How Music and Culture Work Together David G. Such

Learning Objectives

· Identify the component parts of culture
· Identify the main function of culture
· Recognize some ways in which music and culture connect.
· Identify the two biggest uses of music in American culture today as well as throughout the world prior to modern technology.
· Discern the differences between colonial views of culture and post colonial views (cultural relativism)

I. Introduction

When observing music, Anthropologists and ethnomusicologists focus on two things. First, they consider how the music sounds (the music itself) or is put together, its melody, rhythmic structure, form, and lyrics. Second, they look at how music functions within the culture and the purpose it serves. For instance, they examine what songs are performed with religious rituals as opposed to functioning as entertainment.

II. Music and Human Culture

Since mules do not rap or sing lullabies, most scholars consider music to be an exclusively human phenomenon. Humans are also highly social, which is a very good thing. Mutual cooperation within a group of people helps get things done. In other words, when people get together and combine their talents, knowledge and skills, the group can achieve much. For instance, no one individual living in a small community alone has the wherewithal to construct a large road, though a group of like minded individuals can accomplish that task.

With that in mind, the relationship between music and culture can be simplified somewhat. Culture works to ensure people’s survival, and music contributes to that function by bringing people together. Of course, this is generally true only in small, rural communities, not necessarily in modern, urbanized settings. Also, keep in mind that prior to the invention of the phonograph in the 1880s (relatively not so long ago), the only way to hear music was via a live performance. Today, we can be alone and listen to music using any number of media devices.

III. A Closer Look at How Music and Culture Work

Remember that culture functions to ensure a group’s survival. Think of it as one vast body of shared knowledge that includes a common language for communication, ways of subsistence (growing food), ways of governing, and so forth. All those represent the basic components of culture that ensure all the needs of a group are met in order to continue and prosper.

Look at Figure 1 and the different components of culture that are commonly found in all cultures around the world, including small villages and hunting and gathering tribes still struggling to survive in rural Africa and a few other parts of the world.

Component parts culture.png

Now consider how music connects in some way with each of the "Component Parts Culture." An obvious example is music and language, since lyrics reflect the group's language. In addition, the lyrics can reflect cultural attitudes about love or about the supernatural. Another example is the connection between music and economics. Corporations in America, which control about 70% of the music industry, measure success in dollars. How does that affect music? Musicians perform music they believe will sell to the largest number of people possible. Not all artists approach music that way, but probably most do. Sometimes, that formula results in music that some (the minority of listeners) may consider trite, bland, watered down, and void of any relevant message.

A third example is music in religion. Before modern technology, throughout the world’s cultures, the biggest use of music in culture was to accompany religious ceremonies. Music works well with religion. Like God or the spiritual realm, music is unseen, yet it can evoke a powerful presence deep inside our being. The right music in the right setting takes people out of their mundane awareness and helps them to be more receptive to the divine.

Today, in America, the two biggest uses of music are found in entertainment and advertising. Music works well in advertising. A short, catchy melody with lyrics can help a product's brand name stick in the minds of listeners. Consequently, advertising is a 500 billion dollar a year industry, yet advertisers do not produce tangible products. They just help sell them, which apparently is necessary in a consumer driven society.