World and Native Music Essay

Tags: human culture 21st century music culture

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.....music?" is similar to the question "what is art?" As the author points out, talking about music is actually an ethnocentric activity because historically, most cultures did not think of their own music as "music," just as they might not have considered their art as "art." In the 21st century, most cultures are familiar with the concept of "music," as well as the concept of "art." However, music has historically been an extension of human culture and even religious activity and not viewed as being something that is distinct from religion and society. Even when musical traditions are deep, historical, and sophisticated, the methods used to analyze music do have Western components. Therefore, it may be important to consider different ways of analyzing musical features, concepts, and structures.



In this article, the author presents a definition of music divided into five parts. The first is that "all music is sound," and yet ironically, music also has elements of no-sound or silence as with the John Cage example. The periods of no-sound or silence can be used strategically to punctuate sound within a piece, or to draw the audience's attention to the ordinary sounds in the atmosphere that can constitute music when they are reorganized or constructed as such. Second, music is defined as "organized sound," even when the logic or the organization is not immediately apparent or appreciated by the listener. Third, music is human. This is one aspect of the definition that makes little sense, given the variety and structure of bird songs. In fact, the fourth part of the definition is that music is about "intention and perception." With animals, there is a lack of intention in creating "music," but there is also a lack of intention in creating "music" with traditional chanting and religious music. Finally, the fifth concept is that music is a Western concept.

What, in the World, is Music




The article "What, in the World, is Music" provides a controversial definition of music that is bound to create heated debates among readers.

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Although the author seems open-minded in the definition of music, there is a problem with assuming that music is a Western concept. The author even admits that "every culture in the world has produced forms of organized sound that we in the West consider music," but that "many of these cultures do not categorize their own "music" as music at all," (p. 250). This means that the author acknowledges that at least some non-Western cultures do categorize their music as music. Also, cultures might have talked about music in ways that were simply different from the Western concept. It is also possible that pre-literate societies conceptualized music but there is no recorded evidence of their musical knowledge.



Besides that main flaw, the article "What, in the World, is Music?" offers a good starting point for how to conceptualize different types of music. The strength of the argument is in the ability of the author to recognize John Cage's work of silence as a piece of "music." Similarly, the author acknowledges that what seems distasteful to some people will be warmly welcomed by others. I believe it is also important to consider music as having some kind of cultural context, something that the author does not discuss. The cultural context of Muslim chanting is a religious context, just as the cultural context of hip-hop is African-American politics. Some music occurs in a commercial context. Other types of music are more communicative in nature, as when bards sing songs to record history. Furthermore, music needs to be understood as a technical practice. Anyone can make noise on an instrument or device, but it requires technical practice and prowess to make music. Finally, music has important social and psychological dimensions.



McAllester,….....

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Works Cited

McAllester, David P. "North America/Native America."

Ruggles, Mary Jo. "Songs of the Peoples of the North American Plains."

"What, in the World, is Music?"

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