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The Power of Music Essay

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The Power of Music

Music is the expression of emotion through the medium of sound. From the very first moment a human heard a songbird and endeavored to recreate that beauty, or beat on a hollow log and found the rhythm compelling, music has become the most powerful freedom given by God. Music, in itself, is a characteristic common and unique to all cultures throughout the world. Every culture in history includes music as an important part of everyday life. Music, as a part of culture, will most often have more roles to play than a source of auditory pleasure. According to anthropologist, Raymond Firth, "They have work to do, to serve as funeral dirges, as accompaniments to dancing, or to serenade a lover."(p171) However, the …show more content…

Often there is a radio blasting some rhythmically driving "Rock and Roll" song. (Rock and Roll is a direct offspring of the blues) A friend of mine, who is a carpenter, explained to me this way; "You're just out there workin' and gettin' all sweaty, and listnin' to the music, and pretty soon you're still workin' but you don't know it cause' your mind is somewhere else." Music can create a tight fraternity among groups of people. Music is often used in the military to organize and coordinate the movements of large groups of people. Short rhythmic melodies, called cadences, are sung by soldiers as they are marching in order to keep a common time and a constant beat. Music has even been used as a form of secret communication in small groups. B.B. King, a legendary blues singer, recalls stories passed down from his great-grandmother, who was a slave. " They [the slaves] were also delivering messages in musical code. If the master was coming, you might sing a hidden warning to the other field hands...that was important to the women because the master could have anything he wanted." (King and Ritz,p110) A societies music is what holds it together as a group. According to Edward O. Wilson, a Harvard socio-biologist; "Singing and dancing serve to draw groups together, direct the emotions of the people, and prepare them for joint action." (p564) In many tribal cultures, ritualistic singing

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