Does Ethnicity Impact on the Way We Experience Music - Essay Example

Does ethnicity impact on the way we experience music? Introduction As a social practice music plays a significant role in the process of constructing national and regional identities and the concept of ethnicity. It has acknowledged vital attention in recent ethno musicological and other sociological studies. One can find that the study is directly pertinent to the requirements of researchers and professionals in music, musicology, ethnomusicology and social anthropology. Generally music is considered as the most highly planned human expressions, and it can summarize a social, cultural or ethnic group’s common beliefs and ideologies with a better clarity. The multifaceted music of African-American and Latin traditions proffers a unique opportunity to demonstrate the vibrant relationship between music and culture. Correlation between music and black ethnicity often reveals the changing nature of black ethnicity and various musical styles as they replicate cultural identity. Cultural identity and ethnicity in Sakha is connected with its Pop Music and African –American identity and life style have an obligatory relationship with their music. The elements of nationalism had been reflected in the music of ancient Germany and France as well as in the music of 18th and 19 century. Professionals and composers of music in these nations have often showed their conscious effort in portraying national characters and events from folk tales and myths. The folk music in France often demonstrated the life style and communication of French people as well the immigrants from Africa, Latin America and Asia. The emergence of French hip-hop and French rock explores the evolution of French culture and national identity. In case of Classical Music Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven have composed great music that reflect ancient culture and tradition of their homeland. The evolution of French life style, culture and political ideology after the Second World War is related with the establishment of American domination. Elements of imperialism are visible in French social political life. Bill Marshall and Cristina Johnston remarks; “The relationship between France and the Americas in terms of popular music has often been viewed solely in terms of U.S. Influence, even domination” (p.847). During 1970s and 80s European citizens had enjoyed music that often displayed anger, frustration and revolt against the authority. In literature this paved the way for the angry young man concept. Hip-hop, rap and graffiti are popular genres of music in Europe and the United States and their development and popularity are connected with cultural and ethnic backgrounds of particular people. Social and cultural movement in the urban areas has often affected the emergence of music and related culture. It is apparent that Hip-hop is also a life style having its own language, dress code, and music that is evolved from the changes of the cities. Young people who practiced rap and hip-hop in New York and Loss Angeles have used popular as well colloquial phrases and words in their urban parties. Harold Martin Troper and Morton Weinfeld (1999) argue that; “The inception of Hip-Hop dates back to roughly the mid seventies, when New York disk jockeys began scratching and mixing a variety of rock, disco, and R&B records, creating dance tracks that catered to the break dancing movement among black and Latino inner city”. This often makes available chances to express the feelings and thoughts of urban people. Artists of rap and graffiti have used carved or painted tags and murals on their vehicles, trains and playgrounds for describing their urban identity. Hip-hop endow with the sound of tensions and contradictions of the urban people in the time of substantial transformation in cities like New York and Los Angeles. The ethnic influence of Afro-Caribbean and Afro- American provide a variety of music and language style that revealed the cultural transformation of a larger society. Pop Music Culture in Sakha region underlines the strong relation between the cultural identity and popular music. Republic of Sakha is a nation in the Russian Federation that followed specific social and cultural identity Pop Music in Sakha includes primitive text that often revealed the cultural diversity and rich tradition of Sakha region. People in Sakha have always enjoyed the music about their beloved land and they knew the songs and often sang alone. Patriotism and national events play a vital role in Sakha Pop Music. Researchers have documented that the influence of European and Russian tradition paved the way for a new music culture in Sakha. The people in Sakha region have spent much time in listening popular music; they enjoy the cultural diversity of their nations. The most significant obsession is that the people or audience have enjoyed the feeling of common culture and sharing their nationality. Ethnic elements in music embodied the memory of the past, its language, customs, tradition, and social interactions. Analyzing the structure popular music in America one can comprehend the reality that it has some relation with African and Eastern European and Jewish connections. The excessive use of drums and dancing forms often revealed African and Eastern European life and culture. African -Americans use drums not only a musical instrument but way of communication. Through their musical forms African-Americans dialect was able to cross cultural and linguistic boundaries. The joint venture entitled; Race, ethnicity and dialects: language policy and ethnic minorities in the United States by Luisanna Fodde and Luisanna Fodde Melis (2002) help the reader to understand more about ethnic and cultural relations with music. It states that;” Jazz, and more recently, soul and rap music, have confirmed in the minds of the European public the special role that African Americans have played in the development of American culture”(p.59). Popular music among the African-American people often explored the cultural identity of immigrants. Musicians have followed the awareness about the racial and cultural discriminations and they heightened the expression and visibility, dilemmas, and weaknesses they divide up with larger community. Black people often received music and dance an opportunity to break their submissive life. Their songs have also attracted the attention of the teenagers of other ethnic groups and it has laid the foundation of a youth culture like the Black culture. The systematic study of ethnic music has started in the late 19th century (Cornelis et al, n. d). Ethnic music is considered as a category that normally does not exist but it is a music that has entirely different origin, functions and musical characteristics. It is the music of cultures which does not have a written tradition and is excluded from “ethnomusicology which commonly also includes non-Western classical music, the religious and court music of cultures with a written musical culture, such as China, India or the Middle-East, and folk music…” (Cornelis et al, n. d). But the confusion lies in the fact that which should be considered as the ethnic and non-western. It is possible to regard some western music as ethnic. Some of the non-western music composers composed music in the western tradition, quite making the identification confusing. One of the peculiarities of ethnic music is that it was specifically produced for the community and not for a broader distribution. The recorded music was not for distribution but it was distributed kept in archives and historic collections. Though they are digitalizing nowadays, majority of the ethnic music are not accessible and they are still in the musical institutes. Unlike the features of popular music which has a strong connection with commercial, industrial activities and with the implementation of technologies, “Ethnic music is considered as a museum artefact, a silent memory of an oral culture” (Cornelis et al, n. d).The changing governmental policies and the lack of financial aid are the important problem that hinders the development of this genre. The search aimed to explore ethnic music needs strategies which will reveal ‘variability of music, users, search intentions and expectations’ Cornelis et al, (n. d). Analysis of ethic music has brought to reality the fact that the western version and the individual users of ethnic music are varied in certain aspects. Cornelis et al (n. d) find out three groups concerning the background the western and the individual users. First group is the general public who are interested in ethnic music who like to “retrieve music using a rather vague and general labeling such as ‘drumming’, ‘trance music’ or ‘some song from Rwanda…A second group consists of users from within the culture... Finally, the third group of users consists of researchers, who use the database for further study.” (P.2 Para. 3). Cornelis et al also find out that “Ethnic music does however have a link with MIR (Music Information Retrieval)” (p.2 para.4). MIR has adopted various plans in conducting research on ethnic music. It includes modern research methods aimed to unearth the intricacies related with ethnic music. This includes “methodology: i) low-level based signal processing, ii) high-level research on interpreted and structured audiodata, iii) metadata based retrieval” Cornelis et al, (n. d). As part of their research, MIR would analyses certain aspects of ethnic music, such as sound, interpretation of music, data collection, and tests with musical parameters. The study leads MIR to the conclusion that “Ethnic music is not only a unique environment of new timbres, rhythms and textures, it is also a fragile cultural heritage that can surely use some specialized research in order to be easier and better accessible” (Cornelis et al, n. d. p.3). This makes clear the fact that ethnicity and music is closely related and ethnic music can claim certaion feature comparing to other genres of music. Naomi André (2005), University of Michigan, in the article, Entering the Present: Music Meets Race, makes a clear connection between race and music when the author rightly remarks, “The imagination of race not only informs perceptions of musical practice but is at once constituted within and projected into the social through sound. Intersecting the musical and discursive, it becomes a “sound text” that circulates within as well as across national boundaries” (p.3). Analyzing the words of Andre, one is clear that race is an apt medium for circulating music. Conclusion The study leads to the conclusion that music and ethnicity are complementary, and as such, it is difficult for one to separate ethnicity from music. It is also crystal clear that music has a decisive role in forming the concept of ethnicity. It is also clear that music is the most highly planned human expression which probably summaries the social, cultural and beliefs and ideologies of ethnic groups. The vibrant music of African-American and Latin traditions which enthrall number of people all over the world is the best examples showing the ethnic-music relation. Analysis of the relation between the black ethnicity and music is bringing out the various styles of ethnic music and it also reveals their cultural identity. Another factor one can find out with music and ethnicity is that music can raise the feelings of nationalism in a person and it is quite evident while going through the music of ancient France and Germany, and the music of 18th and 19th centuries. Musical genres like hip hop, rap and graffiti also have dominant roles in forming the cultural as well as ethnic backgrounds of a nation. Such music, have exerted a considerable influence even in language and dress code. There has evidences of music adding new phrases, words etc to their vocabulary. Like the hip hop, the pop music in Sakha region also has predisposed the strong relation between the cultural identity and music. Many studies have identified music and helping to cultural reformation. The systematic study on ethnic music has brought out the underlying factors of music and ethnicity. Studies conducted by Music Information retrieval (MIR) is one of its kind. All these factors lead the researcher to the conclusion that ethnicity impacts the on the way we experience music. Work Cited: Olmo Cornelis, Dirk Moelants, Marc Leman. Global access to ethnic music: the next big challenge? University College Ghent. Print. André, N. (2005). Entering the present: Music meets race. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education. Vol.4, #3 Sep 2005. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Andre4_3.pdf. 13 August 2010. Web. Luisanna Fodde, Melis Fodde Luisanna. Race, ethnicity and dialects: language policy and ethnic minorities in the United States. FrancoAngeli, 2002. Print. Harold Martin Troper, Morton Weinfeld. Ethnicity, politics, and public policy: case studies in Canadian diversity. University of Toronto Press, 1999. Print. Marshall Bill, Johnston Cristina. France and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History. ABC-CLIO. Print. Read More