Ethnographic Analysis Of Communication

It is intriguing how something simple as sound waves affect our emotions deeply. Igor Stravinsky’s famous ballet score “Rite of Spring” had a massacre theme with very disturbing images and surprisingly, the audience responded with a bloody riot with people even hitting Stravinsky. The second time the audience heard the music, they applauded him and to a greater surprise, the same music became Disney’s music. This transition of people’s dislike of a music to greatly appreciating piece is done by the brain. As the music repeats, the brain has the capacity to tune into to it and even adjust to that sound. When we hear unfamiliar noises that are dissonant or unpleasant, auditory cortex’s role is to differentiate the plethora of sounds and find

MacNamara, Holmes and Collins (2006) state that there are numerous similarities between performances in music and sport. Expert musicians and sports performers are more able to adapt to setbacks than lesser skilled performers, as well as experts having higher levels of dedication and motivation and can communicate more emotion through the pieces being played. Similarly to Chaffin et al. (2003) this communication of emotion may be related to the artistic image with both requiring focus and decision-making.

Often music is consisted not only by sounds made from musical instruments, but also by voice and verbal messages. The structure of the voice, or as Roland Barthes describes it ‘the grain of voice’ is the element in a certain piece of music which is responsible for creating the emotions when listening. The grain and the lyrics make the signified and carry out the message. The vocal part of music is formed of words, text, which communicate and make the representation and expression of what it is sung - talked about. According to Barthes the emotive modes of the voice and the changes of the tones from low to high is what delivers the final message and makes us feel the music. (Barthes, R. 1977 [1972]).

During a musical performance many elements to be looked are not easily recognized by the average critic. A musical performance has multiple interactions taking place between the music, text, performers, audience, and space that all can contribute to a great performance. Overwhelming majority of the audience does not realize so much can be looked at during a single performance. At a performance by the University of Maryland Marching Band I was able to analyze the Musical Sound, Contexts of the Performance, and Interpretation of the Performance.

Utilizing the groundwork proposed by this essay, we can expand to research other texts in which music seems to function as a form of communication. In doing so, we can study the similarities and differences between the mechanism as a way to arrive at a larger claim about the role of nonverbal communication amongst humans. With this new claim, we can begin to understand to recognize other forms of communication that may not appear as readily accessible and challenging, in order to ensure that we do not neglect the music of emotion another person may be performing in their own

From the creation of harmonies to singing to instruments, music has been an abstract form of human expression. Although an auditory collection of pitches and volumes, musicians can manipulate the same notes and bring them alive for their audiences. The true emotion and energy that’s felt in music really comes from the player as feelings are transferred to and through the listener. This interaction between performer and the house is catharsis, the complete release of strong repressed emotions. Thanks to the musician, music has the ability to grasp people and cause them to sense emotions and feelings without lyrics or images even being necessary. Although it’s believed we can only hear with our ears, something about music makes it emotionally if not physically tangible. In James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues,” a narrator certainly unaware of the impact of music invites himself to experience jazz for the first time. Baldwin uses the final scene of his story to argue that music has an effect on those who are able to experience it. Baldwin does this in one single moment by letting the fixed, practical minded, “well-intentioned” narrator experience catharsis from jazz as his growing, free-spirited brother communicates with him through jazz.

For as long as mankind has walked on this earth, music has been an important part of our culture and lifestyles. Each walk of life beats to a different drum. Different cultures use music for many aspects of their lives; for religious purposes, for celebrations, for comfort, for sorrow, for relaxation, for sports, for dances, for energy, for learning, for sleeping, and for sexual experiences. Everyone uses music for something. Music connects with people and reaches them in ways that words simply cannot. Music is a representation of what feelings sound like. It expresses emotion and brings that characteristic out from within us; it tells us a story. Every generation has its’ own sound and different music styles have emerged and become

Music is a very powerful expression of emotions that come together as a whole to morph your psychological feelings into a sub-reality vision. Over the many years, history has been able to capture the moments at which music has made an impact on human lives. We can start with Manu Chao the artist that sings about left-wing messages and portrays his concerts as “collective therapy”. Or Juan Gabriel the young man that rose out of poverty to become the world’s most beloved artist/songwriter and whose music carried a resonate flamboyant style. Music is a way of communication that is used in many realms such as entertainment, tradition religion and sporting events. So far this semester, Chic 316 has influenced me to seek a more coherent relationship

If music reveals emotions, it is not a normal emotion like any other (Stecker 273). The expression in music can be considered a traditionalized phenomenon (Stecker 273). There are common questions about

To further analyze how music brings together, music must be understood as a universal language. Researchers from Universities of Canada, McGill, Montreal, and Berlin went to go explore this concept through playing music to Mbenzele Pygmies and Congo tribes in solitude. (This is How Music Is Indeed a Universal Language). Not only is the author credible, By playing different musical compositions to the two groups and while measuring various physiological responses such as heart pulse, the experiment resulted in both parties feeling similar emotions and objective emotions. Knowing that idea, will

Thesis: Music is a unique form of sound powerful enough to manipulate mood, feelings, and cognition.

Music is one of the greatest human creations (DeNora, 2000). It plays an integral role in human society worldwide irrelevant of race, gender, age, wealth or well-being (Kemper & Danhauer, 2005). Indeed according to Batt-Rawden (2010), playing different music in diverse situations can introduce listeners to the desired and relevant atmosphere. In most circumstances, music is played to entertain people, but it can also form part of an accompaniment in sad situations. Music is often the fulcrum that influences the listener by creating a unique ambience and atmosphere (Bernatzky, Presh, Anderson, & Panksepp, 2011). Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham, (2007) adds that music can be a medium to enhance communication,

Music, along with Communication, is something that can be studied in various different ways. They are similar concepts in that people use music to communicate with their peers, elders, and anyone willing to listen. Researching how music effects the way we communicate is an interesting phenomenon. It can be researched through the use of qualitative and quantitative research. Both are an effective means of research and provide numerous different methods to gain knowledge and information regarding the topic.

I believe music is a gateway to a lot of things. Certain lyrics, beats, and even performances can trigger numerous events. This could include memories, moods, emotions, and even different senses. For instance, at this mini concert, you could tell the audience was affected in some sense, more or less by the music presented to them. It’s evident in body language, facial expressions, and even the atmosphere. Music had a mood as well.

Music elicits an emotional and cognitive response in all who listen to it. It is powerful at the individual level because “it can induce multiple responses – physiological, movement, mood, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral” (Francis, 2008,