importantly, it is in our preferred listening device because we choose the particular songs and artists we like and want to hear. The Marriam-Webster dictionary defines music as “sounds that are sung by voices or played on musical instruments; the art or skill of creating or performing music.” But why do we choose attend the Bruce Springsteen concert at Wrigley Field and not the Chicago Symphony Orchestra? What makes us enjoy one type of music or artist and not another? Whether you make music or simply enjoy it by listening to it, we are all connected to music in a variety of ways.
Music has played a role in society since the dawn of man. Said to be the beginning of communication in early civilization, music and dance have influenced how we think, act and treat members of our own society. Song and dance is used in rites of passage ceremonies such as births, weddings and funerals throughout the world. Jamaican and Yoruba cultures have made many contributions to our society. The uses of this music as a vehicle for political issues, values, and beliefs have been used by many musicians from different cultures. I intend to discuss the Contribution of these two contemporary cultures music and their effect on society.