From the blacklists of the McCarthy era that drove many performers off radio and television to the debate over rap lyrics and sampling, strong emotions have been aroused by musicians and their music in the United States as well. Some musicians are arrested, tortured, jailed, and sometimes killed while others are invited to the seats of power some musical events are supported and others are banned. And because it can move them deeply, members of communities around the world use music to create cultural identity and to erase the cultural identity of others, to create unity and to dissolve it. Unlike language, however, music does not require "understanding." People may be moved by music of peoples whose language means nothing to them, and the same musical performance may mean different things to different people.Īlthough music is popularly associated with entertainment, leisure, and a degree of irrelevance in the United States, it is rarely "just" entertainment. There is something deeply human about music, but deeply cultural about it as well, for - like languages - there are many forms of music. The repetitive, structured, often danced-with sounds of music are found in almost every society - along with language.
Artists, cooks, dancers, and musicians know this - but their most convincing arguments don't use words at all. They are created and renewed by experiencing sights, aromas, tastes, tactile sensations, and sounds. How does a community maintain an identity? What motivates its members to work together, to struggle for common goals? How do its members resist forced changes in order to create a future of their own design? Although people who write books tend to attribute most of the significance of social and religious life to ideas phrased in words, many deep-seated community bonds are forged through the senses. Traditional Music in Community Life: Aspects of Performance, Recordings.