Question

"Music does not change a society; rather it reflects the society in which it exists." How do you feel about this statement? There are many people who would say that music can and does affect a society. Discuss which view point you believe and why you feel the way you do. Provide examples that will support your belief. In these writing assignments you will be graded on content, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, mechanics, organization, and evidence or support.

Answer 1

• The social influence of music is absolutely huge. It gets inserted into pretty much every group activity we can dream up. It even gets played at large arenas where we gather to watch sports. We have soundtracks for political campaigns, tv shows, movies, stores, elevators, bars, even workplaces. It frames the tv news. Music plays in our cars, on our planes and in ours earplugs. We use it to offset a romantic dinner, (any eating in fact), to mourn at funerals, to praise our gods, to get married, to party, to workout at the gym and to coronate our leaders.
• And then there’s dancing, concert going, social clubbing, busking, jamming, mosh pitting. We play it when we’re not playing it (air guitar) and it loops through our brains when we go jogging (even without earplugs). It defines our cultural identity (ragas, flamenco, gamelan, fado, etc). It defines our protests. It defines our happiness and our sadness. It tells our stories.
• Its social influence is ubiquitous. It frames our mood and tells us how to feel about stuff. We live in a social era that is so awash with musical soundtracks, we barely notice them, but we keenly notice their absence and swiftly plug every silence hole.
• Music is a very powerful tool and if that tool is in the right hands, then some very big things can happen. Music is so strong that it can change people’s lives completely. Music can also bring people together.If you want to spread the love over the world, then the easiest way to do it is with music. Of course, music requires some level of talent and unfortunately, not everyone is born with this gift.
• Music is a very powerful medium and in some societies there have been attempts to control its use. It is powerful at the level of the social group because it facilitates communication which goes beyond words, enables meanings to be shared, and promotes the development and maintenance of individual, group, cultural and national identities. It is powerful at the individual level because it can induce multiple responses – physiological, movement, mood, emotional, cognitive and behavioral.
• Music can influence our purchasing behavior in subtle ways in a range of environments. It can assist our ability to remember product names and enhance the product through association with liked music. When consumers are actively involved in making a decision about buying a product, music is likely to play a more peripheral role.
• The popular music of our day reflects the culture of our day. We can see the fingerprints of a certain generation in the lyrics and sound of that time. One recent and almost outrageous example of this is the song "#SELFIE" by the Chainsmokers. It's a pretty spot-on commentary about the youth and media culture of our day. And in this present age, culture is changing far more frequently than ever before, reflecting styles of music that are evolving and birthed just as rapidly.
• It is believed that morals and behavior, especially in teens, aren't completely steered by the lyrics they're listening to, because there are so many factors to building a moral compass. However, music can definitely play a significant role in determining what seems to be right or wrong, okay or not okay, and good or bad. Because of this, we need to become wary about the messages that we are putting out with our songs