Ever since the tower of Babel, people have endeavored to find a way to unite all humankind. In Genesis 11, the reason the world wished to stay united was to build a tower to heaven and defy God's command to fill the earth. Because of their disobedience, the Lord confused the languages of the workers so that they began to babble to one another. More recently, Mark Johnson has attempted to unite the world through music. As is indicated in several places throughout Johnson's interview with Bill Moyer's, Johnson's theme is that music changes lives by uniting people in song. This theme is summarized in Johnson's first words of the interview, "I think music is the one thing that opens the door to bring people to a place where they are all connected. …show more content…
In the first, Moyers begins by reminding the listener that "All over our country, people are hurting." At the time of the video, the unemployment rate was six and a half percent , foreclosures were common, and hope was difficult to find. The essay transitions into the second section with the introduction of Mark Johnson, "someone of the next generation who hasn't given up on either our humanity or our future together." Here the theme of how music unites humankind is especially apparent; Johnson claims that, "In a world with all this division; it's important for us to focus on our connections." The practical side of his mission is the foundation of music schools all over the world, known as Playing for Change, dedicated to bringing hope through music, and so uniting humanity in a desire for a better world. By using a video essay instead of merely writing out the interview, Moyers enabled the listener to watch two of Mark Johnson's music videos at relevant times. Instead of simply providing a link to the song, the song was included in the video. Finally, in the third section, Bill Moyers raises the question of what comes next. Without hesitation, Johnson answered that they were going to build more schools, connect more musicians, and continue to …show more content…
As Johnson said, "We don't even know how long we're going to be in this world... The most important thing is while we're here, let's make a difference together. That's what Playing for Change is trying to represent." However, despite all his good intentions, Johnson completely leaves God out of the picture. He is an advocate for bringing hope to those in depression, but his hope is superficial. As Christians, our hope is "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God... And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:1-2, 5). Playing for Change, while it has good intentions, would have a more effective goal if they endeavored to bring eternal hope instead of temporary hope. Unlike the tower of Babel, Johnson's mission is unity for the sake of unity, instead of unity to climb to heaven. As he travels the world, building schools and videoing musicians, Johnson's theme remains constant - changing and uniting lives through music. His tenacity can be applied to any area of life as a lesson in perseverance, but especially in the field of writing. When a theme is so convicting that it is worth spending ten years to develop an idea, it is a theme worth writing
I now realise that the Arts, including music, creates opportunities to engage, inspire and enrich our lives. Music making and responding can challenge, provoke responses and enrich our knowledge and understanding of ourselves, our communities and the world.
This speech is Karl Paulnack’s welcoming address for incoming freshman students. He addresses that music isn’t apart of arts and entertainment rather music is an invisible force that helps us piece ourselves together. Paulnack believes that music is an essential part of life and goes to prove it by telling his experiences with it. He describes the first moment he truly understood music and the impact it has on people. Paulnack portrays the day after 9/11 after he struggles to find any meaning in being a pianist. After a long time of questioning himself he observes the city and notices something. He sees that in this time of grief and sadness people are singing. From this he learned that music is a form of expression, it allows people to express their feelings when they have no other words to describe them. Paulnack goes on to describe what he says was the most important concert of his life. He and a friend were playing a concert at a nursing home. During their performance, one man began to cry, it was at that time Paulnack knew the man was a veteran. After Paulnack and his friend finished the piece, they announced that the piece they were playing was Aaron Copland's Sonata, which was a work
In the world today, music has become a big influence on everyone. With the power of music, each person has the ability to accomplish goals even if the music is country or rap. Most people believe that music can change a person’s mood or behavior which is true. Without music people could not control the way they act. Most music has the power to affect a person’s mood and other music can get them out of control. If music did not exist the world would be tedious. Without having music, people would not be able to motivate their moods. With the magic of music all people tend to have clear minds and better spirits. Music has the ability to put a smile on their face and a special song in their hearts. Even though most people feel confident about a special song, this can change their mind about how country music is better than rap music.
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
The first five chapters of Genesis provide not only historical information about Creation, the Fall, and the first generations of mankind, but they also describe God’s attitude toward His creation and towards sin. These chapters also provide insights into the nature of man. For example, we learn from Genesis 1 and 2 that we have been made in the image of God. This means that humans have authority, value, and purpose because God possesses these traits. The first four chapters of Genesis give us insight into how each of these traits specifically apply to human life and society.
When the narrator of Johnson’s novel falls in love, it is to music he turns to express that emotion to his intended one (149). She in turn answered in kind, letting the notes and tempo combine with her words in expression of her love returned to him. The relevance of music in Johnson’s novel should not be undercut by the other issues within the confines of his text. Exploring the meaning of this inclusion will be to explore the theme of music itself. It will encompass the examination of the style of music, the generation in which the story takes place along with the issues of race. Johnson’s use of music to develop a story line and illuminate the various issues and themes of his novel is a demonstration of his love of the art form along
To truly comprehend a biblical passage, it is important to have knowledge of the ‘hermeneutics which enables an understanding of the locus of meaning and the principles of bible interpretation’ . The audience needs to have a clear interpretation of the biblical passage which includes ‘content and unity of the whole of Scripture if the meaning of the sacred texts is to be correctly worked out’ , this supports the argument that all worlds of the text are equally important. ‘Biblical passages are often taken out of context and interpreted to support a particular viewpoint of justify a particular action’ . It is imperative to note that ‘in order to discover the sacred authors' intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their
Robert states in chapter one that “Genesis 1-2, the first two chapters of the bible show us God’s original, perfect creation” (27). In this chapter he goes into depth about the creation of the world. Roberts gives us four truths about creation.
Picture yourself in a field, blinded by the burning sun, sore and tired, angry because life gave you the share of being a slave who harvests crops at the tip of a whip. Then someone would call out in an emotive and slow rhythm a song that gave you strength. The more and more others
Musicians of all genres have spoken up against the racial inequality that is happening in America and throughout the world. These are the voices that have lived and witnessed injustice based solely on their race and skin color. As a result, musicians have deep emotional ties that have affected the lyrics and tones that artists take on in hopes to send a message. This musical revolution is nothing new, it has been around since the beginning of racial oppression as a means of optimism, but now, music can help spread the message of racial oppression. This message is spread in hopes that the views and opinions of society are altered and that future generations learn from mistakes of the
When we are born into this World, some say we are born with no predefined path, others will say one 's Destiny is already chosen. It is one of the many wonders of the Human experience to try and seek purpose and meaning in life, to be freed of the constraints society puts upon others. Many people living today do not know what path they are taking, they are walking blindly, in the dark. However, it is possible for one to open their eyes and to see the many opportunities that come their way and to see the light in this complicated world of ours. One of the many people in this world who have experienced this enlightenment is John Coltrane. What makes this man special is that he like many others started out life with no path he only lived in the moment not thinking about how he can leave his mark on the world. However unlike the majority of the population Coltrane midway through his life realised he needed to make a change in the world and that the way he would do it would be through his music. Coltrane’s success came to be due to his determination to fulfill his dream of making the world a better place, while overcoming the various barriers society and the world he was born into put in front of him; this determination led to his success. However like all barriers, some simply can not be overcome, and failure will play a crucial role in Coltrane’s career. Although through failure, one can learn to better themselves and achieve complete greatness, this is exactly what Coltrane
“Music can serve a means of communication for those where the function of language has become very challenging or lost.”
Throughout history, music have defined or depicted the culture and social events in America. Music has constantly played an important role in constituting American culture, where people have expressed themselves through music during flourishing and turbulent times. In the 1930’s, Swing music created a platform for audiences to vent their emotions in the midst of Great Depression and political unrest. Such strong relationship between music and culture can be seen throughout history, especially in the sixties.
The role of music in society can be best imagined when one thinks of a world without music. Music serves as a personal