Music and Identity Free Essays

The human mind is a shapeless and constantly shifting entity of its own, far surpassing our conscious understanding and in order to create a sense of solidity we develop identity. Identity is difficult to define as it is still subject to large philosophical and psychological debate but is given a broad definition in order to satisfy the many different views as â€Å"maintaining a state of continuity of self and remaining same over time†.The formation of identity and the many ways in which is is formed is subject to even more theological debate but for the purposes of this essay I have chosen to break it down into four main categories: experiences, expression, reflexivity and recognition. We will write a custom essay sample on Music and Identity or any similar topic only for you Order Now Music like most forms of creative expression is an extension of the self and in turn a reflexion as it gives tangibility to our thoughts, emotions and ideas. Music operates on multiple layers of self-identification, as it can highlight ethnic, gender and cultural traits. Music has been a part of human identity since the dawn of man.From ritual dances of ancient tribal peoples to the war songs of ancient Greece and Rome to the more developed forms of music of the Renaissance. It was during the late Renaissance that music began being printed and distributed cheaply and became accessible to a wider audience, it was during this period that a social schism was created that reinforced the separation of higher and lower class, as music of the people or â€Å"Folk† music became popularized in the lower class and â€Å"Classical† music maintained within the aristocracy, each type with its own socially defining associations.The Baroque era had a huge impact on music because music was observed as a planned composition meant to instill specific emotions and ideas in the listener. Where previously there had been no real fashioning of mu sic, a musical language was developed using a powerful rhetoric of notes meant to guide the emotional experience. The Classical Period began in the 1750’s and was the freeing of the composers from the private employment of the aristocracy, which allowed for public concerts and aided in the popularization and growth of the orchestra. Technological developments have since had some of the largest impact on music as composers could begin to record and playback and through this, perfect their individual sound. Music is a constant reflexion of cultural trends, an efficient example of the potency of music in creating identity would be the swinging sixties. It was a time of cultural rebellion, millions of youth across the world developed a renewed sense of individual liberty, pooling together and creating a community and new ideals through music.Music had never before been attributed such strength to shape the belief system of youth culture so directly. The song â€Å"My Generation† by Pete Townsend of the who written in 1965 is a perfect example of how music works in classification. It was written by the group to express the cultural differences that emerged between their generations and previous ones who could not understand the shift of belief systems. Music is an auditory form of communication utilizing tones in a continuous structure way. In the book Lost in Music: Culture, Style and the Musical Event, John Shepherd writes that â€Å"It can be asserted that because people create music, they reproduce in the basic structure of their music the basic structure of their own thought process†. If music is the expression of the individuals thought process and individuals are conditioned and molded by the society in which they live, then it would only be logical to conclude that music can be used as a social indicator.Expression in forming the identity is used to convert thoughts into physical form and is also known as verbalization. Lyrics are a very important aspect of songs as they create a new relationship to a piece. They can deliver a very precise and direct message and therefore hold significance to the listener as they choose to indulge the message when they listen to it and are in turn influenced by it. Music has rapidly become more diverse as new styles emerge, each with its own category whether it be hip-hop , rock, classical, country etc.The artists are often the models used to create the lifestyle of the music, this can be explicitly noted in goth rock and hip-hop as some listeners actively exhibit characteristics of the artists. Each kind of music brings about a particular set of values and preconceptions. There are also ethnic divisions in music, as music develops distinctly around the world different styles are created by different cultures, these kinds of music become the musical foundation of people living and reinforce national identity. How to cite Music and Identity, Papers Music and Identity Free Essays Music is a part of popular culture which reflect social and cultural changes of the epoch and society. Critics (Theodor Adorno and Simon Frith) claim that there is a close link between popular music and personal identity. Theodor Adorno claims that popular music is based on standardization and pseudo-individuality which level identity and self-expression of listeners. We will write a custom essay sample on Music and Identity or any similar topic only for you Order Now Simon Frith states that popular music is socially determined and aesthetically worthless which make popular music a product of mass culture. Argument As societies changed, popular music became commoditized in different ways which reflected mass production and mass culture. Both critics agree that popular music is influenced by mass culture and new social values created during the XX century. Simon Frith explains that there is a cultural continuum in which relatively few cultural attributes are exclusively national and relatively few exclusively European. Most occupy a middle ground, the result of other influences entirely, such as American inventions born without apparent cultural influences. In contrast to this opinion, Theodor Adorno speaks about such phenomenon as â€Å"standardization† of popular music which his closely connected with mass â€Å"production† of music. Both authors agree that this popular music can never aspire to be art, but its distinctiveness is accepted and respected. With industrialization and urbanization this situation changes, community and morality break down, and individuals become isolated, alienated and anomic, caught up in increasingly financial and contractual social relationships. Theodor Adorno and Simon Frith explain that cultural decay is caused by the fact that music lacks its cultural meaning and becomes a source of profit and financial gains for hundreds of musicians. â€Å"The fact that music, like other contemporary art forms †¦ that individual creativity is a uniquely public good, has underpinned the economic organization of musical production since the end of the eighteenth century† (Frith 1999). Listeners are absorbed into an increasingly anonymous mass, manipulated by their only source of a surrogate community and morality, the mass media. The authors have different views on the forces and impact of mass culture on popular music. Theodor Adorno states that modern society is influenced by such phenomenon as pseudo-individualization which â€Å"means endowing cultural mass production with the halo of free choice or open market on the basis of standardization itself† (Adorno 2000). This audience is understood to be a mass of passive consumers, susceptible to the manipulative persuasions of the mass media, acquiescent with the appeals to buy mass-produced commodities such as mass culture, supine before the false pleasures of mass consumption, and open to the commercial exploitation which motivates mass culture. The emergence of mass society and mass culture means it lacks the intellectual and moral resources to do otherwise. In contrast, Frith underlines that listeners are associated with a specific idea of the audience for mass culture influenced by advertising and promotion. He pays a special attention to the impact of European and American popular music on national one which ruins uniqueness of national music and ‘turns’ a listener into a product of mass culture in spite of his/her will. Also, he explains that â€Å"The issue here is that the music that reaches us as somehow â€Å"ours† is in fact the result of specific musicians’ skills, ideas and energies, made available through a complex industrial process† (Frith). In contras to Firth, Adorno underlines that art lies beyond its aspirations, and it has already lost its uniqueness. The nature of audience therefore means that culture can be profitably mass produced. I agree with Adorno and his concept of pseudo-individualization and standardization. The standardized, formulaic and repetitive pieces of music are the result of the manufacture of cultural commodities by means of routine, specialized, types of production. Art cannot be produced in this way. The alleged aesthetic complexity, creativity, experiments and intellectual challenges of art cannot be achieved by the techniques or conditions which produce mass culture for mass audience. Instead, music depends upon the inspired genius of the individual artist working outside the constraints of the commercial market, and without the tried and tested formulas and standard techniques of mass culture. The example of blues (‘Back Door’ Man by Willie Dixon) shows that this genre is based on standardized formulas repeated and imitated by a number of musicians. This music is full of quick passages, percussive sound and unexpected calms. During 1950s, blues was characterized by a new sound: the sound of the electric guitar. Along with the honking saxophone, piano, bass, and drums, the guitar became a leading voice in every ensemble. The main elements of standardization are: slide guitar playing, songs written in traditional blues form, soulful and direct vocal performances. Listeners of this piece of music are proposed a certain tunes and sound effects they like or dislike. There is thus no point in making demands upon or challenging this audience in the way that art might do, or drawing it into genuine and authentic forms of communal participation as popular music might do, since their conditions can no longer be sustained. Instead, the mass audience is there to have its emotions and sensibilities manipulated, to have its needs and desires distorted and thwarted, to have its hopes and aspirations exploited for the sake of consumption, by the meretricious sentiments, the surrogate fantasies, the false dreams of popular music. Similar to other blues artists the composer dipped into traditional lyrics to fill out the song. Standardization is evident because the song is based on folk songs motives and the subject of romance which was the most popular in traditional blues. In sum, popular music is based on standardized approaches aimed to deliver mass product to consumers. Both authors show that mass music is a standardized, formulaic, repetitive and superficial one which celebrates trivial, sentimental, immediate and false pleasures. References Adorno, T. On Popular Music. ;http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/SWA/On_popular_music_1.shtml; Frith, S. Popular music policy and the articulation of regional identities http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/MIE/Part2_chapter04.shtml Dixon, W. Back Door Man. (song) How to cite Music and Identity, Essay examples