Forging Ideas and Opinions about Music - Essay Example

Forging Ideas and Opinions about Music Music continues to shape the world in diverse ways. Its history is as old as time itself. It carries aspects of culture, history, traditions and values, having social, economic and political impact on the society. Music is from various genres that continue to advance with the changing times. American music has drawn a lot from the British and Jewish backgrounds among others and the culture in these have been influential in determining the ideas expressed and the way opinions are shaped. Discriminations on basis of cultural affiliation have been a trending issue in the music industry. In his topic of discussion ‘Highbrow, Lowbrow, Voodoo Aesthetics’, Robert Walser brings up the controversies behind music and races. He notes that the opinions and mindsets among several people in the population have been biased in regards to the racial and cultural affiliations, the whites usually being placed highly, demonstrating what he calls ‘highbrows’. The music does not only affect the musicians by the acceptance they get but also the listeners are given regard based on the music they listen to (Walser 235-237). Classical music continue to have popularity, interviewing heavy metal music lovers Walser found that they viewed metal music as the most important in their lives but were swift to recognize the wisdom and superiority of classical music. However, cultural hierarchy in music does not influence all individuals; some have beaten odds and drawn from other cultures. For example, rock guitarists of have been able to draw from the techniques and procedures in classical music. Eddie Van Halen not only facilitated technological techniques that saw the making of the Baroque models but also showed how to play speedy arpeggios on the guitar. He spearheaded a revolution that also saw a revolution in the rock guitar (Walser 242-3). This has seen as a deviation from the convectional culture of the music. In the 1980s, Randy Rhoads and Yngwie Malmsteen brought a new revolution that saw the development of metal neoclassicism an aspect that attracted other musicians who were haste to copy the advancement. Rhoads was very influential in classical materials of music and was good at teaching and an inspiration to many musicians. The concepts of cultural differences and regard of one over the other among the heavy metal musicians is a demonstration that social strata have been shape in music and are maintained (Walser 244). Opinions on music can also be shaped according to the origin of the musicians. America is one of the countries in the world that enjoys huge cultural and historical diversity, aspects that have influenced its music. In view of the Jewish songwriters they were seen to embrace a southern strategy after the first world war, but they still upheld some of the traditions attached to their community (Whitfield 9). The south was influential in attracting the songsmiths to their countries who became dominant in the Tin Pam Alley, but no inspiration was forthcoming resulting to their adoption of the southern culture that they owned and propagated in their works. These Jews were the pioneer shapers of American music, the Tin Pan Alley as coined by Rosenfeld in 1909 in description of a music district that had emerged. In the early days of the 20th Century, the Jewish dominance was evident with the creation of songs such as “The Girl I Loved in Old Virginia”, a piece that dated way back in 1899 by Max Dreyfus among others (Whitfield 13). It was seen that songwriters that were Americans of Jewish origin engaged in writing songs on the traditions of the outsiders especially the people of the south without any major experience about some of these areas. These songwriters started to shape music in taking a global perspective. The initial impression created about the south by Tin Pan Alley painted a lasting image about them, in the songs such as ‘Cotton is King’ that was released in 1855 exposes various issues about cotton in the south and the traditions upheld its trade and farming. Contrary to the celebration of diversity by Tin Pan Alleys, the 1960s experienced a change, the non-southern song writers were faced with discriminations based on racial injustices (Whitfield 17-24).. The change seen in the music industry is not only been the usual generational change but also political and aesthetic. Despite the major revolution that Tin Pan Alley brought in the music industry, they were not given airtime for more that fifty years. In addition, the stigmatization that came with the animation of the songwriters was a bad thought and a misplaced perception. Just like other forms of cultural arts, music continues to shape globalization by disregarding all sorts of barriers (Whitfield 32). This is evident in the music industry today, where the basis of acceptance is based on factors beyond culture. The middle of the 20th Century witnessed a revolution in the rock songs because of a band called ‘the Beatles’ (Wald 232). The English band gained popularity in Britain and traversed their world through their many tours. The revolution was also marred with controversies. Elijah Wald in his book ‘How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n Roll’ comments on the works by the band. He states that the band through their ambitious work spearheaded the destruction of rock music. They focussed on turning the genre into dance music, the outcome was creation of racial barriers (Wald 244). He states that the ideology behind the songs by the band is that they are songs for the whites by the whites. This provocative assertion as presented by the author seems to bear some truth given the nature of music that the Beatles focused on. Music continue to shape identities and opinions about people, these opinions influence how they relate to various circumstances. Citing the incidences of the 1920s where highbrow Jazz had gained ground, Wald mentions that the same principle came with the Beatles that was the way to shape the opinions of the whites that this is their music (Wald 240).. The blacks on the other hand would be temped to perceive the music as more superior. The results are the replacement of the black music in America by placing white artists in the front, an act that historians have condemned by terming it as an act of backwardness and an embarrassing turn. In conclusion, the history of American music has continued to be shaped by divergent opinions and views about their culture and traditions. In addition, the racial affiliation has been a central point of reference in the journey of music. Despite the biasness and inconsistencies in the music much has been achieved and music just like other forms of art is getting to take its position rightly in the society. Works Cited Wald, Elijah. How the Beatles Destroyed Rock ‘n’ Roll. USA: Oxford University Press. 2011.232-246. Walser, Robert. The Rock History Reader, Routledge, 2013. 235-249. Whitfield, Stephen, J. Is it True what they Sing about Dixie? Southern cultures, 8.2, 2002: 8-37. Read More