Music as Cultural Criticism Essay

Music is a way for people to express themselves without having to make a drastic change. The reason I started to play music was because I love music in general to start off with and wanted the challenge of learning how to play an instrument. In sixth grade year there were probably 120 kids in band. Slowly through my band years many kids have dropped out. By the time I made it to the high school there were maybe 30 band students in, my grade and Mr. Rice the band director said, “They weren't able to handle it because band isn't easy.” One you have been in band you don't realize if you struggle or if you can't handle band and it's not a bad thing that students drop out of band. It just shows that they have decision making skills and don't want to hinder the other students acceleration in the class.

Prior to Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, Africa had been viewed as a one dimensional entity, opposed to the amount of diversity it contains. Africa is the second largest continent behind Asia. This massive size, and varying terrain must encompass people as diverse as the landscape. These people can not be deduced to a stereotyped term of being “African”, because each African does not fit the preconceived image of what an african is. It is not a country it is a land mass with people, animals, and vegetation, that differ by all the many regions. This outline that has been constructed of what makes up an African is due to underrepresentation in the media. Achebe demolished this notion for his readers, by creating a world the reader can

When I was in fifth grade, I was caught between two worlds, playing a woodwind or string instrument. If I played a woodwind instrument I would have to blow in it to make music, but string instruments are played with a bow to make music. After much thought, I decided that the violin was the best instrument for me, because it has a beautiful, unique sound, plus the possibilities are never-ending. I could receive a compliment from a teacher, or even get accepted to the symphony.

African music has been one of the most interesting topics in the music world. Unlike any other music, African music in is a way of life. Throughout its rich history of evolving, music has always played a crucial role in the African culture. Consequently, music in the African society allows outsiders to gain an insight into the different aspect of the culture and the society norms. Due to the uniqueness of the African music, many differences in the way music is used and viewed tend to exist between the American and African music. Although they may share some similarities, the differences are the major factor in shaping the understanding of the African music.

Throughout the film Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, black South Africans began converting their historical roots in music into a fight for freedom. As these oppressed individuals struggled for racial equality during the twentieth century, music classified as freedom songs emerged as the fight against the inhumane Apartheid intensified. These freedom songs, which are performed and played throughout the film, protest white supremacy and segregation using a combination of inspiring and punishing lyrics to ignite a flame in the hearts of the persecuted. Black South Africans found a way to rally together, fight, and survive the National Party’s attempt at complete segregation through music.

People around the world have different ways of expressing their emotions. Many people use music as a way to release the emotions they feel inside. When listeners analyze a song sometimes they can understand what an artist might feel or better understand their perspective. Many African American artists sing about how African American communities are dragged into a never ending cycle of poverty and criminal activity. Some artists many have a different perceptive on the future of these communities where they grew up in. Gang Starr’s “Code of the Streets” and 2Pac “Changes” exposes the experience of living, being raised in a poor community expressing different emotions in the song.

The Musical Composition that has changed my life to how I see music is the song The Stroke from Billy Squier. I did not really know the meaning of the song, but it really Widened my Horizon in terms of music from only before listening to The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Monkeys. Then later being able to listen to Rush, AC/DC, Aerosmith And Other Really good rock bands that I still love today. Then I started collecting Records then I started collecting CDs, the first album I bought for myself is the majestic Black Sabbath Album “Paranoid” The album with the musical compositions Paranoid, Iron Man, War Pigs/Luke’s Wall, Planet Caravan, Rat Salad, Electric Funeral, And Fairies Wear Boots. This album was such an amazing introduction to Black

Music is a powerful force that can bring people together from all walks of life. Listening to music creates an atmosphere of peace the surrounds one. Music fills our ears and overpowers our brain, consuming all our thought. This is one of the main reasons people crave music, an escape. In the song and video, Arabian Waltz by The Silkroad Ensemble, listeners can see the artists coming together to play and entertain. In Attaboy, the music surrounds listeners they imagine they are hearing the song being played just for them. The cover of Bob Marley’s song, One Love, projected an overwhelming sense of change needed for the world. No matter what language one speaks, music can be enjoyed by all.

“Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it” (Bertold Brecht in Askew 2003: 633). Despite evolution across the globe and the continued development of societies and cultures, one entity has remained present throughout – music. Though manifested in various forms, music has and continues to play an integral role in a multitude of settings, ranging from religious ceremonies to theater to pop culture and beyond. With universal influence, music possesses the ability to unite a nation behind a single cause yet simultaneously subjugate a people through musical propaganda and censorship. For instance, due to a lack of literacy and economic means in countries such as South Africa (plagued by apartheid sanctions), oral communication through music increases the accessibility of critical ideas. Nonetheless, though musical artists have the capacity to assert politically subversive statements through song, vehement government censorship and even propaganda reflect music’s immense influence. Thus, a vessel through which sound is transformed to expression, music has tremendous political ramifications. Exploring the transformation of South-African music from “a mirror” of the apartheid struggles to a “hammer with which to shape”

An oversaturation of the most popular types of music can be daunting. Other diverse types of music may be struggling to breathe in this sea of pop, hip-hop, rock, and electronic dance music (edm). Music industries are almost controlling the communication system. Exploiting the media to show us what “good music” is and shutting out the folk singers, tribal and ritual. Local musicians are being put out of work. Alan Lomax, ethnomusicologist, has a very desperate need to keep this music alive. Through his paper “An Appeal for Cultural Equity” he explains how the mass media is starting to push its own agenda, and pushing away the other musicians in the lower parts of media in the world. He mentions how many think that it is inevitable for the folk and tribal musicians to die out, and it is almost sensible, since it’s survival of the fittest right? Lomax disagrees. False Darwinism should not be applied to culture in any sense. Especially to things like music, art, or any type of expressive medium. It’s “anti-human” and “very bad

Achebe’s Things Fall Apart serves as an outcry to the degrading perception of Africans by ethnocentric cultures (namely whites) as accentuated by assiduously practiced archaic traditions by African tribes. Thus said, the underlying theme becomes apparent as a protest to the ignorance and arrogance of an imperialist society as well as a analysis of distaste for stubborn traditionalists refusing progress. Consequently, the particular target audiences is easily identified as the developed Western world, with their patronization and disrespect for cultures alien to theirs, alongside neglectful and non progressing traditional tribes within Africa. Employing satire and rhetoric, Achebe effectively comments on a conflict that has emerged and reemerged countlessly throughout history and in doing so, makes a subtle statement on the ignorance as it transcends all levels of society.

The music is normally flooded with shallow lyrics, catchy hooks, and a deafening bass. Ideally, the musicianship is designed to be of low intelligent quotient – makes it easier to dance to. In contrast, “conscience” music is subgenre that contains material of reality and substance and in light of recent events dealing with police brutality, racism and equality, this type music seems to have the perfect platform to present itself on. Though shallow art is mainstream in today’s society, some artists go against the grain and stand upon the platform of conscience, spanning from D’Angelo’s “Black Messiah” to Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “We Should All Be Feminists” to Banksy’s critically acclaimed art pieces – all demonstrating to fellow artists the importance of slowing down the high speed mirage of big booty women and drug money to highlight a different message; a conscience-driven message to the

Rose (1994) talks about the long history of Black cultural subversion and social critique in music and performance, and the concept of the “hidden transcript”. In social conditions in which direct attacks on authoritative groups are unwise, oppressed people may use music to mock those in power, to express rage, and to produce fantasies of subversion (Rose,

I find myself in a constant state of appreciation. I worship hot coffee every morning and recently, every night. I keep in touch with my small group of friends hourly through texting or Skype, usually, and always make time to see them on the weekends. I remind myself to thank my parents for everything they’ve done for me, never taking my life or experiences for granted.

“I was all the way in Zambia being influenced by huge artists [in the U.S.]” said Musunka “and that just kind of shows the reach music has and the power music has to influence a kid like me all the way in Africa.”