Music and Culture: How Do They Influence Each Other?
Music and culture have always had a close relationship. Long before recording equipment, music symbolized who people were and how they related to one another. Today, music continues to impact our lives and express the values, traditions, and conflicts both within and between communities.
Below, we’ll dive into the historical context of music beyond self-expression. You’ll learn more about its ability to immortalize heritage, inspire social change, and create global connections between people from different backgrounds.
The historical context for music and culture
In every corner of the world, music inspires, educates, and brings neighbors together. In ancient Greece and medieval Europe, music anchored religious ceremonies and secular events. In indigenous cultures, tribes used music to pass down stories and traditions to new generations.
There are also numerous examples of music serving as a catalyst or symbol during times of struggle. For example, before South Africa combined national anthems, Nelson Mandela officially declared the song “Lord Bless Africa” a joint anthem. Originally a hymn, the song came to represent defiance of Apartheid’s harsh regime.
In the same vein, songs like “We Shall Overcome” and “This Little Light of Mine” were popular during the Civil Rights Movement. The lyrics were clear calls for people to stand up against racist rules and regulations.
All over the world, we can see music and culture mixing together across eras, with each time period lending its own unique perspective to the repertoire.
How does music reflect cultural identity?
There are countless ways to express cultural identity, which explains the dozens of musical genres and the expansive range of instruments, sounds, and lyrics. Let’s take a look at the role of music in cultural identity and how its elements converge to convey a much larger message.
Representation through lyrics
Lyrics can be anything from abstract poems to direct calls to action. But regardless of their presentation, many musical styles verbalize the values, history, and social issues of a culture.
Perhaps the most widely seen representation is in religious ceremonies, as most cultures express their faith in the divine or their general spirituality through lyrics.
Communities can also use lyrics for more practical matters in their daily lives. For example, ballads were popular in Appalachian regions to recount recent events to largely illiterate communities.
Traditional instruments and sounds
Musical instruments have always reflected the available materials, technology, and craftsmanship of the culture that created them. At 50,000 years old, the earliest known instrument is the Neanderthal flute. Despite its age, this bone instrument follows the underlying principles of our modern scales today.
Instruments have also served different purposes beyond just making music. Based on artwork dated as far back as 2,800 BC, historians noted that Ancient Mesopotamians used instruments to denote class and labor divisions.
We can still see music-related class divisions and stereotypes today, particularly surrounding traditional sounds. For example, people may view genres like classical music as stuffy or reserved for the upper classes — which couldn’t be further from the truth!
Instruments often create a musical experience that mirrors the group’s emotions, affairs, or social climate. Some sounds are very distinct, like the sound of drums to signify the start of battle or rhythmic chanting to encourage solemnity during an act of worship.
However, instruments are versatile enough to bridge traditions. For example, drums have always been just as common during celebrations as they were during war. In Brazil, drums and tambourines energize crowds at Carnival. In China, lion dances blend martial arts and dance with percussion to scare off evil spirits and ring in the new year.
Music genres and regional styles
When you study a particular genre, you’ll find that its unique sounds, lyrics, and style are what define it. For example, popular music is a mix of thrilling beats, catchy hooks, and steady rhythms predictable enough to dance to.
These characteristics are often a side effect of the music’s geographic birthplace. For example, enslaved Africans in the South continued practicing their homeland’s musical traditions. Their musical heritage coincided with the rising popularity of brass bands in New Orleans.
Around the turn of the century, African-American musicians like Buddy Bolden bent the rules of the genres, deploying his cornet to inspire the earliest versions of jazz. Infectious and exciting, jazz’s popularity was near-instantaneous, and it wasn’t long before it became a beloved genre in nearly every corner of the country.
Thanks to globalization, we continue to see musical genres spread out, encouraging people to discover new sounds and add their own flavors to the mix.
Examples of preserving cultural heritage through music
Music can preserve a culture’s heritage by capturing its people’s history and traditions. Let’s look at the efforts of different groups to preserve identity and celebrate every culture’s contributions to the modern musical world.
Revival of indigenous music
All over the world, cultures are emphasizing the preservation of indigenous music, with today’s tribes bringing new ideas to traditional works.
For example, the haka chant was customarily reserved for men during Maorian ceremonies. Today, some Maorian women perform the chant, challenging the custom and claiming this cultural expression for themselves.
In Canada, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami tribe teaches traditional throat singing to new generations. In Mexico, the Yaqui tribe restored deer dances, using traditional instruments and sounds to honor the spirits of hunted deer and celebrate the animal’s contributions to the tribe’s well-being.
In the U.S., the Annual Harold A. Cedartree Memorial Pow Wow invites artists from indigenous tribes to share their family history and traditions.
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is a nonprofit record label that honors the legacy of Moses Asch. Asch was the founder of Folkways Records in the 1940s, a record label that collected and preserved the “people’s music” from all over the world.
In 2005, Smithsonian Folkways Records launched an online resource with tens of thousands of audio recordings. To collect and properly preserve these recordings, they partnered with organizations like:
- The International Library of African Music at Willard Rhodes University in South Africa
- The Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology of the American Institute for Indian Studies in India
- The Aga Khan Music Initiative for Central Asia
UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List
UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List comprises cultural practices that best define the heritage of different communities. Every year, a UNESCO committee meets to decide which expressions to add to the list and ensures communities consent before making official changes.
This includes the recognition and preservation of musical traditions, like the Mongolian traditional art of Khöömei (throat singing) and Flamenco from Spain. To join this prestigious list, the music must have made a significant impact on the culture’s evolution and the people’s heritage.
Digital archiving
Today’s technology provides nearly unlimited storage space for audio and video recordings. Future generations can see how their ancestors used instruments and lyrics to express emotions, capture traditions, and add artistic interpretations to their heritage.
Digital archives may not be immune from all threats, but they are more robust and versatile than physical media. Individuals, governments, and cultural organizations can use digital assets like the cloud to preserve and protect more music, reducing the chances of quality loss or destruction.
How does music influence culture over time?
There are plenty of examples of music influencing communities and cultures during important historical periods, so let’s take a look at some of them.
Catalyst for social change
Music is a powerful tool for social change. In some cases, artists penned songs specifically to motivate listeners to take action. For example, Sam Cooke released “A Change is Gonna Come” in 1964 as an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement.
Now, as it was then, the song is a powerful reminder that cultures must change with the times. Since then, the song has been sampled by pop artists like Beyoncé and played at Obama’s presidential rallies.
Other times, a generation or group will adopt a song to represent their stance on a particular issue. For example, Bob Dylan didn’t write “Blowin’ in the Wind” expressly for protesters during the Vietnam War. But it did come to represent the desire for peace and the safe return of America’s troops.
Globalization and cross-cultural influence
The evidence of cross-cultural influence in music is well-documented. Perhaps one of the more extreme examples would be when British artists like the Beatles visited America, and their music performances inspired hysteria. Long before planes and trains, though, even modest travel could result in major cross-cultural events.
Today, musicians have access to more sounds and technology than ever before, resulting in a richer, more diverse musical database. Globalization has exposed cultures to one another, creating multiple fusion genres, like Reggaeton (Latin music and hip-hop) and Afrobeat (African rhythms and electronic music).
Globalization has also opened doors for artists from all different backgrounds to build their fan base. Non-Western artists, like BTS and Dua Lipa, exploded in popularity thanks to globalization.
Unfortunately, globalization has also made cultural appropriation more common, prompting concerns about how artists and fans interpret other traditions and cultures.
For example, artists may portray people as caricatures in their videos or mimic accents with little regard for indigenous cultures. In addition, Western pop is such a juggernaut in the musical world that some fear it will dilute the power of music in different regions.
Digital age of music
The digital age of music has transformed how we consume sound today, making music as a lifestyle possible. Streaming platforms, social media promotion, digital storage, and emerging technology have created new discovery paths for everyone.
With technology more affordable and accessible than ever, it’s easier for people to stumble onto music that speaks to their moods and desires. There are also fewer barriers to becoming an artist, as tools like auto-tune and social media have helped people kick-start their careers in a heavily digitized space.
The influence on global culture and individual identity runs the gamut. In one sense, it’s resulted in more subcultures, as people are no longer limited to the shared experience of a handful of songs (either in their region or on the radio). They may listen less to absorb their heritage and more to satisfy their individual sensibilities and tastes.
In another sense, though, digitalization has brought more fans together, regardless of background. These music communities, like the BTS Army or Swifties, essentially sparked new cultural identities that their global audiences use to connect with one another.
Explore the enduring connection between music and culture
Looking back through history, you can see that music is essential to the human experience. Regardless of time or place, every culture harnesses its positive effects to express the values and traditions that are most important to them.
To truly appreciate music’s mark on the world, it helps to explore the music and lyrics of different cultures throughout history. But to truly appreciate what it means to create music, you’ll need to pick up an instrument.
At Trala, we inspire violinists of all skill levels to push themselves to new heights. We’ve seen first-hand how learning an instrument can transform people’s understanding of the musical world around them.
Ready to experience music on a different level? Sign up for violin lessons with Trala’s world-class teachers today!
