Music and Dance - Term Paper Example

Introduction It has been said that songs can stir the soul, and that music in general can soothe the savage beast. This rings just as true today as it did centuries ago, when street performers would serenade passersby in exchange for coin. One can even observe this in the present day, such as how cheerleaders would put on some amazing gymnastics and heart-pounding drum beats for the crowd. In fact, as has been portrayed countless times on the silver screen as well as the big screen, even supposedly primitive and uncivilized societies have their own form of music and dance, which they then incorporate into their rituals and ceremonies. This should be a clear indication of the importance of the arts in our everyday lives. As a matter of fact, to say that this is omnipresent in the present day and age is an understatement. Our ancestors were furthermore said to make use of dance and rhythmic music in order to put soldiers in a so-called battle trance, momentarily discarding their individual identities and losing themselves to the music (Jordania, 2011). Another study by Pieslak (2009) shows military units taking advantage of songs and dances in a manner similar to the above, psyching themselves and their comrades up just before commencing their combat missions. Other cultures have also used such arts for healing, as noted by Guenther (1975). And in more everyday settings, these have long served as a means to convey one’s feelings or retell tales of epic deeds. More than just being aesthetically pleasing, then, music and dance do in fact comprise a major, major part of who we are. This paper in particular focuses on the music and dance of Latin America, with emphasis on the purpose it has served the people throughout history. The Power of Latin Music They say music comes in many different forms, and this is no different when applied to Latin music. Quite understandably, one might take this sentence to mean that Latin-American music has a lot of subgenres, which is not exactly false. However, more than just diversity in terms of the kinds of music, this can also pertain to the purpose music has served in the lives of the Latin-American people. More so than in other cultures, Latin-American culture owes much of its identity to its music. In fact, the people themselves have become well aware of the power their art holds in their everyday lives, judging from the birth of the nueva cancion movement. Literally translated as ‘the new song movement’, this crusade is said to be socio-politically oriented, and is meant to bring about social good (Clark, 2002). As such, musicians belonging to this movement often utilize musical and lyrical vernacular with roots in the popular classes, and use satire to great effect in communicating their message to their audience. Even those in power have been forced to take notice at the influence of this movement, such that some of its members have been branded as subversives in their own right – and, in some cases, been forced to suffer the same injustices. In effect, nueva cancion can be said to be the Latin-American equivalent of gangsta rap, which originated among African-Americans – yet another minority in modern American society – and whose performers often have very similar goals and lyrical content. Just as singers of the nueva cancion movement often touch on topics such as poverty, empowerment, imperialism, democracy, human rights and religion in their songs, gangsta rappers touch on the criminal activity, violence and murder prevalent in the inner city, condemning them with lyrics of such detail that they have often been accused of promoting and glorifying them instead (Adaso, 2011). In fact, even the approach of the two musical styles is the same – each takes typical situations that occur in everyday Latin and Negro society, deconstructing them by detailing them in such detail and exposing the grim reality for what it is. Indeed, allegations of connections to actual gangs notwithstanding (Newton, 2008), there is no denying the fact that, deep down, nueva cancion and gangsta rap have the same goals in mind. The similarities apply not only to the movements as a whole, but also to their most prominent pioneers. Just as the movements as a whole are analogous to each other, so too do their most well-known figures resemble each other in places. These parallelisms can best be observed in the lives of Mercedes Sosa and Tupac Shakur, both of whom touched the hearts of their least fortunate brethren through their music. In fact, Sosa was known for having served as the voice of the voiceless throughout her long life, while Tupac, in spite of having died relatively young, has nevertheless become larger than life – a martyr, arguably on the level of Che Guevara (BBC News; Basu and Lemelle, 2006). Latin dance has become equally popular in recent years. Just as the aforementioned nueva cancion movement managed to carve a niche for itself in Latin-American society, so too did reggaeton become a phenomenon among the people. This form of music takes Jamaican dancehall, melding it with other genres such as merengue, salsa, latin rap and electronica in order to come up with a new, unique sound that has become popular not only in Puerto Rico where it originated, but also in the Latin-American communities that thrive in the USA (Caramanica, 2006). Despite some concerns of its unhealthy fixation on sex, dancing and the dancer himself, reggaeton has managed to become wildly popular among Latin-American countries such as Panama, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic (Baker, 2008). Due to its blending of different genres while allowing them to synergize with each other, this form of Latin music has come to be considered staple music in parties, events and gatherings. And while it retains its uniquely Hispanic flavor, the fact that it derives influence from other genres and cultures make it far from impenetrable to other audiences (Marshall, 2006). Truly, as the above paragraphs indicate, music and dance are the heart and soul of the Latin-American people. Its influence among them is such that they use it not only as a way to relax themselves or to soothe others when tempers run high, but that they have harnessed it as a weapon against injustice, oppression, and tyranny. Indeed, a musician knows when he and his music have served their purpose when they end up incurring the ire, maybe even becoming the martyrs, of an oppressive and tyrannical regime. Synthesis / Conclusion Indeed, the power music holds over the common man is beyond question. It lifts one up in times of despair, and when one is happy, he tends to play music of an equally celebratory mood. And when one is down in the trenches, struggling to achieve a seemingly lost cause, the thunder of the drums or the blare of the trumpets could very well serve as the last push one needs to succeed. Of course, no musician can ever achieve universal renown, just as no song will ever be universally liked. As already noted, the nueva cancion movement was a constant thorn in the side of the various tyrants and dictators that have turned up in the history of the Latin-American people. More recently, reggaeton has drawn some criticism for its allegedly sexual undertones. And, going back to the parralelisms with gangsta rap, rappers have long been criticized and slammed for supposedly glorifying sex, drugs and violence in their music – assuming that gangsta rap is even acknowledged as music in the first place, which some still refuse to do. These dissenters notwithstanding, what constitutes ‘good music’ and ‘bad’ or otherwise ‘junk’ music has and will always be relative to the individual. For every person who condemns Tupac Shakur as just another thug, there will be multitudes out there who hail him and depend on his music to get by in everyday life – sometimes literally. For each individual calling for the boycott of reggaeton, there will be many more who play it at their celebrations. And of course, the tyrants who oppose nueva cancion will always be outnumbered by the millions who use it as a way to fight back. The fact that music inspires these reactions at all is a testament to its power – try as we might, we cannot ignore music. References Baker, Jeff "The Politics of Dancing: Reggaetón and Rap in Havana, Cuba." Royal Holloway, University of London 2008 Newton, Michael Gangs and Gang Crime Infobase Publishing 2008 Basu, Dipannita and Lemelle, Sidney The Vinyl Aint Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture Pluto 2006 Clark, Walter Aaron From tejano to tango: Latin American popular music. Psychology Press 2002 Jordania, Joseph Why do People Sing? Music in Human Evolution Logos 2008 Pieslak, Jonathan Sound Targets: American Soldiers and Music in the Iraq War Indiana University Press 2009 Guenther, Mathias Georg ‘The San Trance Dance: Ritual and Revitalization Among the Farm Bushmen of the Ghanzi District, Republic of Botswana. South West Africa Scientific Society 1975–76. Marshall, Wayne "The Rise of Reggaeton." Boston Phoenix 19 Jan 06 Latin artist Mercedes Sosa dies 04 Oct 09 BBC News 22 Nov 11 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8289370.stm Adaso, Henry Gangsta rap 22 Nov 11 About.com 22 Nov 11 http://rap.about.com/od/genresstyles/p/GangstaRap.htm Read More