Music as an Agent of Socialization Essay

Throughout my life, no single thing has had a greater impact than music. It has made me who I am today, and I cannot remember a time when music wasn’t a huge part of myself - my earliest memories all contain the music that my parents played. Beyond being a product purely for enjoyment, as it was for a long time in my earliest years, music has gone on to become a fundamental part of who I am, how I spend my time, and who I spend that time with. It motivates me to be better for numerous reasons. I credit my early involvement in music with most of the successes I have had to this date.

Art has undoubtedly become a decisive aspect of our culture; embedded in the way we learn and grow on a daily basis. Art forms such as music, television and dance dominate our society as an outlet of freedom of speech for humanity. The evolution of music has rapidly exceeded its original classifications, developing new genres with greater appeal to an audience, hence its influence on society has expedited. In recent times, lyrics (specifically rap lyrics) have been introduced into the court room as a form of documented confessional evidence, evidently challenging law’s authoritative nature. This essay will closely follow the genre of rap and its relationship with law, through cases based in the United States of America (USA). In addition, the trial of Simon Bikindi in Rwanda and Smith v The Queen will be used to form an acute analysis on the influencing factors of relevance, identity, freedom of speech and current constitutional law.

Music, for many cultures, is held at a high prestige. It has been used since the beginning of time to elicit power, emotion, spiritual forces, and a sense of community among its listeners. It has helped us, as music enthusiasts, to understand the role that music plays within our own lives in today’s society, as well as how it has functioned in the lives of those before us. So why is this? What makes music, instead of other forces, so influential to our kind? In Thomas Turino’s book Music as Social Life, he argues that, “Musical participation and experience are valuable for the processes of personal and social integration that make us whole” (Turino, 2008). Many believe that music offers us a source of identity, which in turn develops our idea of self and allows us to fit inside certain communities throughout our lives. Turino also describes a theory proposed by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi that offers additional incites to this idea of “psychic wholeness”. This theory introduces the theme of flow and how heightened concentration can produce an optimal experience when associated with music. This paper will address these concepts stated above in association with the African American spiritual. The spiritual will be traced back to its origin in West Africa, described how it evolved as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, and the influence that it has on today’s genres like blues and gospel. I propose that, these notions of flow and identity within the music of

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

According to researchers Christenson and Roberts, “American adolescents spend…between four and five hours a day listening to music…[which is] at least as much time as they spend watching standard television fare and more than they spend with their friends outside of school” (8). Music media influences the lives of adolescents in a number of ways. It “…alters and intensifies their moods, furnishes much of their slang [and] provides models for how they act…” (Christenson and Roberts 8). Music plays an important role in the lives of adolescents. They spend as much time, if not more, listening to music as they spend watching television, and therefore, music deserves additional scholarly attention.

The enriching experience of listening to live music has been a pleasurable pastime for many individuals since the creation of music itself. The ability for musicians to provoke profound emotions in others is a form of social communication that is unmatched by any other type of human connection which allowed music to retain its popularity throughout history. Without an artistic mode of expression for humans to communicate what can’t be directly spoken, life becomes dull and devoid of emotion where the only clear method left of expression is through verbal and linguistic communication. Music, in general, acts as a unifying intermediate where both the historical tales of the era coincide with the rhythmic stylings of the composers to evoke compelling

There was a period in my life when I gave careful consideration to music. This time, is known as youth. I was excessively occupied with my Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joes to try and consider music. This shouldn't imply that I didn't hear it out, however. Regardless of the frightful music we know so warmly call "the 80's" that was playing on the radio stations when a was a kid, despite everything I tuned in. I began focusing when I was nine years of age, and that is the point at which my tribulation with music all began. To pick up a superior comprehension of how music has changed my life throughout the years, we should begin from the earliest starting point of my musical learning course of events.

Music has always been a huge part of my life. Growing up, some of my earliest memories were wandering around record stores with my dad. My dad has always been an avid music and record collector. When I was about five years old he closed down his pizzeria and started his own online and mail order business selling hard to find and obscure records and CDs. A few years later he expanded his business by opening up a record store in Downers Grove, IL. As a result, from an early age I was exposed to a lot of different types of music. Sure it was common for parents to put on The Beatles for their kids to listen to, but on top of that I was grew up on a steady diet of Queen, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Jimi Hendrix,

When music is created, it integrates the cultural and emotional situations that occur in everyday life. People create dances to the

People tend to have an extensive connection with music to announce many different occasions and events. Through music was one of the ways that made the general public aware of different social events and as well as problems throughout the nation. Listening to music in general can lighten up someone’s mood for example if they are sad or in a difficult situation. Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson were both idolized and

Since I was exposed to music at young age, I was able to excel in school and earn good grades which guided me on a path to succeed in high school. Furthermore, it personally gives me the ability to channel my emotions and express them in an appropriate way. To this day the quality of my songwriting is not perfected, but my future is greatly impacted by this. Some may express their feelings down in a journal, I express mine through music. This gives me the ability to control my emotions in difficult situations and will positively impact my social interaction skills later on in life. Although music may benefit my future, music is more than that to me. Music is why I put my all into everything I do and it is the reason why I am the person I am today and the person I will be in twenty years from now. My interest in music has molded my personality and those who I interact with. Research has been able to show the positive effects music has had on the psychological well being of society throughout history. Due to the complexity of music, the variety of brain activity while listening to music positively affects the brain “ but also [helps] on long-term well-being when music is implemented in various life situations and contexts—including the family” (NCBI). The Social and biological benefits interact cohesively which positively impacts paramount skills from adolescents to the elderly. Through music, society 's future can be divergent and can create a world with

Music has always been an influence in the evolution of world civilizations and is still an important form of art and entertainment that humans find great pleasure in listening to today. There are multitudinous types and genres of music from all over the world, varying from classical, jazz, hip-hop, reggae, country, rock, and even rap. Despite these numerous amounts of genres, music can be found from all over the world residing in different parts of the world, and essentially, in different cultures around the globe. Presently, popular music and their lyrics are identified as a factor that influences and shapes location while at the same time, is shaped by the location itself. Specific locales such as cities, neighborhoods, landmarks and/or natural factors are locations where music like rap can be entrenched and thus give a sense of strong geographic orientation. In other words, location is intently related to rap, and rap is intently tied to location, as evident in Kendrick Lamar’s album, “Good Kid, M.A.A.D city”. Kendrick Lamar presents themes of gang/region affiliation, peer pressure, and influences of community within Compton, California through lyrics, grounded in narrative, by drawing a clear connection between a place and the culture within and around the city. In this essay, the definition of cultural geography and how culture and place are linked together will be discussed, then in regards to local musical spaces, describe why music has a strong sense of geographic

There are certain elements and forms of expression that help to define cultures and time periods. Music is a form of art and expression that ties cultures and humanity together well also allowing each culture to add the own unquietness. We may not realize it but music penetrates almost every aspect of our lives. Music is used in celebrations such as a in a wedding or bar mitzvah music is even used to commemorate someone’s life as they are laid to rest. Music is a universal medium. Everyone and anyone can find meaning and some personal connection music. Music has the ability to elicit powerful emotions or memories. A certain song could remind someone of a very happy time in their life such as being on a beach or at a cookout with friends and family. Music has the ability to elicit powerful emotions in us such as happiness and can transport us mentally back to that moment in time where we were and what was happening to elicit those emotions. Music can bring out negative emotions in us as well. Someone could hear a song that reminds them of their first break-up which may bring about feelings of sadness and cause that person to relive a painful experience. Perhaps one of the most powerful elements music possesses is that it allows us to project in our mind and become something we are not. For example if you hear a rock song that excites you, maybe you imagine yourself as the star quarterback throwing for the game winning touchdown. Maybe if a country song comes on the radio you

The beauty of music regardless of genre and form is truly amazing. It allows us to express joy, anger, sadness, love, pain, and bittersweet moments that we experience in our lifetime. Creating music can be simple or complicated, and it all depends on how we create it. We can create music easily with our bodies by tapping our shoes and snapping our fingers, or we can make it a more complex task by using our voice and musical instruments. Music is definitely an essential part of our social environment because it makes our lives more lively, interesting, and passionate. Moreover, music inspires not only musicians, singers, or compositors, but it also inspires dancers. Dancers that glide their feet, turn around, and jump at the rhythmic sounds while moving along with the music is what I find most captivating. I think that music transcends time because people of all ages can find a way to enjoy and express themselves through music. At last, I attended a ballet show at the Dance Theatre of Dalton, and enjoyed the dance as much I enjoyed the music. My favorite pieces of the night were the following: Touch The Sky,