Music and the American Culture Essay

With its extensive history, the role of music in our lives is very unlikely to ever lose its importance. Its presence in every culture has kept music relevant for centuries and will continue to do so despite any lack of sales or interest in other forms of entertainment. Music has always existed; just because it is easier to obtain doesn’t mean it is any less valuble.

Music is everywhere. It has been a fundamental factor in the evolution of culture since the beginning of time. Both the invention of the gramophone and the radio and the attempt to market these to the masses in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the culture of music has been assimilated more and more into life. Now the earth- as a culture- has become intertwined with each other through the development of the Internet and the establishment of it in everyday life. Due to this development, music has only become more accessible and portable to the public. A person can just pull out their phone and listen to music whenever and wherever that person wants.

Music has been a part of life for centuries. Classical masters such as Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven still touch lives today. Just like these composers changed their world musically, so did musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald. Because music is constantly evolving, artists are seeking new ways to continue to attract new audiences. MTV kick started a new age of music by boosting music video sales, and in addition changed the type television that is broadcast on both MTV and other channels, and shaped an entire generation’s culture.

Needless to say, the society we live in has been greatly impacted and shaped by music and changes in popular culture, especially over the last number of decades; no matter what music one may be into, as said by H. Goodall in ‘Story of Music’ whether classical, rock, metal or pop, it can make us weep or dance, and reflects the times it was written in. It has delighted, challenged, comforted and excited us (H. Goodall- Story of Music). This almost reliance on music can be seen through the massive development of music playing devices of vinyl to the current IPhone and recent development of things such as Spotify and Apple Music, these are all things that have come about in recent years to the meet the demands of people and the music they want

In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the United States was remade to a new world. With huge numbers of the immigrants into U.S, the rapid growth of the cities as well as the beginning of mass culture, U.S had gone through the industrialization and U.S itself had changed in many aspects. Music was one of them. At the very first, music was only known within a village or a city. It was not spread out the whole nation. However, with the industrialization, music was brought to many people throughout the country. Commercials, advertisements, and economic industry played a quite expressed role in order to promote music to be known. Within the rise of the mass

Music is a form of expression with numerous amounts of genres, each conveying different messages, emotions, and ideas. Rap is a music genre formed in the 1970s that depicts the life and struggles of being a minority, specifically African American, in the United States. This art form uses story-telling and rhyming techniques over highly rhythmic beats to express shared experience of the black community the majority could not relate to or understand. Created by DJs playing at block parties in South Bronx, New York, rap is a “common feature of community and popular cultural dialogues that always offers more than one cultural, social, political viewpoint” (Rose, 2). Black voices of urban America were finally able to partake in conversations they were left out of.

Music has been a part of human life and culture for thousands upon thousands of years, and as the years have gone on, music has also gone on to adapt to the changing times. With rapid advancements in the world of technology, it would only be a matter of time until technology played a role in the creation of music. Although, with the ease of making music with technology, also came a time in which music began to sound similar to other music. That time is now; a time of never-ending demand for music and a time where music has the largest impact on its audiences. Modern day music—popular music specifically—has ultimately become a commodified ‘copy and paste’ formula in which technology is the core equation.

Music and technology aid one another. In a way a person can capture music they love through technology and then the electronic companies flourish due to the sale and popularity of these electronic devices. If a person wants to listen to music they can turn on a stereo or TV, choose a CD or DVD to play, or listen to a songs downloaded in ITunes. All of these devices are proof to show how technology is used to record, play, and change the way music is heard. A look through history will show how far society has come in music alone. The development of technology has changed the way the music industry operates and the way society hears and purchases music today.

Throughout the course of history there have been many technological advances that have made a tremendous impact on human culture and the way our society functions. Inventions like the automobile, television, and the internet have all contributed to improve the quality of living as we know it. One major contribution to media and our culture was the development and rise of sound recording. Since it’s inception sound recording has evolved and adapted to fit our ever growing need for media. Thanks to this reason it remains heavily integrated into our culture. As sound recording developed, it pushed music, one of the oldest forms of media into a constant cycle of rebirth. As popular forms of music and its’ artists begin to heavily influence our

It is not only the female listener that is effected. The song may leave an equally compelling impression on these young males. These young men may actually believe what Dr. Dre is saying. They might disrespect women while looking down upon them. So, in order to change the attitude of defying women and change the attitudes of America's impressionable youths; people need to step up and talk back to the gangsters like Queen Latifah did in her song "U.N.I.T.Y" where she tells women, "You ain't a b---- or a ho." This song was strongly accepted by the American youths, especially the females. There are many female artists who are trying to get rid of the negative images of women. D.C. Talk, a Christian rap group, is another rap group that doesn't exploit women or encourage violence. In their song "That Kinda Girl", the lyrics "Love her and respect her, cherish her forever" is the way women should be treated. Another song by D.C. Talk "I Love Rap Music" is a humorous account of how rap music started. In the conclusion of the song they say, "Those obscene lyrics are overkilled" stating that since 1990 that is all rap music has come to.

We've been talking a lot about social rituals. Well, just what exactly is a social ritual? Social rituals are, basically, traditions or customs that a society has followed for many years. For example, in America, most people follow the custom of dating. In Israel, they tend to follow the tradition of arranged marriages. Yet, in some countries, they use courtship. Even though all three of these approaches to finding a mate are different, they all are very similar because they are all Social Mating Rituals. Now, of course, mating isn't the only social ritual. The way our culture responds to and views death is a social ritual in and of itself. So is the way we do warfare. The way we eat and the way we clothe

Throughout the times music has advanced in many different forms, evolved into unique styles and altered societal behaviors for both the good and the bad. Developments from the phonograph to the radio and now the IPod have made it extremely easy for listeners to become more engaged in their music. Each new development has led society to listen to music in a different way, thus changing the way we perceive music and the role that it plays in our lives.

I have recently been listening to a lot of Motown music and even jazz. I have never before explored music in the extent that I have done this semester. I always thought of myself as “cultured” but this semester, I’ve begun to realize there are more areas of music that I have not explored than those which I have. And as I explore culture and cross-cultural linkages in our music, I realize how much one generation’s music ‘speaks’ to the next.

Since the beginning of civilization humans have had music. We have used music to entertain each other, express emotions, and to enhance our religious beliefs. Human civilization evolves with new technologies and ideas and the same can be said about music too. Music has always been affected by what is happening all over the world. Music over time has been broken down into smaller eras of documented music. The first era of documented music is the Medieval Era and right now the world is in the Contemporary Era of music. I believe that music has been majorly affected by the many worldwide events that have happened throughout time.

Music influences us on a very deep subconscious level. It flows through us and affects our thoughts, concentration and even behavior. Music has not only represented cultures but has reinforced the ideas on which they were built. Music gives people and identity something that they can relate to. With this paper the author hopes to reveal the great psychological influence music has on both society and the individual.