Music and Culture
Since the beginning of time, the world has had a fascination
with music. It has been at the forefront of every social
gathering and in every society. Music has a way of setting a
tone for any venue, and whether it includes lyrics or not, it
speaks to all of us.
It seems as though every culture in the world has its own
preferred style of music. The rhythms are developed through
generations, and seem to evolve in never-ending chain. However,
despite all of its evolution, each culture still is able to
maintain its own style, and heritage.
Much like speech, music has a way of changing to suit its own
society, yet still maintain its base. If you look at the
differences in American music, you can see how it changes for
even a generation. Some would say that each generation of people
carry their style of music with them throughout their life.
Music that appeals to teens today, will most likely not appeal
to older adults. However, as today's teens grow older, they will
still maintain some partiality for the style of music they enjoy
listening to now. This theory can be seen by taking a look at
our elderly society. When they were teens, they enjoyed a style
of music that was produced by quartets, and small orchestras.
Glenn Miller and Luis Armstrong were popular. Even today, most
of that generation still enjoys the same style of music, and is
not usually inspired by the same music that today's teens listen
to.
Music and culture are intertwined. They both evolve in the same
way, and they both affect the others evolution. It's almost as
if one is a sort of metaphor for the other. When one thinks of
culture, they often first think of the music that is represented
by it, and visa verse.
It really does not matter what style of music a person listens
to or prefers. The fact is that music speaks to everyone in its
own way. It is what that person feels when they hear music that
can help shape both, the person and the music. In time, they
become a part of each other. They will each have an affect on
the other, and they will each carry the other forever.