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Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
On another thread about censorship i posted a small section of my thesis and had a couple of posts requesting more. Well without visiting the University of Ulster (near Belfast) i'm not sure how you can access it?
So i'm posting the Lit. review (the methodology would bore you to tears) below. Have a read of it if you have time.
Comment or criticize at will.
Sorry Jeremy about the length of the post below but a couple of people wanted to read my Thesis.
This is not the complete thesis as the methodology would bore most people to tears but the Lit. review is below.
“There can be no music without ideology” (Perris 1985 p67)
are words attributed to the composer Shostakovich. This statement acts as a starting point illustrating for us a clear link between the worlds of music and politics. But in what forms? And why?
1.1: Cultural Identity
A prominent theme is established through the majority of the literature on the topic. It is indisputable that music is used in many instances to foster a sense of common belonging. This, in the greater majority of cases, takes the form of nationalism or more general cultural sectionalisms.
Graham (2001) argues
“Ideological factions culturalise time and space to make it more manageable” (p10)
In this way ideologues can use musical forms to create identities among people who can then be led or manipulated to further a political ends. Graham quotes Benedict Andersons work in 1991.
“Any nationalist ideology is the work of imagination” (p11)
Anderson argues that it is this ‘horizontal comradeship’ that makes the blood sacrifice of war possible.
Neville Douglas (Graham 1997) describes identity as a collection of values, beliefs and aspiration among similarly minded people. He goes on to argue that this organisation into groups leads to an identification of the ‘the other’.
Symon (1997) examines the question of national identity’s connection with music by focussing on a Scottish folk band (Jock Tamson’s Bairns) who were active in the folk revival of the 1970s.
He argues music in the wider context of culture serves to construct identity and a sense of belonging. Key to his observation of a Scottish cultural revival was Caledonian musicians’ perception of a failure of constitutional politics. According to his view Scottish musicians reacted against the failure of a referendum on increasing Scotland’s independence. The despair among nationalist musicians at the rejected opportunity was converted into a musical zeal leading to the revivalist movement.
His view is consistent with other commentators (mentioned later) that folk and traditional musics are particularly concerned with concepts of national identity.
Echoing Neville Douglas’s argument Symon views ‘Scottishness’ as a reaction against ‘Englishness’ and interestingly he talks of the challenge of Irish music, asserting that Scottish music has difficulty in gaining recognition for its own particular nuances.
In ‘Ethnicity, Identity and Music; the musical construction of place’ Martin Stokes (1997) reveals how defined and complex this concept can be. He cites the example of Mexican musicians who live in Texas. He maintains that within this immigrant community two sub-cultures have developed their own distinct forms. Stokes explains that those who better embraced the ‘American way’ and made advances on social ladders tempered their musical tastes and while retaining a tradition of Mexican music they tempered it and lessened the ‘wildness’ of its sound. In contrast he refers to a more separatist community who emphasise their difference by practising a more traditional form of their cultural music.
It can hardly be denied that music is used to foster notions of collective and geographical identities give the fact that there is not a state on the planet without a piece of music that is intended to represent a national psyche. Mach (Stokes 1997) illustrates that alongside flags and emblems (abuse of which are usually prohibited by law) anthems are the other expression of a nation at sporting occasions and major international events.
One could argue that nowhere is the relationship between music and politics more relevant than in the locality of Northern Ireland and the wider context of the whole island. May McCann (1995) argues that since we have knowledge of music in Ireland we have seen a relationship with politics.
Stokes (1997) examines this interaction in Ulster in some detail. He argues that musicians ‘patrol’ cultural boundaries within Northern Ireland. Stokes cites the examples of orange/loyalist bands parading in Belfast City Centre thus claiming the area as their own, and the tradition of playing what is perceived as Irish traditional music in the pubs and clubs in nationalist areas of the city.
He illustrates the esteem that these concepts of identity and related musical affiliations are held in with an anecdote about a guitar player having his hands mutilated for playing in a traditional Irish music session, for those unfamiliar with Irish traditional music it should be stated that the guitar is not regarded by purists as an Irish instrument and they resent its introduction into the music.
Scott Reiss (Bohlman & Stokes 2003) follows in a similar vein arguing that playing traditional music
“defines a certain construction of Irishness. It enacts a culture of orality, an awareness of heritage and linage.” (p148)
Chapman (Stokes 1997) attempts to reason the popularity of Irish traditional music by affirming that practising the music is much more accessible than speaking the language. He argues that the difficulties associated with learning Celtic languages serve to direct people towards musical participation when they want to express an Irish nationalism.
McCann (1995) discusses a theme of music being a battleground within the Irish context for centuries. She tells us that the United Irishmen of the 1798 rebellion saw the added value of music over dry prose with their use of song. It was this Belfast Presbyterian patriotism that led to the famous Belfast Harp Festival of 1792, where harpers including the famous O’Carolan gathered to have their airs notated lest they be lost. Further to this she highlights the musical conflict between the religious based groups of the Orange Order and the Ancient Order of Hibernians with rival parades often leading to civil unrest. Interestingly though McCann’s focus is not along traditional orange/green lines but rather on the non-sectarian folk revival in Belfast in the 1970s. Her paper suggests that sections of the youth rejected local political debates and adopted agendas of a wider nature.
A common theme, immediately apparent throughout the literature, is the idea that Irish Traditional Music owes its popularity not to those practitioners at home but rather to emigrant communities.
Catherine Curran (Vallely 1996) asserts that post-famine Ireland was so decimated that it left little foothold for a musical tradition to survive. In this way then, she views the exporting of the music to USA via emigrant communities crucial for it’s survival. She subscribes to O’Connor’s argument that the most important developments in ITM took place in the USA with the big record companies seizing upon a commercial demand for ethnic music amongst the immigrant communities.
Similar to the Mexican example cited earlier Curran (Vallely 1996) details a historic vein of conflict within the sphere of Irish Traditional Music. The debate between progressives and the conservationists has long raged in Irish music circles and continues to the present day. Conservationists, or purists, describes those who wish to preserve what could be termed as a musical virginity. Against this we can see a mini-tradition of pioneering groups who seek out other influences and attempt to in-corporate them into the host culture. These artists are often labelled under a fusion genre. Curran, however, illustrates with a different example. She contends the CCE in the 1970s resisted any attempts to dilute the integrity of established tradition with modern folk-balladry that was popularised by groups such as ‘The Dubliners’ or ‘The Clancy Brothers’, stating that the decision to move the 1969 fleadh to Listowel in Co. Kerry was a deliberate attempt to keep young urban Dubliners away.
Hamilton (Vallely 1996) argues this obsession with the question of traditional-ness is a result of the traditional musician’s reluctance to deconstruct other aspects of the music.
1.2: Music & Political Power
The examined literature offers a second aspect to our earlier concern of the relationship between music and politics. Issues of how political masters past and present have reacted to music and musicians are raised by the material and the consequences of this interaction are varied.
The principal author on this topic who best explains the complicated connection between these two worlds is John Street. Street’s (2003) article with a strikingly similar rationale to the authors work, contains in its abstract a valuable point about the 2001 UK General Election. While establishing the various musical backgrounds to the various parties campaigns Street raises the media castigation of the Conservatives choosing an artist who’s portfolio included the theme tune to the Wombles cartoon. This was compared with yet another New Labour triumph in their series of ‘Things can only get better’ [1997] and ‘Lifted’ [2001]. The conclusion of this musical portrayal of gradual societal improvement was U2’s ‘Beautiful Day’. Street argues
“Behind the battle of the bands and parties there lurked a more
intriguing argument. Not only was it assumed that pop was a necessary adjunct of contemporary political communications, but that judgements about music were themselves political judgements, revealing of more than mere taste. However trivial this particular moment in pop’s engagement with politics, it was a sign of the way in which political and cultural capital are entwined.
Interestingly Linda Colley describes the British national anthem as an early attempt to foster an acceptance of Reginal authority (Street 2003). It is a well-established historic fact that music was utilized in a deliberate way by totalitarian regimes in the pre WWII Europe to control people, but Street (2003) explains that the allied forces pursued similar policies to their axis counterparts citing the establishment of the ENSA, the British wartime entertainment organization.
While dealing with the concept of Government censorship Street (2003) reveals one of his principal arguments that music is censored because the censor fears its effects. He cites the example of the BBC and the Sex Pistols saying censorship revealed little directly about the effect of the music but rather more about the conservative outlook of the corporation.
In the wider interpretation of censorship Street observes that governments such as Canada and Scandinavian countries, have imposed upon radio stations quotas that necessitate the devotion of certain percentages of air-time, to national musics and artists. This is to ensure folk and traditional musics have at least an opportunity to resist the Anglo-American commercial music industry. Highlighting South Africa, Street (2003) explains that under the apartheid regime the rural music of the country was nurtured and propagated by the authorities as it expressed a national identity in a more submissive manner than its urban counterpart.
When Perris (1983) studied the use of music in communist China his view was largely compatible with that of John Street. He stated that totalitarian regimes have always used music as a means of control. He explains the Maoist theory that the idea of innocuous music is a fallacy. Key to Mao’s ideological stance on music was his desire to see music accessed by the proletariat and not remain in the domain of a bourgeoisie elite. Blacking (1981) argues that the Marx as the architect of communism was concerned with the people’s ownership of their senses and sought the proletariats exposure to music as another victory against the ruling classes.
Street (2003) considers the motive of the Taliban when banning all forms of music in Afghanistan as an attempt to numb the mind of the people. He argues it was deliberately eradicating the colour from the fabric of society. He elaborates, saying with music banned in public, funerals and weddings became difficult to distinguish. One could argue the Taliban believed a bland society a controllable one. It is highly significant for our purposes that he therefore recounts,
“news pictures of Afghans celebrating the overthrow of the Taliban regime by digging out their hidden radios and cassette recorders and playing music in public” (p120)
The clearest example, in an Irish context, of control exerted by Government on the use of music was detailed by Curran (Vallely 1996). She asserts that DeValera under influence of the Catholic Church was concerned with the moral well-being of the youth of the nation. Impromptu ceilí dancing at crossroads and houses was a practice long established in rural Ireland. The Church was frustrated that it had little influence on the proceedings at these gatherings. They were portrayed as wild parties of drink and debauchery and the Fianna Fail government was pressured into action. The Public Dance Halls Act of 1935 restricted dancing to licensed halls and consequently the main group with the resources and influence to gain this licensed status was the Catholic Church. Dancing was restricted to parish halls throughout the country and under the vigilant eyes of the local priest these revelries became much more sterile affairs.
Stokes (1997) proposes a theory that could explain the reaction of the authorities in the above example. Firstly one must consider the conventional anthropological concept that most dance is rooted in a societal mating ritual of various forms. Following this we can say that music in its most primeval forms was intended for dancing rather than our model, which includes appreciation. Stokes argues
“Social dance bringing together unmarried men and women in public space is a problem in any society in which social and moral order is imaged in terms of marriage and confinement of sexuality within the domestic unit. The fact that musicians preside over these occasions in the very real sense of controlling the ‘flow’ of the socio-musical space, makes them powerful and problematic figures for society at large” (p23)
He goes on to elaborate that this is the reason that male musicians are often portrayed as pseudo-homosexuals or at very least lacking traditional masculinity. Helené La Rue (Stokes 1997) illustrates the point with a colourful quotation from Stubbes’ book on etiquette from 1583
“Of a Sonne If you would have him as it weare, transnatured into a woman, or worse and inclined to all kinds of whoredom and abomination, set him to dancing school, and to learn musicke, and than shall you not faile of your purpose. And if you would have your daughter whoorish, bawdie and uncleane, and a filthy speaker, and such like, bring her up in musick and dauncing, and, my life for yours, you have wun the goal” (p196)
1.3: Psychology of music
The theory behind what music does to people when they listen is both complex and varied, but it is reasonable to argue that any answer to this question can expose fractions of the rationale of political communication through music.
Perhaps the major theory that has come under considerable strain in the literature is the argument that music evokes associations with events. Stokes (1997) tells us that no other social activity can match the intensity with which music organises collective memories. He widens his argument by saying the music itself is not the sole factor in the power generated.
“It is important that music and dance in these kind of rituals are not just seen as static symbolic objects which have to be understood in a context, but are themselves a patterned context within other things happen ………… In Ireland terms such as craic and nyah ……… point to the crucial relationship between music and ritual.” (p5) Therefore Stokes identifies the music and the social settings as powerful agents that can generate sufficient memories with emotive and physiological effect. He is saying the music is not the final article, it is the setting in which other social events occur. The craic and the ‘nyah’ are words describing the music created in the session, the drinking, chat and banter are the social activities, so music in this sense is a cultural scene setter for ritual.
Stokes’ view while prima-face logical is also controversial.
Cornell University’s Krumhansl (2002) disparages such theory with her point that if such were true why then do people give such similar responses as to why they listen to music. She asserts that nobody has the exact same personal memories as anyone else so why are peoples responses to the above question strikingly uniform?
She also rejects arguments that people react to music because of lyrical content raising the point that people react to words in foreign languages that they do not understand, Italian opera being a pertinent illustration.
Instead she opts for a more analytical approach based on various musical characteristics. Contending that research has shown various musical devices evoke certain responses she cites examples of minor keys inducing sadness or a flowing timbre encouraging relaxation. She points out that music that fulfils an orthodox time signature has a complete quality and tells how alternative examples can leave the listener yearning for a traditional perfect or plagal cadence ending.
Conducting her own experiment Krumhansl played various music to subjects and asked them to turn an electronic dial according to how each made them feel. The experiment was repeated measuring physiological data e.g. heart-rate, breathing. The results showed similar effects in both cases.
In his study of music’s affect on driving performance Brodsky highlights Oblad’s research who
“claimed that many drivers were aware of their own reactions to specific melodies, and chose music pieces differentially. Accordingly, participants described the effects of music as influencing both their rhythms of driving and concentration, as well as charging their perceptions of relaxation and stimulation.” (1.1)
Finkelstein (1976) directly acknowledges the key debate yet to be resolved in this area. He asks the question
“whether human imagery of music is only arbitrary, an outgrowth of social custom, or whether it is based on the natural physical characteristics of sound.” (p17).
Those who argue meaning attached to music is arbitrary say no music has a ‘natural’ meaning or effect, instead they say it is the result of social conditioning. The opposite concept is that of the aforementioned Krumhansl (2002) and says that music will contain certain characteristics that demark various meanings within it. Such advocates will say that a military marching tune could never be appropriate for a lullaby. Arguing it cannot be anything other than both Finkelstein himself remains uncommitted.
Shepherd and Wicke (1997) admit musicology as a discipline has been poor in explaining how meaning is attached to music. They argue the traditional methods using a content analysis approach are sorely inadequate. This is a reasonable contention given that it ignores one of the two major factors that make up musical experience.
Shepherd and Wicke (1997) concur with earlier opinions when stating
“Particular harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and timbrel configurations are equated with particular moods, emotions and cultural meanings” (p10).
They engage in analysis of how key psychological thinkers viewed the power of music to affect humans. Shepherd and Wilke (1997) detail Saussure’s work and alert us to the fact that his conclusion for music is no exception to the rest of his work; i.e. all meaning to any sign is arbitrarily denoted. However offering opinion on the possible view of musicians they believe that most artists can be expected to have some difficulty in accepting this concept.
The musicologist from Queen’s University Belfast Professor John Blacking (1981) was of the opinion that
“music and music-making can in principle be assigned almost any social, political or religious meaning, and treated like any other social activities, but the symbols that are invoked also involve the body in such a way that they sometimes acquire a force of their own” (p10)
Although Freud did not address the affect of music on the human mind directly, others have developed his theories on windows to the subconscious. According to Shepherd and Wilke (1997), Freud’s idea that dreams or slips of the tongue provide glimpses to a person’s true psyche was seized upon by later theorists who argue that music has a similar quality to Freud’s favoured vehicles. A controversial view is that of Kohut and Levarie (Shepherd & Wicke 1997) who say this is as a result of music’s ability to ‘circumvent’ the world of language. The psychological convention is that one cannot have a thought without words to convey it. They say musicians can understand the world of sounds without relating to language.
Coriat (Shepherd and Wicke 1997) agrees stating “Music is the purest expression of art and musical fantasy is practically untrammelled or distracted by associations rooted in reality. It reaches the unconscious with a minimum of extraneous resistance”. (p56)
The debate as one can observe is unresolved, psychologists have yet to settle on a definitive theory but the above section establishes the various key arguments on the subject. Given the fractious nature of the theories of psychology and music the author would encourage the reader to sympathise with any of their own choosing.
1.4: Political Music
In this section the author will attempt to detail some of the instances of particularly political music and reasons why they are chosen by artists as vehicles to convey message.
Balliger (Salonsky & Wei Han-ho 1995) provides us with an interesting argument by way of introduction. He declares that with the rise of rap/hip-hop style music it is no longer a question of ‘is the music political?’ but rather ‘what are the politics of this music?’. One could argue that he has a point but it is first necessary to accept that music described as ‘in-consequential’ such as recent examples of the ‘Cheeky-Girls’ or the ‘Crazy Frog’ is part of a loose political agenda driven by a capitalist-orientated music industry. Blacking (1981) regarded labelling music as unhelpful arguing in particular that in the conventional sense is a misnomer. He asserts that popular music is any piece that has successfully communicated with an audience, citing examples as diverse as the Beatles, Handel or the Londonderry Air.
However for our purposes the author will concentrate on those more traditional genres charged with bridging the gap between music and politics.
In western civilisation folk music is the style most associated with politics. According to Redhead and Street (1989) folk music has political connotations because it is ‘of the people’. This fits into the political convention of the socially conscious left resisting dominance from the capitalist right. Indeed it was Street (2003) in a later article that confirmed this notion by arguing music had long been a vehicle of resistance, from English folk songs to the works songs of slaves. Redhead and Street (1989) contend that the definition of folk music has extended beyond traditional conventions and now includes any music that is not seen as commercialised. One could argue that this definition is unhelpful as it would exclude such eminent folk artists as Bob Dylan or in an Irish context Planxty who both release on the Columbia label.
In examining why music is chosen as a method of political communication Alan Lomax (1968) contends that sung communication has an audience that is captivated and redundant, rather than speech, which can be two-way. The idea of music having a level of control over an audience is also touched upon by Perris (1985) in his discussion of black protest song. He argues the ‘call and response’ method exerts a control over and audience, also highlighting their simplicity and repetitive tendencies as being conducive to re-enforcing political message. It is when these theories are viewed in conjunction with John Street’s (1986) idea that folk music has specific factors that make it conducive to political message.
“Folk’s emphasis on the words and simple instrumentation make it adaptable and hospitable to politics” (p154)
He agrees with Lomax on the subject of the relationship between singer and audience,
“Particularly in the protest form of folk the message is delivered, not discussed” (p155).
He contends that audience participation in choruses merely endorse the song and have no power to alter its message. Both Lomax (1968) and Street (1986) argue that music is used to instil a sense of solidarity using examples as diverse as armies and picket lines. Lomax (1968) raises an interesting point about the power of choral singing when he likens its collective nature to the power of ‘the mob’.
John Moulden (Vallely 1996) argues that folk’s popularity, as a genre, is due to the freedom it offers to the performer. It is his contention in classical the performer must play the music largely to the composer’s intention, he argues that folk music looses the bonds upon the artist and leaves arrangement at his/her own discretion.
In a similar attempt to reason the global popularity behind the practise of Irish traditional music Dowling (Vallely 1996) attributes the phenomenon to the level difficulty it offers. He maintains that Irish traditional music is located in the centre region of a spectrum of difficulty. The idea is that it offers a challenge to the player but with effort an average musician can attain a reasonable standard of competence. The same is unlikely to be argued for a Pagininni violin concerto.
Redhead and Street (1989) have the concept of the folk musician as the principle focus of their article and within this area they have examined a number of key questions.
The first notion they identify as significant is the idea of legitimacy. It is their contention that musicians are attracted to specific musical forms to establish credentials. Citing an example they argue that when Sting wanted to be regarded as a serious artist he associated himself with top quality jazz musicians as he viewed jazz as a ‘serious’ genre. Similarly they argue Gary Kemp of the 80s super-group Spandau Ballet played an acoustic guitar when he joined the Red Wedge tour as an attempt to re-brand himself as a ‘serious’ musician. The author is aware that the question of what is or what isn’t a ‘serious’ musician is indeed a perilous one but suggests that for these purposes the reader regard it as a label for those desiring recognition beyond commercial pop-music.
Authenticity is the second aspect of the folk artist concept that is identified by Redhead and Street (1989). They argue that folk musicians cultivate authenticity to maintain the crucial link between them and those who consume their music. Central to this point is their notion of ‘roots’. According to the pair this model of roots has various manifestations. One is the relationship between the artist and his commercial masters at the record label. If the relationship is too comfortable folk consumers can sometimes be suspicious of a ‘selling-out’ of traditional folk values. A pertinent illustration of the machinations in such a relationship could be the recent criticism of the record label EMI by Cold-play singer Chris Martin. In a report on the incident Stephen Evans BBC North America business correspondent said
“Biting the hand that feeds you is always dangerous - unless you're a very big dog indeed. When Coldplay's Chris Martin bemoaned "slavery" to shareholders who were the "greatest evil of this modern world", EMI barely blinked.”
Another way in which this notion of roots is displayed is the connection between the artist and their original fans. Often a measure of a performers authenticity is the degree to which they have retained interest from their first followers. Perhaps an idea simplest explained in the negative sense, it is a nonsense to talk of the pop act ‘Girls Aloud’ keeping true to their roots. They were manufactured by a pop-industry that presented them as instant successes; core or original fans do not exist.
Lifestyle is another way in which folk artists cultivate roots imagery, Redhead and Street tell us that Joni Mitchell and Neil Young were castigated for arriving at the Isle of Wight festival in a Rolls Royce in an obvious neglect of their public image.
Wayne Hampton (1986) in his book Guerrilla Minstrels examines the concept of the protest singer. He maintains that the cult of hero-worshipping figures such as Bob Dylan or Woody Guthrie actually serves to amplify the power of their message. He states,
“the package that is the heroic image is more than legend and lore….It is permeated by ideology. And ideology is what creates the mind guerrilla. Consciousness, as it were is conquered through the back door.” (p39)
In this way the author views it possible to contend that the image of the folk/political artist when cultivated appropriately can be a potent weapon at the particular artist’s disposal.
1.5: Conclusion
Having examined the material the author would point out that the themes identified go some way in illuminating the parameters of the relationship between music and politics. However, as one can observe the Literature on this subject provides little in the way of congruent opinion and so leaves it arduous to draw definitive conclusions.
The eminent scholar Professor John Blacking (1995) in acknowledging the lack of authoritative opinion provided this pertinent quotation.
“If we knew more about “music” as a human capability and its potential as an intellectual and affective force in human communication, society, and culture, we could use it more generally to enhance general education and to build peaceful, egalitarian, and prosperous societies in the twenty-first century, just as our prehistoric ancestors once used it to invent the cultures from which all civilisations evolved”. P(242)
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
I didn't read all of it, but according to your conclusion, backed up by a quote from an "eminent scholar," your "thesis" seems to be:
>the Literature on this subject provides little in the way of congruent opinion and so leaves it arduous to draw definitive conclusions.
That seems to be a rather weak statement in a conclusion. What is your real thesis? That needs to be restated in the conclusion in a bare bones fashion. I speak as an academic here, not as a musician. If you've got something to say, at least tell us what it is.
Again, i didn't read all of it, so I may be missing something here.
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
I don't feel very qualifies to offer ay sort of judgement, but I found it fascinating, thanks jfiddlerh.
Quite the anecdote about the guitarists' hands.
What makes me scratch my head is the discussion of the psychology, and this:
"She also rejects arguments that people react to music because of lyrical content raising the point that people react to words in foreign languages that they do not understand, Italian opera being a pertinent illustration."
Which is interesting. WIthout that, why is there a connection between folk music and politics to be outlined?
It's too bad there isn't more study of how non-lyrical music effects the brain so that we could understand if the lyrical content is truly important or not when dealing with the rest, the political connection.
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Carolan was dead long before the Belfast Harp Festival of 1792 - though it says a lot for his reputation that so many of his pieces remained in circulation then.
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Eliot
Fair enough judgment on reading the material i posted. As i said out the post was just the Lit review. That assertion was to lead me onto my project of better establishing the motivation of political musos and i interviewed Tommy Sands (author of 'They were roses' and Wille Drennan who had penned a song campaigning against lignite mining in Co. Antrim) to see why they campaigned through music as opposed to other methods etc. It was a really difficult question and i could've done with further nailing it down. Is it a conscious decision to write the song? i.e. do they do it just because they are musicians and that happens to be how they express themselves, or do they believe music has a power to communicate messages that other mediums lack etc.
I was searching for commonality in their repsonses, the findings were difficult to be definitive but it seemed it was a little of both.
The second part of my project was designed to measure the effectiveness of music as a means of political communication. To this end i conducted 2 focus groups measuring attitudes to Nuclear weapons after 'The Sun is Burning' was sung to one group, and just the lyrics on paper to another.
There was a significant difference in attitudes so that allowed me to conclude that music has a capability to reach parts other mediums can't? But unfortunately the answer as to what that capability is - is beyond my psych knowledge.
SWFL
The Psyc stuff was away above my head but it had to be examined.
Anyway i enjoyed writing it immensely and combining your two passions in life for a thesis is definately highly recommended.
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Thanks jfiddlerh ~ still reading
Music moves me It seems to have been so as long a I can remember. Your thesis got me to thinking about the power of music & how it affects different people differently. American slave - owners may have banned the spirituals if they really understood them.
I remember songs like ~
'Swing Low Sweet Chariot'
"Deep River"
"Free at Last" &
"Blind Man Stood on the Road
& Cried"
I just found one I have mot heard before;
Got my letter
Got my letter to hail the train
Got my letter, got my letter, got my letter
Got my letter to hail the train
Fisherman Peter out on the sea
Stop your fishing, Peter, and follow me.
Got my letter
Got my letter to hail the train
Got my letter, got my letter, got my letter
Got my letter to hail the train
I got my religion from out the sun
I clapped my hands and began to run.
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Just remembered a brilliant thing that Tommy Sands said during my interview with him.
"I think words laced in music certainly can impact. If music didn’t impact then Victor Hara wouldn’t have been killed and his fingers broken for playing the guitar." (Tommy Sands)
I just love the imagery of words 'laced' in music. Its conveys a beauty juxtaposed alongside the Grotesqueness of Victor Hara's murder.
Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
On another thread about censorship i posted a small section of my thesis and had a couple of posts requesting more. Well without visiting the University of Ulster (near Belfast) i'm not sure how you can access it?
So i'm posting the Lit. review (the methodology would bore you to tears) below. Have a read of it if you have time.
Comment or criticize at will.
Sorry Jeremy about the length of the post below but a couple of people wanted to read my Thesis.
This is not the complete thesis as the methodology would bore most people to tears but the Lit. review is below.
“There can be no music without ideology” (Perris 1985 p67)
are words attributed to the composer Shostakovich. This statement acts as a starting point illustrating for us a clear link between the worlds of music and politics. But in what forms? And why?
1.1: Cultural Identity
A prominent theme is established through the majority of the literature on the topic. It is indisputable that music is used in many instances to foster a sense of common belonging. This, in the greater majority of cases, takes the form of nationalism or more general cultural sectionalisms.
Graham (2001) argues
“Ideological factions culturalise time and space to make it more manageable” (p10)
In this way ideologues can use musical forms to create identities among people who can then be led or manipulated to further a political ends. Graham quotes Benedict Andersons work in 1991.
“Any nationalist ideology is the work of imagination” (p11)
Anderson argues that it is this ‘horizontal comradeship’ that makes the blood sacrifice of war possible.
Neville Douglas (Graham 1997) describes identity as a collection of values, beliefs and aspiration among similarly minded people. He goes on to argue that this organisation into groups leads to an identification of the ‘the other’.
Symon (1997) examines the question of national identity’s connection with music by focussing on a Scottish folk band (Jock Tamson’s Bairns) who were active in the folk revival of the 1970s.
He argues music in the wider context of culture serves to construct identity and a sense of belonging. Key to his observation of a Scottish cultural revival was Caledonian musicians’ perception of a failure of constitutional politics. According to his view Scottish musicians reacted against the failure of a referendum on increasing Scotland’s independence. The despair among nationalist musicians at the rejected opportunity was converted into a musical zeal leading to the revivalist movement.
His view is consistent with other commentators (mentioned later) that folk and traditional musics are particularly concerned with concepts of national identity.
Echoing Neville Douglas’s argument Symon views ‘Scottishness’ as a reaction against ‘Englishness’ and interestingly he talks of the challenge of Irish music, asserting that Scottish music has difficulty in gaining recognition for its own particular nuances.
In ‘Ethnicity, Identity and Music; the musical construction of place’ Martin Stokes (1997) reveals how defined and complex this concept can be. He cites the example of Mexican musicians who live in Texas. He maintains that within this immigrant community two sub-cultures have developed their own distinct forms. Stokes explains that those who better embraced the ‘American way’ and made advances on social ladders tempered their musical tastes and while retaining a tradition of Mexican music they tempered it and lessened the ‘wildness’ of its sound. In contrast he refers to a more separatist community who emphasise their difference by practising a more traditional form of their cultural music.
It can hardly be denied that music is used to foster notions of collective and geographical identities give the fact that there is not a state on the planet without a piece of music that is intended to represent a national psyche. Mach (Stokes 1997) illustrates that alongside flags and emblems (abuse of which are usually prohibited by law) anthems are the other expression of a nation at sporting occasions and major international events.
One could argue that nowhere is the relationship between music and politics more relevant than in the locality of Northern Ireland and the wider context of the whole island. May McCann (1995) argues that since we have knowledge of music in Ireland we have seen a relationship with politics.
Stokes (1997) examines this interaction in Ulster in some detail. He argues that musicians ‘patrol’ cultural boundaries within Northern Ireland. Stokes cites the examples of orange/loyalist bands parading in Belfast City Centre thus claiming the area as their own, and the tradition of playing what is perceived as Irish traditional music in the pubs and clubs in nationalist areas of the city.
He illustrates the esteem that these concepts of identity and related musical affiliations are held in with an anecdote about a guitar player having his hands mutilated for playing in a traditional Irish music session, for those unfamiliar with Irish traditional music it should be stated that the guitar is not regarded by purists as an Irish instrument and they resent its introduction into the music.
Scott Reiss (Bohlman & Stokes 2003) follows in a similar vein arguing that playing traditional music
“defines a certain construction of Irishness. It enacts a culture of orality, an awareness of heritage and linage.” (p148)
Chapman (Stokes 1997) attempts to reason the popularity of Irish traditional music by affirming that practising the music is much more accessible than speaking the language. He argues that the difficulties associated with learning Celtic languages serve to direct people towards musical participation when they want to express an Irish nationalism.
McCann (1995) discusses a theme of music being a battleground within the Irish context for centuries. She tells us that the United Irishmen of the 1798 rebellion saw the added value of music over dry prose with their use of song. It was this Belfast Presbyterian patriotism that led to the famous Belfast Harp Festival of 1792, where harpers including the famous O’Carolan gathered to have their airs notated lest they be lost. Further to this she highlights the musical conflict between the religious based groups of the Orange Order and the Ancient Order of Hibernians with rival parades often leading to civil unrest. Interestingly though McCann’s focus is not along traditional orange/green lines but rather on the non-sectarian folk revival in Belfast in the 1970s. Her paper suggests that sections of the youth rejected local political debates and adopted agendas of a wider nature.
A common theme, immediately apparent throughout the literature, is the idea that Irish Traditional Music owes its popularity not to those practitioners at home but rather to emigrant communities.
Catherine Curran (Vallely 1996) asserts that post-famine Ireland was so decimated that it left little foothold for a musical tradition to survive. In this way then, she views the exporting of the music to USA via emigrant communities crucial for it’s survival. She subscribes to O’Connor’s argument that the most important developments in ITM took place in the USA with the big record companies seizing upon a commercial demand for ethnic music amongst the immigrant communities.
Similar to the Mexican example cited earlier Curran (Vallely 1996) details a historic vein of conflict within the sphere of Irish Traditional Music. The debate between progressives and the conservationists has long raged in Irish music circles and continues to the present day. Conservationists, or purists, describes those who wish to preserve what could be termed as a musical virginity. Against this we can see a mini-tradition of pioneering groups who seek out other influences and attempt to in-corporate them into the host culture. These artists are often labelled under a fusion genre. Curran, however, illustrates with a different example. She contends the CCE in the 1970s resisted any attempts to dilute the integrity of established tradition with modern folk-balladry that was popularised by groups such as ‘The Dubliners’ or ‘The Clancy Brothers’, stating that the decision to move the 1969 fleadh to Listowel in Co. Kerry was a deliberate attempt to keep young urban Dubliners away.
Hamilton (Vallely 1996) argues this obsession with the question of traditional-ness is a result of the traditional musician’s reluctance to deconstruct other aspects of the music.
1.2: Music & Political Power
The examined literature offers a second aspect to our earlier concern of the relationship between music and politics. Issues of how political masters past and present have reacted to music and musicians are raised by the material and the consequences of this interaction are varied.
The principal author on this topic who best explains the complicated connection between these two worlds is John Street. Street’s (2003) article with a strikingly similar rationale to the authors work, contains in its abstract a valuable point about the 2001 UK General Election. While establishing the various musical backgrounds to the various parties campaigns Street raises the media castigation of the Conservatives choosing an artist who’s portfolio included the theme tune to the Wombles cartoon. This was compared with yet another New Labour triumph in their series of ‘Things can only get better’ [1997] and ‘Lifted’ [2001]. The conclusion of this musical portrayal of gradual societal improvement was U2’s ‘Beautiful Day’. Street argues
“Behind the battle of the bands and parties there lurked a more
intriguing argument. Not only was it assumed that pop was a necessary adjunct of contemporary political communications, but that judgements about music were themselves political judgements, revealing of more than mere taste. However trivial this particular moment in pop’s engagement with politics, it was a sign of the way in which political and cultural capital are entwined.
Interestingly Linda Colley describes the British national anthem as an early attempt to foster an acceptance of Reginal authority (Street 2003). It is a well-established historic fact that music was utilized in a deliberate way by totalitarian regimes in the pre WWII Europe to control people, but Street (2003) explains that the allied forces pursued similar policies to their axis counterparts citing the establishment of the ENSA, the British wartime entertainment organization.
While dealing with the concept of Government censorship Street (2003) reveals one of his principal arguments that music is censored because the censor fears its effects. He cites the example of the BBC and the Sex Pistols saying censorship revealed little directly about the effect of the music but rather more about the conservative outlook of the corporation.
In the wider interpretation of censorship Street observes that governments such as Canada and Scandinavian countries, have imposed upon radio stations quotas that necessitate the devotion of certain percentages of air-time, to national musics and artists. This is to ensure folk and traditional musics have at least an opportunity to resist the Anglo-American commercial music industry. Highlighting South Africa, Street (2003) explains that under the apartheid regime the rural music of the country was nurtured and propagated by the authorities as it expressed a national identity in a more submissive manner than its urban counterpart.
When Perris (1983) studied the use of music in communist China his view was largely compatible with that of John Street. He stated that totalitarian regimes have always used music as a means of control. He explains the Maoist theory that the idea of innocuous music is a fallacy. Key to Mao’s ideological stance on music was his desire to see music accessed by the proletariat and not remain in the domain of a bourgeoisie elite. Blacking (1981) argues that the Marx as the architect of communism was concerned with the people’s ownership of their senses and sought the proletariats exposure to music as another victory against the ruling classes.
Street (2003) considers the motive of the Taliban when banning all forms of music in Afghanistan as an attempt to numb the mind of the people. He argues it was deliberately eradicating the colour from the fabric of society. He elaborates, saying with music banned in public, funerals and weddings became difficult to distinguish. One could argue the Taliban believed a bland society a controllable one. It is highly significant for our purposes that he therefore recounts,
“news pictures of Afghans celebrating the overthrow of the Taliban regime by digging out their hidden radios and cassette recorders and playing music in public” (p120)
The clearest example, in an Irish context, of control exerted by Government on the use of music was detailed by Curran (Vallely 1996). She asserts that DeValera under influence of the Catholic Church was concerned with the moral well-being of the youth of the nation. Impromptu ceilí dancing at crossroads and houses was a practice long established in rural Ireland. The Church was frustrated that it had little influence on the proceedings at these gatherings. They were portrayed as wild parties of drink and debauchery and the Fianna Fail government was pressured into action. The Public Dance Halls Act of 1935 restricted dancing to licensed halls and consequently the main group with the resources and influence to gain this licensed status was the Catholic Church. Dancing was restricted to parish halls throughout the country and under the vigilant eyes of the local priest these revelries became much more sterile affairs.
Stokes (1997) proposes a theory that could explain the reaction of the authorities in the above example. Firstly one must consider the conventional anthropological concept that most dance is rooted in a societal mating ritual of various forms. Following this we can say that music in its most primeval forms was intended for dancing rather than our model, which includes appreciation. Stokes argues
“Social dance bringing together unmarried men and women in public space is a problem in any society in which social and moral order is imaged in terms of marriage and confinement of sexuality within the domestic unit. The fact that musicians preside over these occasions in the very real sense of controlling the ‘flow’ of the socio-musical space, makes them powerful and problematic figures for society at large” (p23)
He goes on to elaborate that this is the reason that male musicians are often portrayed as pseudo-homosexuals or at very least lacking traditional masculinity. Helené La Rue (Stokes 1997) illustrates the point with a colourful quotation from Stubbes’ book on etiquette from 1583
“Of a Sonne If you would have him as it weare, transnatured into a woman, or worse and inclined to all kinds of whoredom and abomination, set him to dancing school, and to learn musicke, and than shall you not faile of your purpose. And if you would have your daughter whoorish, bawdie and uncleane, and a filthy speaker, and such like, bring her up in musick and dauncing, and, my life for yours, you have wun the goal” (p196)
1.3: Psychology of music
The theory behind what music does to people when they listen is both complex and varied, but it is reasonable to argue that any answer to this question can expose fractions of the rationale of political communication through music.
Perhaps the major theory that has come under considerable strain in the literature is the argument that music evokes associations with events. Stokes (1997) tells us that no other social activity can match the intensity with which music organises collective memories. He widens his argument by saying the music itself is not the sole factor in the power generated.
“It is important that music and dance in these kind of rituals are not just seen as static symbolic objects which have to be understood in a context, but are themselves a patterned context within other things happen ………… In Ireland terms such as craic and nyah ……… point to the crucial relationship between music and ritual.” (p5) Therefore Stokes identifies the music and the social settings as powerful agents that can generate sufficient memories with emotive and physiological effect. He is saying the music is not the final article, it is the setting in which other social events occur. The craic and the ‘nyah’ are words describing the music created in the session, the drinking, chat and banter are the social activities, so music in this sense is a cultural scene setter for ritual.
Stokes’ view while prima-face logical is also controversial.
Cornell University’s Krumhansl (2002) disparages such theory with her point that if such were true why then do people give such similar responses as to why they listen to music. She asserts that nobody has the exact same personal memories as anyone else so why are peoples responses to the above question strikingly uniform?
She also rejects arguments that people react to music because of lyrical content raising the point that people react to words in foreign languages that they do not understand, Italian opera being a pertinent illustration.
Instead she opts for a more analytical approach based on various musical characteristics. Contending that research has shown various musical devices evoke certain responses she cites examples of minor keys inducing sadness or a flowing timbre encouraging relaxation. She points out that music that fulfils an orthodox time signature has a complete quality and tells how alternative examples can leave the listener yearning for a traditional perfect or plagal cadence ending.
Conducting her own experiment Krumhansl played various music to subjects and asked them to turn an electronic dial according to how each made them feel. The experiment was repeated measuring physiological data e.g. heart-rate, breathing. The results showed similar effects in both cases.
In his study of music’s affect on driving performance Brodsky highlights Oblad’s research who
“claimed that many drivers were aware of their own reactions to specific melodies, and chose music pieces differentially. Accordingly, participants described the effects of music as influencing both their rhythms of driving and concentration, as well as charging their perceptions of relaxation and stimulation.” (1.1)
Finkelstein (1976) directly acknowledges the key debate yet to be resolved in this area. He asks the question
“whether human imagery of music is only arbitrary, an outgrowth of social custom, or whether it is based on the natural physical characteristics of sound.” (p17).
Those who argue meaning attached to music is arbitrary say no music has a ‘natural’ meaning or effect, instead they say it is the result of social conditioning. The opposite concept is that of the aforementioned Krumhansl (2002) and says that music will contain certain characteristics that demark various meanings within it. Such advocates will say that a military marching tune could never be appropriate for a lullaby. Arguing it cannot be anything other than both Finkelstein himself remains uncommitted.
Shepherd and Wicke (1997) admit musicology as a discipline has been poor in explaining how meaning is attached to music. They argue the traditional methods using a content analysis approach are sorely inadequate. This is a reasonable contention given that it ignores one of the two major factors that make up musical experience.
Shepherd and Wicke (1997) concur with earlier opinions when stating
“Particular harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and timbrel configurations are equated with particular moods, emotions and cultural meanings” (p10).
They engage in analysis of how key psychological thinkers viewed the power of music to affect humans. Shepherd and Wilke (1997) detail Saussure’s work and alert us to the fact that his conclusion for music is no exception to the rest of his work; i.e. all meaning to any sign is arbitrarily denoted. However offering opinion on the possible view of musicians they believe that most artists can be expected to have some difficulty in accepting this concept.
The musicologist from Queen’s University Belfast Professor John Blacking (1981) was of the opinion that
“music and music-making can in principle be assigned almost any social, political or religious meaning, and treated like any other social activities, but the symbols that are invoked also involve the body in such a way that they sometimes acquire a force of their own” (p10)
Although Freud did not address the affect of music on the human mind directly, others have developed his theories on windows to the subconscious. According to Shepherd and Wilke (1997), Freud’s idea that dreams or slips of the tongue provide glimpses to a person’s true psyche was seized upon by later theorists who argue that music has a similar quality to Freud’s favoured vehicles. A controversial view is that of Kohut and Levarie (Shepherd & Wicke 1997) who say this is as a result of music’s ability to ‘circumvent’ the world of language. The psychological convention is that one cannot have a thought without words to convey it. They say musicians can understand the world of sounds without relating to language.
Coriat (Shepherd and Wicke 1997) agrees stating “Music is the purest expression of art and musical fantasy is practically untrammelled or distracted by associations rooted in reality. It reaches the unconscious with a minimum of extraneous resistance”. (p56)
The debate as one can observe is unresolved, psychologists have yet to settle on a definitive theory but the above section establishes the various key arguments on the subject. Given the fractious nature of the theories of psychology and music the author would encourage the reader to sympathise with any of their own choosing.
1.4: Political Music
In this section the author will attempt to detail some of the instances of particularly political music and reasons why they are chosen by artists as vehicles to convey message.
Balliger (Salonsky & Wei Han-ho 1995) provides us with an interesting argument by way of introduction. He declares that with the rise of rap/hip-hop style music it is no longer a question of ‘is the music political?’ but rather ‘what are the politics of this music?’. One could argue that he has a point but it is first necessary to accept that music described as ‘in-consequential’ such as recent examples of the ‘Cheeky-Girls’ or the ‘Crazy Frog’ is part of a loose political agenda driven by a capitalist-orientated music industry. Blacking (1981) regarded labelling music as unhelpful arguing in particular that in the conventional sense is a misnomer. He asserts that popular music is any piece that has successfully communicated with an audience, citing examples as diverse as the Beatles, Handel or the Londonderry Air.
However for our purposes the author will concentrate on those more traditional genres charged with bridging the gap between music and politics.
In western civilisation folk music is the style most associated with politics. According to Redhead and Street (1989) folk music has political connotations because it is ‘of the people’. This fits into the political convention of the socially conscious left resisting dominance from the capitalist right. Indeed it was Street (2003) in a later article that confirmed this notion by arguing music had long been a vehicle of resistance, from English folk songs to the works songs of slaves. Redhead and Street (1989) contend that the definition of folk music has extended beyond traditional conventions and now includes any music that is not seen as commercialised. One could argue that this definition is unhelpful as it would exclude such eminent folk artists as Bob Dylan or in an Irish context Planxty who both release on the Columbia label.
In examining why music is chosen as a method of political communication Alan Lomax (1968) contends that sung communication has an audience that is captivated and redundant, rather than speech, which can be two-way. The idea of music having a level of control over an audience is also touched upon by Perris (1985) in his discussion of black protest song. He argues the ‘call and response’ method exerts a control over and audience, also highlighting their simplicity and repetitive tendencies as being conducive to re-enforcing political message. It is when these theories are viewed in conjunction with John Street’s (1986) idea that folk music has specific factors that make it conducive to political message.
“Folk’s emphasis on the words and simple instrumentation make it adaptable and hospitable to politics” (p154)
He agrees with Lomax on the subject of the relationship between singer and audience,
“Particularly in the protest form of folk the message is delivered, not discussed” (p155).
He contends that audience participation in choruses merely endorse the song and have no power to alter its message. Both Lomax (1968) and Street (1986) argue that music is used to instil a sense of solidarity using examples as diverse as armies and picket lines. Lomax (1968) raises an interesting point about the power of choral singing when he likens its collective nature to the power of ‘the mob’.
John Moulden (Vallely 1996) argues that folk’s popularity, as a genre, is due to the freedom it offers to the performer. It is his contention in classical the performer must play the music largely to the composer’s intention, he argues that folk music looses the bonds upon the artist and leaves arrangement at his/her own discretion.
In a similar attempt to reason the global popularity behind the practise of Irish traditional music Dowling (Vallely 1996) attributes the phenomenon to the level difficulty it offers. He maintains that Irish traditional music is located in the centre region of a spectrum of difficulty. The idea is that it offers a challenge to the player but with effort an average musician can attain a reasonable standard of competence. The same is unlikely to be argued for a Pagininni violin concerto.
Redhead and Street (1989) have the concept of the folk musician as the principle focus of their article and within this area they have examined a number of key questions.
The first notion they identify as significant is the idea of legitimacy. It is their contention that musicians are attracted to specific musical forms to establish credentials. Citing an example they argue that when Sting wanted to be regarded as a serious artist he associated himself with top quality jazz musicians as he viewed jazz as a ‘serious’ genre. Similarly they argue Gary Kemp of the 80s super-group Spandau Ballet played an acoustic guitar when he joined the Red Wedge tour as an attempt to re-brand himself as a ‘serious’ musician. The author is aware that the question of what is or what isn’t a ‘serious’ musician is indeed a perilous one but suggests that for these purposes the reader regard it as a label for those desiring recognition beyond commercial pop-music.
Authenticity is the second aspect of the folk artist concept that is identified by Redhead and Street (1989). They argue that folk musicians cultivate authenticity to maintain the crucial link between them and those who consume their music. Central to this point is their notion of ‘roots’. According to the pair this model of roots has various manifestations. One is the relationship between the artist and his commercial masters at the record label. If the relationship is too comfortable folk consumers can sometimes be suspicious of a ‘selling-out’ of traditional folk values. A pertinent illustration of the machinations in such a relationship could be the recent criticism of the record label EMI by Cold-play singer Chris Martin. In a report on the incident Stephen Evans BBC North America business correspondent said
“Biting the hand that feeds you is always dangerous - unless you're a very big dog indeed. When Coldplay's Chris Martin bemoaned "slavery" to shareholders who were the "greatest evil of this modern world", EMI barely blinked.”
Another way in which this notion of roots is displayed is the connection between the artist and their original fans. Often a measure of a performers authenticity is the degree to which they have retained interest from their first followers. Perhaps an idea simplest explained in the negative sense, it is a nonsense to talk of the pop act ‘Girls Aloud’ keeping true to their roots. They were manufactured by a pop-industry that presented them as instant successes; core or original fans do not exist.
Lifestyle is another way in which folk artists cultivate roots imagery, Redhead and Street tell us that Joni Mitchell and Neil Young were castigated for arriving at the Isle of Wight festival in a Rolls Royce in an obvious neglect of their public image.
Wayne Hampton (1986) in his book Guerrilla Minstrels examines the concept of the protest singer. He maintains that the cult of hero-worshipping figures such as Bob Dylan or Woody Guthrie actually serves to amplify the power of their message. He states,
“the package that is the heroic image is more than legend and lore….It is permeated by ideology. And ideology is what creates the mind guerrilla. Consciousness, as it were is conquered through the back door.” (p39)
In this way the author views it possible to contend that the image of the folk/political artist when cultivated appropriately can be a potent weapon at the particular artist’s disposal.
1.5: Conclusion
Having examined the material the author would point out that the themes identified go some way in illuminating the parameters of the relationship between music and politics. However, as one can observe the Literature on this subject provides little in the way of congruent opinion and so leaves it arduous to draw definitive conclusions.
The eminent scholar Professor John Blacking (1995) in acknowledging the lack of authoritative opinion provided this pertinent quotation.
“If we knew more about “music” as a human capability and its potential as an intellectual and affective force in human communication, society, and culture, we could use it more generally to enhance general education and to build peaceful, egalitarian, and prosperous societies in the twenty-first century, just as our prehistoric ancestors once used it to invent the cultures from which all civilisations evolved”. P(242)
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by jfiddlerh
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
For those who like to know these things - can't think why
- the word count is just over 4800 (about average for a patent specification).
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by lazyhound
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
I didn't read all of it, but according to your conclusion, backed up by a quote from an "eminent scholar," your "thesis" seems to be:
>the Literature on this subject provides little in the way of congruent opinion and so leaves it arduous to draw definitive conclusions.
That seems to be a rather weak statement in a conclusion. What is your real thesis? That needs to be restated in the conclusion in a bare bones fashion. I speak as an academic here, not as a musician. If you've got something to say, at least tell us what it is.
Again, i didn't read all of it, so I may be missing something here.
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by Eliot
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
I don't feel very qualifies to offer ay sort of judgement, but I found it fascinating, thanks jfiddlerh.
Quite the anecdote about the guitarists' hands.
What makes me scratch my head is the discussion of the psychology, and this:
"She also rejects arguments that people react to music because of lyrical content raising the point that people react to words in foreign languages that they do not understand, Italian opera being a pertinent illustration."
Which is interesting. WIthout that, why is there a connection between folk music and politics to be outlined?
It's too bad there isn't more study of how non-lyrical music effects the brain so that we could understand if the lyrical content is truly important or not when dealing with the rest, the political connection.
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Carolan was dead long before the Belfast Harp Festival of 1792 - though it says a lot for his reputation that so many of his pieces remained in circulation then.
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by nicholas
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Eliot
Fair enough judgment on reading the material i posted. As i said out the post was just the Lit review. That assertion was to lead me onto my project of better establishing the motivation of political musos and i interviewed Tommy Sands (author of 'They were roses' and Wille Drennan who had penned a song campaigning against lignite mining in Co. Antrim) to see why they campaigned through music as opposed to other methods etc. It was a really difficult question and i could've done with further nailing it down. Is it a conscious decision to write the song? i.e. do they do it just because they are musicians and that happens to be how they express themselves, or do they believe music has a power to communicate messages that other mediums lack etc.
I was searching for commonality in their repsonses, the findings were difficult to be definitive but it seemed it was a little of both.
The second part of my project was designed to measure the effectiveness of music as a means of political communication. To this end i conducted 2 focus groups measuring attitudes to Nuclear weapons after 'The Sun is Burning' was sung to one group, and just the lyrics on paper to another.
There was a significant difference in attitudes so that allowed me to conclude that music has a capability to reach parts other mediums can't? But unfortunately the answer as to what that capability is - is beyond my psych knowledge.
SWFL
The Psyc stuff was away above my head but it had to be examined.
Anyway i enjoyed writing it immensely and combining your two passions in life for a thesis is definately highly recommended.
Thanks for reading.
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by jfiddlerh
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Thanks jfiddlerh ~ still reading
Music moves me It seems to have been so as long a I can remember. Your thesis got me to thinking about the power of music & how it affects different people differently. American slave - owners may have banned the spirituals if they really understood them.
I remember songs like ~
'Swing Low Sweet Chariot'
"Deep River"
"Free at Last" &
"Blind Man Stood on the Road
& Cried"
I just found one I have mot heard before;
Got my letter
Got my letter to hail the train
Got my letter, got my letter, got my letter
Got my letter to hail the train
Fisherman Peter out on the sea
Stop your fishing, Peter, and follow me.
Got my letter
Got my letter to hail the train
Got my letter, got my letter, got my letter
Got my letter to hail the train
I got my religion from out the sun
I clapped my hands and began to run.
Not bad on the page.
Probably much better live.
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by Random_notes
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Just remembered a brilliant thing that Tommy Sands said during my interview with him.
"I think words laced in music certainly can impact. If music didn’t impact then Victor Hara wouldn’t have been killed and his fingers broken for playing the guitar." (Tommy Sands)
I just love the imagery of words 'laced' in music. Its conveys a beauty juxtaposed alongside the Grotesqueness of Victor Hara's murder.
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by jfiddlerh
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
".......the decision to move the 1969 Fleadh to Listowel in Co. Kerry............."
This was probably just a misprint, but the 1969 Fleadh was held in Cashel. It was in 1970 that the first All-Ireland was held in Listowel.
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by murfbox
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
You were at the "Poly"? Not to be snobbish, but I should have known.
How come my masterpiece of a thesis was 20,000 words?
# Posted on July 19th 2008 by bodhran bliss
Re: Music and Politics Thesis as requested? Discuss (Warning - only if you have time!)
Looks like an interesting thesis.
I'm in the middle of constructing a lit review for my own thesis so seeing yours has been immensely helpful. Thanks for posting that!
# Posted on July 21st 2008 by TheSilverSpear