Feature: Music as a Significant Lifeforce
Noting that music is a tremendously significant “life force,” an MSU professor explores the diverse ways music has evolved in America, especially with massive technological advances.
“I think there must be a place in the soul all made of tunes of long ago” are the opening words of the song, The Things Our Fathers Loved (and the greatest of these is Liberty), by American composer Charles Ives.
Ives’s music and lyrics speak of the diversity of music in late-19th century American life, one very different from our own and very much limited by geography and technology. The lyrics speak of “the organ on the Main Street corner, Aunt Sarah humming Gospels” and “the village cornet band playing in the square.”
The words are set, as is so often the case with Ives, to a collage of quotations from the music he and his New England compatriots would have known well:
Stephen Foster’s My Old Kentucky Home, the Bennett and Webster revival hymn In the Sweet Bye and Bye, and the chorus of Columbia, Gem of the Ocean, originally an 18th century British melody but given a new set of words in 19th century America.
The music in Ives’s soul was certainly extensive; it ranged from traditional hymns to popular music and deeply into the classical repertory (the music of Brahms, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky was frequently ‘borrowed’). And he must have learned most of this music the old-fashioned way: in live performance or in print. The phonograph was only beginning to make its substantial impact on the ‘musical souls’ of the next generation.
What a difference 100 years and four generations of technological innovation have made! We’ve gone from the windup Victrola (no wires needed), through the ages of radio, talking pictures, television, the long playing record, cassette tape, and CD, to the computer and the internet. If there is one primary reason that our musical culture is so diverse today, it is that we have almost instantaneous access, free or for a nominal fee, to a wide world of music, one that Ives could not have imagined, but one he certainly would have embraced.
Over the past 35 years I have been teaching MSU undergraduates who are not music majors. I currently see about 400 new faces a year in three different courses. During that time I have learned a lot about the roles music has played in their lives. One of my standard beginning-of-term assignments is to have them write a brief musical resume outlining their musical lives: the musical training they’ve had, the groups they’ve participated in, their favorite kinds of music (or favorite performers), and the ways they access and use music in their daily lives.
The standard opening phrase of these autobiographies is often “Music plays a very important role in my life...” And it certainly does. It is with them from the opening notes of their clock radios in the morning until they fall asleep at night. They have it on when they exercise, study, drive, and hang out with friends. Since the days of the Walkman and now the iPod, even a walk across campus is accompanied by music. What used to be a collection of records, tapes or CDs has, in many cases, become a portable library of over 4000 songs (although more than one has reported the loss of their entire digital collection through a computer crash or the demise or theft of their iPod.)
What is perhaps of even greater significant is their realization that music is something more than just a diversion. Many have reported that they use music to enhance or alter their moods—using it to get ‘up’ for a night out or to ‘get over’ a bad day in class or at work. Many say they have made new friends or formed stronger bonds with old ones through common preferences in music. In turn, their musical tastes have been influenced by families, including parents and siblings, peers, and, often, as they mature, the music itself, especially when it speaks to them in some deeper, more individual way.
Just as there used to be a more homogeneous student body, there used to be a more predictable musical profile in terms of background and preferences. Thirty-five years ago the typical student in a class for non-music majors, what was often then called “Music Appreciation,” was more likely to be white, female, with a 6-8 year background studying and playing an instrument in a school band program, had had a few years of piano lessons, and was a fan of mainstream popular music. In recent years there has been a big shift in ethnic background, a more subtle shift in gender, and a wider range of both musical backgrounds and preferences. Many students have had the school band experience, although it seems to have been, for many, less satisfying and of shorter duration. (The reasons for this are too numerous to explore here.) The early piano lessons are still pushed by parents, but with perhaps less success or longevity than before. The guitar is the new instrument of choice. Over past five years close to 30 percent of students in my classes claim some hands-on experience with it.
Musical preferences have perhaps changed even more significantly. As recently as 10 years ago these were still rather homogeneous. Alternative rock was the dominant preference. Groups like Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, and Jane’s Addiction were mentioned frequently. Amongst black students rap and R&B artists were the main preferences. Some students claimed to like all kinds of music “except country.” That is no longer true; country is often included in a list of favorite styles, and it is the favorite of about 10 percent of the students.
My most recent survey of about 150 students shows the new diversity of music preferences. Rock is most often mentioned, usually in the broad generic sense. But some have narrower preferences: classic rock (The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Doors, Led Zeppelin) leads the list; metal, punk, alternative, indie, jam bands all have their adherents. Each year brings a new style (or perhaps only a marketing ‘label’); this year’s new style was “math rock” (“a rhythmically complex, guitar-based style of experimental rock music that emerged in the late 1980s . . . characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures, angular melodies, and dissonant chords,” according to Wikipedia). Among the surprises are jazz, listed as a favorite by about 25 percent, and classical, which is also a favorite of about 25 percent. My experience suggests that many students have only a vague notion of jazz (e.g., “it’s laid back and has a saxophone”). Few who list “classical” make any further distinctions as to a favorite type or composer.
Black students are more likely to list hip-hop, rap or R&B (generally the label attached to any African-American popular music other than rap). Jazz and blues are on the radar, although not in greater numbers than for white students. Blacks are more likely to object to rap for its lyrics; more likely to embrace gospel.
Among those musical types that always have a few advocates are such diverse styles as reggae, musicals, soundtracks, folk/bluegrass, house/techno, soul, funk, and pop. When it comes to listing favorite artists/groups there is even more diversity. Rarely is anyone from before the mid-1960s mentioned, although Frank Sinatra seems to have at least one advocate among every 50 college-age males. Among the favorite performers mentioned in recent classes were: Rascal Flatts, Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, Bela Fleck, Billie Holiday, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Itzhak Perlman, Ravi Shankar, White Stripes, John Mayer, Switchfoot, Ayumi Hamasaki, and Bela Fleck. One student listed 51 artists/groups, 25 of which were unfamiliar names to me.
There seem to be three generations to our “musical souls.” The first is the music of our parent’s generation, typically extending back 20-25 years before our birthdates. The second is the music of our early years (teenage to young adult). We will remember this music most intently because it is associated with those experiences that shaped out individual and collective identities. These will become “our songs” that we will keep playing throughout out lives. The third generation will be the music of our offspring—the music we must listen to on car trips, at home, or at school talent shows. The Violent Femmes and the Rascal Flatts are parts of my third generation.
That music is a significant life-force and not merely a form of pleasant diversion is a truism that has been proven again and again, both in scholarly inquiry and practical experience. To our knowledge there has not been a culture on earth without music. Many of the cultures beyond our borders place even more importance on music than we do. To many, it is the gift of the gods (or of God). It can change—if it’s the right music performed in the right way—the course of lives: It can bring rain, success in battle or hunting, and cure physical or mental ailments. It is a bridge to the spirit world. The Church Fathers of early Medieval times recognized the power of music to attract worshippers, to give services structure, and to aid in remembering texts. As the Bible talked about music as a way to praise God, then it was considered an essential ingredient of the Christian service.
One illustration of the power of music comes from the many attempts to control or censor it for the general good. From the days of Plato and Aristotle there has been substantial debate as to the what were the right or wrong kinds of music. Plato believed that music played in certain rhythms, scales, or on particular instruments should be avoided altogether. Aristotle, who seemed to have a better understanding and appreciation of music, believed that only excessive indulgence in certain types would be harmful. He believed that casual listening to any kind of music would not be detrimental.
In recent years there have been many attempts to censor certain types of music. The Soviet Union, which in many ways sought to promote folk music or music that glorified the common man—soldier, peasant, factory worker—created an official policy that prohibited music that was too modern. “Formalism” became their buzzword for music that was too modern: music that put form or process above content, that contained “spasmodic rhythms,” or that had subject matter that was too erotic or too pathological.
In this simple list they condemned many of the major works of the early 20th century: e.g., Berg’s Wozzeck or Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Russian composers like Shostakovich and Prokofiev wrote on the edges, or at times over the edge, of these restrictions.
Nazi Germany also recognized the power of music in its rejection of what was called “entartete Musik” or “degenerate music.” Specifically this referred to the music of Jews, Gypsies or other “impure” races. A propaganda poster showing a crude caricature of a black saxophone player over the “Entartete Musik” label spoke volumes. As with the Soviet Union, extremely modern music was discouraged as well. Jewish composers and performers found their careers terminated, and many found refuge in the United States. A large number of the most illustrious European musicians, Jewish or not, saw the handwriting on the wall and left for the United States. Among them were Arnold Schoenberg, Ernst Krenek, Paul Hindemith, Kurt Weill, Bela Bartok, Bruno Walter and Igor Stravinsky.
A more recent repercussion has been Israel’s rejection of the music of both Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Wagner had been, in his personal life and his writings, notably Judenthum in die Musik (Jewishness in Music), an Anti-Semite. Adolph Hitler was, in turn, an ardent admirer of Wagner’s music. Strauss, who was Germany’s most illustrious composer during the Nazi regime, tried to maintain a neutral profile, but others felt he could have been more outspoken. The reverse of this coin is that, in modern-day Israel, the music of Wagner and Strauss is not performed. There is no specific law against it, but it is not done. A 2001 performance by the Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestra of the Prelude to Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde put this restriction to a test. Many in the audience left, others protested audibly. It remains an unresolved issue, although there have been other recent performances that have further tested the waters.
Other issues of recent censorship merit some mention. The Chinese Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s had only a temporary impact. The Chinese banned all foreign music and more recent popular styles as well. With the decline of Chairman Mao’s influence, China again opened up to the West. The result is that today China has become one of the largest consumers of Western classical music. Its conservatories are now jammed with students eager to study Western classical music, and China stands to become one of the major consumers of our classical tradition.
Japan is a similar case, although it has had no political objection to Western classical traditions. The Japanese have long held an aesthetic viewpoint that recognized the value of Western classical traditions, specifically their beauty, originality and significance. Japan has become the major consumer of European classical music through both live performance and recordings. Has traditional Japanese music found an audience in the West? Not much. The reasons have to do with the common reasons for rejecting many kinds of non-Western music: scales and tuning systems that are at odds with the familiar European ones; tone colors (i.e., instruments) or singing styles that are at odds with the European notion of ‘beautiful’ (e.g., pure, sweet, rich) sounds; and (since most music is vocal) the language barrier.
An illustration of the influence of Western classical music can be found in modern day Malaysia. In 1998, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra was created, largely through funds provided by Petronas, the national oil company. It was a full-scale European symphony orchestra in size and make-up. Its concert hall, the Dewan Filharmonic Petronas, was a modern concert hall, also paid for by the oil company. The orchestras’s concerts are typical of those in Western Europe in terms repertory and soloists. The one concession to national reality is that the orchestra does not perform at all during the month of Ramadan and must avoid programming music that would offend Moslem sensibilities. A glance at the orchestra’s 2007-2008 concert programs reveals an otherwise decidely Western orientation: lots of movie and Broadway music and otherwise quite typical classical programming.
Closer to home, there have there have been strong objections to many kinds of popular music. Over 100 years ago the young fans of ragtime were thought to be losing both their minds and their morals. In the 20s and 30s many in the black community thought the blues was the “devil’s music,” a reaction to both the frankly sexual content of some of the lyrics and to the places where blues musicians performed.
Early rock and roll was condemned by parents who found the lyrics and pelvic gyrations to be too suggestive, and by white segregationists who feared it would lead to a mixing of the races.
In recent years, rap has been attacked from many quarters, though mostly for the violent and misogynist tone of its poetry. In 1993, the Rev. Calvin Butts III of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem asked those who shared his objections to bring their tapes and CDs to the church so that they could be crushed by a steamroller. The advisory labels now found on CDs with potentially objectionable lyrics allow stores and parents to exercise their own ad hoc censorship.
Music has always been a powerful tool for social and political protest. The Civil Rights Movement’s anthem We Shall Overcome is rooted in a traditional spiritual by way of a gospel hymn by Rev. Charles A. Tindley. The sermons of black preachers, like the Rev. C. L. Franklin, were recorded and sold commercially. They have powerful rhythmic cadences and melodic phrases built on the blues scales. Billie Holiday’s frequent performances of Strange Fruit (by a Bronx high school teacher named Abel Meeropol) increased awareness of Southern vigilante justice and lynching. Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite (1960) was a more visceral expression of discontent. The album on which it was released is entitled “We Insist!” Gospel singers like Mahalia Jackson were among the most visible supporters of the Civil Rights Movement, and in 1957 Louis Armstrong stepped out of his public persona to deliver a scathing denunciation of segregated schools and of what he believed was President Eisenhower’s lack of leadership in implementing the Supreme Court’s recent rulings.
The role that music played in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa was perhaps even more significant. The white South African government practiced extensive censorship of music in an attempt to contain dissent. Songs that had inflammatory lyrics could not be played on the air. Censors took black pens and razor blades to records in order to prevent the identification or playing of suspect songs. Programs were pre-recorded to prevent disc jockeys from making impromptu remarks. Several of South Africa’s leading musicians (the singer Miriam Makeba, the jazz trumpeter/songwriter Hugh Masekela, and jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim) spent many years in forced exile for their political views and music. A recent documentary, Amandla!, vividly portrays the extent to which music inspired the anti-apartheid activists.
Perhaps the most striking illustration of the force of musical ideas in shaping modern culture is the story of how traditional African styles have influenced music on a worldwide scale. It is a long story and it began, sadly, with the slave trade—the forcible transport of 11-12 million Africans to the New World in the 17th-19th centuries. In terms of the importance of music in daily life, few regions of the world can match the traditional cultures of West Africa. “If you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing” is a traditional proverb that is put into the daily practice. What slaves brought to the Americas became the seeds of a musical revolution that continues to this day. The styles of music and dance created by slaves and their descendants is simply too long to list here.
In the United States they begin with ring shouts and field hollers and evolve into blues, jazz and gospel, then into rock and roll, soul, funk and hip-hop. In most cases they represent some degree of synthesis of African and European characteristics. Those African traits, called Africanisms, manifest themselves in the functions of music, styles of performance and costume, and specific musical traits. Among the most common are those African rhythms (strong beats, in multiple layers, with prominent syncopations), the interaction of musicians (as seen in the call and response patterns of gospel music or the conversation between the blues singer and his guitar), and the building of open-ended musical forms from short, repeating units of rhythm and melody. In many ways it contributed what was missing in European music with its complex forms, elaborate harmonies, and its emphasis on beautiful tones. African music is all about physical rhythms, raw or even intentionally ‘buzzy’ tones, and songs with a significant message.
These African traits became the core elements of our popular music, which is now imitated around the world, usually with distinctive local accents. In modern Africa, these imported styles are recognized and, for the most part, readily accepted. In the last 70-80 years, new forms of African popular music have emerged, often combining imported styles with traditional elements. As a disc jockey in Mali puts it, it is like a child who has gone out into the world, been changed a bit in the process, and returned home to acceptance and recognition. Now Africans have their own versions of jazz, rock, gospel, funk, reggae, and, inevitably, rap. Their musical children have come back to live with their homegrown siblings: styles like highlife, soukous, juju, chimurenga and kwela.
There is, however, at least one negative aspect to this seemingly endless expansion of musical diversity. At the same time technology is making the world “flat,” as Thomas Friedman’s recent best seller suggests, it is also creating a kind of homogeneity. English is well on its way to becoming the universal language, while dozens of indigenous local languages are on the verge of extinction. In a similar fashion the European musical language, which is built on a scale of 12 equally-spaced pitches, is also likely to become the international norm. Music with other pitch systems may have to adjust, thereby losing their unique sounds. The classical music of India is one tradition that is especially rich in notes that don’t fit in the European grid. The popular music of Indian films (Bollywood), although still retaining some of the rhythmic and melodic flavor of classical or traditional Indian styles, is moving closer to the European scale.
In the popular music of West Africa, musicians have begun using electronic keyboard/synthesizers to replace the traditional sounds of the balo (xylophone) and kora (a plucked string instrument with 21 strings). Technology can duplicate the tone colors of traditional instruments like these, but the pitches they traditionally play are incompatible with the European scale. In similar fashion, the guitar, electric or acoustic, has the European pitch system built in: the frets (raised ridges) along the neck of a guitar are spaced to produce 12-equally spaced pitches. As the guitar rapidly replaces the wide variety of plucked string instruments in use in national or local traditions, whole musical languages are lost. And the musicians who play all those ‘other’ instruments may find their musical livelihoods in jeopardy.
Even the rhythms of much of the world’s music have been tainted or tempered by technology. The European system of rhythm, specifically the writing down of rhythm, is one based on strict mathematical proportions. It’s a world of whole, half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes and other mathematical permutations. Great musicians, even those who play the European classics (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven), have always played even the most straightforward-looking rhythms with a degree of nuance and flexibility. Other of the world’s musical traditions, the ones that don’t “think” rhythm in mathematical terms, are even richer in variety. But the more music is played by and through electronic technologies, the more the rhythm is forced into those machine-like modes of strict proportions.
Thus, the very technologies that have brought us the great diversity of music that we enjoy today may also be the primary cause of the extinction of many of the world’s musical languages. It is perhaps naive to believe that all languages, musical or linguistic, can be preserved in a meaningful way. But it is terrible to think that we could sacrifice the immense variety of music created by human needs and aspirations to the impress of technology and its still significant limitations. Music, as shaped by human minds, bodies and spirits, may become more necessary in out flatter world.
Mark Johnson, professor, MSU College of Music and the Center for Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities, received two music degrees from the University of Illinois and joined the MSU faculty in 1972. He was head of the percussion program and director of the Percussion Ensemble for 25 years. He boasts 46 years of professional orchestral experience as percussionist/timpanist with groups such as the San Antonio Symphony, the Orchestra of the Santa Fe Opera, the Lansing Symphony, and numerous community orchestras in Texas, Illinois and Michigan. He participated in a number of recordings and television productions as percussionist, conductor and orchestral musician and has performed in Europe, Africa, and South America. He is the author of Marimba Solos and Etudes.
Sam Vitale, a senior English major from Rochester. Sam is singer, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for The Jettisons, a rock band that has played at Harper’s, Average Joe’s, Dublin Square and the Green River Café. Vitale describes his four-man band as similar to Gin Blossoms. “I grew up listening to a lot of music, especially the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen,” says Sam. “My father was really into the blues and mother into Motown. I listen mostly to independent rock. I’m a real sucker for a good pop song. I really like Sufjan Stevens, and also Justin Timberlake. He may be formulaic but he’s got a good voice and comes up with some real catchy songs.”
Otis Wiley, a junior family community services major from Flint, was a member of the MSU Gospel Choir (in the photo, he is seen performing at last year’s Academic Gala event for student-athletes). He is a starting safety on the MSU football team. “I like Gospel, contemporary gospel and Christian rock,” says Otis. “I also like smooth jazz and R&B. I like to dance to rap and hip hop. My favorite singers right now are Brian McKnight. Love his songs, “Crazy Love,” and “Every Beat Of My Heart.” A also really like Jeremy Camp (contemporary Christian gospel).”
Jennifer Platte, a junior professional writing major (with concentration in American Sign Language and psychology) from St. Johns, grew up in a farming community and loves country music. “I love all country music, from the old stuff to what they play nowadays. I also listen to rock music and rap and hip hop. My favorite country singers are Tim McGraw and George Strait. My favorite country bands are Brooks and Dunn, and Big and Rich. Right now my friends really like ‘International Harvester’ by Craig Morgan.”
Ji Hyun Kim, a doctoral student in violin performance from Sydney, Australia, came to MSU to study under professor Walter Verdehr. She plays music from the baroque, classical and romantic eras, “Mozart, Strauss, Brahms and all that,” and has also done some “jazz and fiddling gigs” around town. “I’m the principal violinist in Music 21 (a student ensemble),” says Ji Hyun, who was born in Seoul, Korea, and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. “I love playing in it. The music is very interesting—contemporary classical influenced by rock and techno. I also listen to jazz and acoustic pop music. I like New Age instrumental music, which I find very soothing.”
Jack Menkedick, a freshman jazz studies major from Columbus, OH, plays both alto saxophone and baritone saxophone. He says about 90 percent of the time he listens to jazz music, the other 10 percent alternative rock. On Thursday nights he participates in the jam sessions at Green River Café in East Lansing. “I try to listen to every kind of jazz music to give myself the widest possible range of influences,” he explains. “My favorite is Clifford Brown, from the hard bop era. I listen to bebop, swing. I love Charlie Parker and all those cats. Johnny Hodges is one of my favorites. I also listen to mainstream stuff like John Coltrane.”
Andrew Blossom, a senior computer science major from Rockford, listens to a wide variety of music, but he says “a majority is electronica or derivations thereof.” “My favorite groups now are Elbow, M83, Prefuse 73, and Four Tet—all indie-electronica artists. My interest in Electronica started with more popular artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method, Orbital, and Kraftwerk. My tastes progressed to include the likes of Paul Oakenfold, DJ Tiesto, and Pete Tong. Much of that interest was fostered by BBC Radio 1, which provides a great deal of music diversity.”
Michelle Rafferty, a graduate student in education completing her teaching internship, is from Carmel, IN. She was on MSU’s track team and in 2006 was Big Ten runner up in the 10K race. She says her favorite music is Broadway showtunes. “My mom exposed it to me at a young age, and I’m really passionate about it. There’s an XM Radio station called Broadway Showtunes that I listen to on my computer. My current favorite is Spring Awakening, which has won all kinds of Tony Awards. I saw it twice. It’s amazing. The music is transformative. I also like the traditional stuff—West Side Story, Singing In The Rain, and Phantom of the Opera.”