US MUSIC and CULTURE
Music-1040
REFLECTIVE WRITING
US Music and Culture, is a diversity of Fine Arts. The vast panorama of American music and the understanding of society and popular music connect an importance of sociology in everyday life.
There are two texts introduced in the course. The first is “American Music” by Lorenzo Candelaria and Daniel Kingman. Kingman metaphorically categorizes American music into distinct streams with their own characteristics and functions. Some musical streams are full and some are dried and narrow. They are all constantly changing their banks and separating into branches of ever changing streams. Three of the main streams are folk, ethnic and classical.
Folk music generally originates from homelands outside of the United States. Whether it’s secular or religious its intention is to break through communal and ethnic barriers to reach a mass audience. This music is known to be enjoyed by a large portion of the community who identify it as their own music.
With the advent of radio and recordings came country and blues, jazz (which does not emerge entirely with any one of the broad streams) was soon born and in the early 1950s we began to experience rock. This is because popular music flourishes where ever a critical mass of population exists to support a commercial profit.
Classical music does not try to serve the needs of a community like folk and ethnic music does. Its listeners tend to have a certain degree of musical experience and historical knowledge. To understand classical music we must appreciate the composer’s imagination and the creative environment from which it grew. Although it is not considered a true popular form of music, the media is saturated with it and film has been and always will be engulfed by its presence.
American Music, A Panorama is a vast arrangement of musical roots, styles, and performers arranged in a sequence that allows the reader to fully understand the complex streams of music that led up to today’s ever-changing flow of music.
The second text is “Understanding Society through Popular Music” by Joseph A. Kotarba, a Professor of Sociology at Texas State University. Bryce Merrill of Western States Art Federation. J. Patrick Williams from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Philip Vinnini a Professor of Communication and Culture at Royal Roads University in Victoria.
Music is everywhere. Popular music truly serves as the soundtrack of our everyday lives. The book is oriented to the needs of two precisely defined audiences. One is made up of undergraduate students of introductory sociology for supplemental text and the second is made up of students of popular music sociology courses. The book shows how popular music affects all major social institutions and how music can be used to illustrate fundamental sociological theories and concepts.
The introduction presents for major theoretical paradigms in sociology, with examples of the approaches to the study of popular music. Chapter 1 is social interaction featuring the fundamentals of every day social life. Chapter 2 focuses on the families and the impact popular music has on this social institution. Chapter 3 talks about self and the life course which is our relationship in contrast between self and identity. Chapter 4 is on youth, deviance and subcultures. The concept of subculture is political resistance among youth. Chapter 5 is about religion and how it reflects musical styles and marketing strategies of secular popular music. Chapter 6 explores politics and the key concepts of sociological discussion. Chapter 7 is gender, race and class, the three key variables in sociological analysis of music. Chapter 8 is technology. It explains the complex interconnections between technology as things, symbols, and practices. When combined we get the term “technoculture”. Chapter 9 describes the process of globalization and social changes taking place throughout the world. The multi-directional networking of cultures is globalization that allows for and encourages creative cultural experiences around the world.
When I enrolled in this course I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew I would gain some knowledge in popular music but what kinds of music would I have to listen to. It turns out that the book, American Music “A Panorama” selects the most appropriate examples available to describe the key concepts of the styles and time lines in question. I really feel like I understand how all forms and styles of music came to be. This course is a great addition to my education and personal thoughts of music. My reflective writing will be followed by a PowerPoint presentation of chapter 8,” Technology”.