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Defining Music From A Sociological Perspective 1

Defining Music From A Sociological Perspective Brittany Heifferon University of Colorado Denver

Defining Music From A Sociological Perspective 2 As Aldous Huxley once said, After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. People from all over the world share many things in common, but one of the most prominent is music. Whether it is the simple melodies, the bouncing rhythms, or soulful harmonies, music has a way of touching the soul that little else does. In music, we find ourselves. Music has a wide impact on people, whether in its meaning to an individual or the styles one enjoys most, and we can understand its complexities best when analyzing the functions it serves and the way we are able to relate to one another through it. Music is a way of expression. Whether it is through an individual, a culture, or a whole nation, music offers itself as one of the rare means of communicating thoughts or emotions in a deep-rooted way. It brings people together, whether in celebration, for enjoyment, in tradition, in times of remembrance, or whatever else. In many ways, it helps us to understand things much bigger than ourselves or gain clarity in our everyday lives. It is by no means simple, however, it is very distinct in its presence. More practically, as described in our lecture, music is an art entertainment, or other human activity that involves organized and audible sounds and silence (Class notes, week 3). Combing elements like melody, harmony, timbre, rhythm, and pitch, music offers so much through all its complexities yet it has become so integrated into our daily lives that it has become commonplace. Though the ways in which we encounter music seem so ordinary, music carries the unique capacity to continue to amaze us. According to Patrik N. Juslin in the journal of Music Perception, music is probably the most widely practiced and appreciated of all art forms (Juslin, p383). Countless styles of music reach across our globe, offering many genres and varieties to appeal to anyone. But the ones

Defining Music From A Sociological Perspective 3 that appeal to us most are the ones that we connect with on a level that transcends all else, the music we find the power that touches our souls. The one music style that I feel this type of power through the most is country music. It is one of the most well known varieties of music for bringing people together. There is not much I enjoy more than cranking up my country music radio in the car with the windows down and sun shining while singing at the top of my lungs, but nothing beats being surrounded by thousands of other people joined in unison for the same artist, singing the same songs. While I take such great pleasure in the camaraderie that exists in getting together to have a good time, country music also speaks greatly to the heart and soul. Country music is unique in telling stories (McLaurin & Peterson, p3). One of country musics finest and most distinctive attributes is its ability to draw upon deeper emotions through illustrative stories. Well-known country artist Brad Paisley recently came out with the song This Is Country Music. Paisley comments on the real, honest, and bold topics of choice used commonly by many country artists over the yearstopics that are maybe hard to openly talk about, but the very things that people can relate to. And in the song, he welcomingly states, This is right where you belong. Country music fans share a closeness and intimacy with the artist and with each other in the ways they relate to the music and establish a firm connection. Music has had quite the impact on my life. Raised in a music loving home, I would not expect anything different. Both of my parents have huge connections to music and my brothers are both avid musicians. It is hard to recall times in my home where there was not music somewhere in the background, if not in the forefront, of our everyday lives. Any time I hear a song by Journey, Toto, Brooks & Dunn, and countless

Defining Music From A Sociological Perspective 4 others, I am instantly reminded of my childhood because those were the frequent tunes that filled my home. At the mere age of three, I knew every word to the Wilson Phillips CD, just from listening to it in the car all the time when running errands. Part of my daily routine was dancing around the living room to Disney Sing-a-Long tapes. And if for some reason there was not music to be heard, I was constantly humming a melody or singing a song of my own. My life has always been infused with a strong passion for music and I consider it quite a big part of who I am. When thinking of music in the most basic concept, it seems odd that a bunch of sounds thrown together can impact someone so much, but I believe it is because music is designed to be felt, unlike sound which is heard (Class notes, week 3). The way that music reaches out to a different part of us enables it to serve a deeper purpose. Musics intrinsic power to have such an impact on us can best be observed through the sociological theoretical approach of functionalism. According to lecture, functionalism is based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform (Class notes, week 5). When trying to understand something as broad and multifaceted as music, we must begin to understand the roles it plays in society. In Music, Culture and Experience, John Blacking believes the function of music is to enhance in some way the quality of individual experience and human relationships (Blacking, p31). The many experiences we encounter and the relationships we engage in have the propensity to intensify when our thoughts and emotions toward them are portrayed and strengthened through song. Blacking goes on to say, Its structures are reflections of patterns of human relations, and the value of a piece of music is inseparable from its value as an expression of human experience (Blacking, p31). When we

Defining Music From A Sociological Perspective 5 recognize that the value from music is attached to the value of experience, we can see why certain types of music appeal to us more than others. Blacking expresses music can communicate nothing to unprepared and unreceptive minds, putting it simply that we cannot connect to a topic or idea that we are not familiar with (p35). The best it can do is to confirm situations that already exist (Blacking, p36). In Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Patrik Juslin confirms the deep emotional effect music has on people and explains music as a powerful means of emotional communication in the way that it both expresses and induces emotions (Juslin, p383). While music communicates emotions we know to be true for ourselves, it also has the capacity to create emotions we would not otherwise experience. I have come to know this through the words of many country songs that depict situations I may not be familiar with, but I am somehow still able to connect with the emotions expressed by the artist. In You Wrote My Life: Lyrical Themes in Country Music, Melton McLaurin and Richard Peters describe this particular music as a mirror of thoughts and feelings of a people and their time (McLaurin & Peterson, p6). McLaurin and Peterson dissect the factors in country music that attract so many listeners and find that people are most charmed by the way that these artists assume a world of dualistic forces counterpoised and contesting for the allegiance of the protagonist: good and evil, wife and lover, sobriety and drunkenness, sacred and secular, job and freedometc (p6). Country music fans are able to find themselves in the midst of knowing that the first is right but the second is powerfully tempting and establish a bond with the artist and other fans in their agreement upon this notion (McLaurin & Peterson, p6). Certain values and beliefs prove to hold strong when they are integrated into the identity of a larger community.

Defining Music From A Sociological Perspective 6 This identity that we feel among a group of people through music can be appreciated through symbolic interactionism, which is based on how we see ourselves and how others see us (Class notes, week 5). It focuses on how values are shared at individual and group levels and explains that people take on the values of the group of which they are members (Class notes, week 5). This concept becomes very apparent in the musical world when we notice that many genres of music have their own subcultures. When a person connects with a certain type of music, it is most likely because they are able to connect with it in some way; the music usually expresses their values or the way they see the world and they start to blend themselves into that certain way of life. For example, those who listen to rap music may be more susceptible to a life of finding success through money, they may be involved in gang activity, alcohol and drugs, objectifying women, etc. Country music fans may find themselves living in a simpler world, valuing a slower place and smaller town, working hard but playing harder, patriotism, etc. These may seem like stereotypical ideas and I am not saying that all who listen to these types of music are this way, but when we surround ourselves with certain ideas and views, we become more inclined to take on such beliefs and value particular things. In Symbolic Interaction, Phillip Vannini and Dennis Waskul take music a step further in using it as a metaphor for symbolic interaction. They describe music as many things: organized sound, a social construction, a perception, and an external fact that is produced and consumed (Vannini & Waskul, p6) and go on to say that music is not only produced and perceived, it is experience by the senses (Vannini & Waskul, p15). When we realize that music has qualities that are essential to the way we live, we grasp an even greater appreciation for it. Vannini and Waskul apply the basic elements of

Defining Music From A Sociological Perspective 7 music to our world depicting that the resonance of individuals acting in concert with one another; the tone of music is the setting, the genre is the type of interaction; its tempo is the emotional energy of the participants involved in social interaction and so on (Vannini & Waskul, p16). Viewing music in this way gives even greater depth and meaning to what we hold on to in a very general sense and viewing symbolic interaction as music then leads us to believe that self, society, and interaction arise as responses to the search for melody, rhythm, and harmony (Vannini & Waskul, p16). Whether specifically finding value in a song or realizing the whole gift of music to seek greater things in our time, we can only begin to take in the huge impact music has on our lives. There is no escaping music. We are constantly surrounded by it, especially in our society today, and even when it is not right in front of us, it is not in the least bit difficult to seek it out. It has the unique power to bring us together, speak to our deepest emotions, and identify our values while also encouraging us to seek the melody, rhythm, and harmony in our own lives. Understanding the value music holds to us individually and as a whole gives us reason to believe that if music can change us, then it can change the world.

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Bibliography Blacking, John. (1995). Music, Culture, and Experience. London: University of Chicago Press. McLaurin, Melton A. and Peterson, Richard A. (1992). You Wrote My Life: Lyrical Themes in Country Music. Switzerland: Gordon and Breach. Juslin, Patrik N. (1997). Emotional communication in music performance: a functionalist perspective and some data. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 14 (4), 383-418. Paisley, Brad. (2011). This is Country Music. On This is Country Music [CD]. Nashville: Sony Nashville. Reali, Carlos. (2012). What is Music?. Lecture Notes From Week Three. SOCY 3650E01 Sociology of Music, UCD. Spring 2012. Reali, Carlos. (2012). Sociological Theories and the Sociology of Music. Lecture Notes From Week Five. SOCY 3650-E01 Sociology of Music, UCD. Spring 2012. Vannini, Phillip and Waskul, Dennis. (2006). Symbolic interaction as music: the esthetic constitution of meaning, self, and society. Symbolic Interaction, 29 (1), 5-18.

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