Music and Culture


Basic Questions
• Who plays the music?
• What are they playing/saying?
• Where are they playing?
• Why are they playing?
• (When) was this music created?

Who?
• Women? Men? Both?
• Members of a particular social class or ethnic group?
• People of high/low social status?
• Professionals? Amateur?
• Everybody? Specialists?


What?
• What Instruments, rhythms, melodies, scales, forms?
• What meaning (if any) does this music and musical behaviour have for society?
• What do the words (if any) mean?
• What is important--the musical sounds, or the event the music accompanies?

Where?
• In a Night club?
• Temple?
• Dance party?
• Ritual?
• Social gathering?

Why?
• To celebrate group identity,
• To entertain,
• To express religious devotion,
• To heal the sick,
• To earn money,
• To generate prestige(for themselves or others)

When?
• Is this old music still being performed in a meaningful, growing tradition?
• Is this new music, recently created for short term consumption
• Is this old music preserved for prestige or historical reasons, but largely without an audience?


(see more about Music Culture – Jeff Titon
  ¶ 3/08/2003 02:28:00 PM