Music as Social
Communication
Momilani Ramstrum
In stating that music has a relationship to society,
we are implying that music is capable of holding a discourse with society.
In other words, the music reflects back to the society its own condition.
We are also saying that the society has an impact on the music or the conditions
from which the music is created. In some situations, this communication becomes
vitiated and so distanced from the individual that any meaning from the discourse
is lost. For society to value the communication, it must feel it is a part
of the dialogue and be able to actively engage in the exchange.
In Chapter 12 of Rose Subotnik's book, Developing
Variations, she discusses Individualism in Western art music and its
cultural costs. She makes the point that the emphasis on individual expression
in our art music has led to a loss of social value for that art. She states,
"once the property of individual expression is idealized beyond the
point of any possible counterbalance by collective musical values, musical
expression tends to lose its character of expressiveness as well as its corollary
capacity for communication." [1] She makes her points by citing her evidence teaching the introductory
music course at the University of Chicago. She discusses the student's responses
to listening to Stravinsky's Histoire du Soldat and states, "it
is an unfamiliar piece, it doesn't bring immediate and unmitigated pleasure,
the students are not sure how to listen to it, how to respond to it, how
to talk about it." [2] Her experiences demonstrate that these students not only didn't understand
or respond to contemporary art music, [3] but had no mechanism to judge its merits, [4] could not recognize if the piece had been correctly performed and
couldn't tell if it had communicated anything to them. [5] This "incommunicability of individuality is not only a self-defeating
attitude, destructive to the real existence of the individuality in question;
it may have adverse effects on a social scale as well," [6] Subotnik continues. "The impenetrability of a musical structure
leads listeners to so denigrate their own intelligence and claims upon good
music that it demoralizes them, encouraging them to abandon self-education
as futile and to make a virtue of self-contented philistinism."
[7]
Music has an important expressive function in society.
In the last three to four generations, musical expression has shifted from
active to passive. Before the ubiquitous proximity of recorded music, if
there was music present, the individuals responsible were also present. This
important wordless, but meaningful, social dynamic has changed dramatically;
it is unusual today to see live music performed. Unlike in the medieval times,
live musicians are no longer treasured purveyors of tradition. Instead they
are the poor substitute for a cultural icon (the pop star); music has become
something that is remote and inaccessible, unrelated to individual expression.
In my experience teaching the course, Music for Elementary
School Educators at Southwestern College, I have observed a transformation
in the students. When they enter, they are not only unable to express themselves
musically, but they are hesitant and even afraid to try. In one semester,
they learn to play simple tunes on the recorder, piano and autoharp and lead
the class in exploring musical concepts. This change is not significant solely
in terms of the physical skills which they have acquired (These skills are
no small achievements for these young adults). But, the greater achievement
is in the recognition of the important active place that music has in their
lives. And not only does their relationship to music change, but their relationship
to the small society that our class reflects changes as well. Their active
participation in the group as a musical being has changed from non-participating
outsider to actively engaged performer. As a group, the class becomes close-knit
and mutually supportive. They are amazed and gratified (as I am) by their
transformation and excited about the prospect of conveying these abilities
to their future pupils.
My grandmother was very shy. But, she was the center
of the party because she played the piano. She would sit at the keyboard
and play for the group as everyone sang. This active involvement in music
gave her social entry into a world that would have been otherwise closed.
In her era, there was an acknowledged relationship between an individual's
ability to relate to music and their ability to move in society. While we
will never lose recorded music, we could gain much by increasing our active
participation in music on all levels.
[Note 1] Rose Subotnik, Developing Variations, (Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis Press, 1991), 254.
[Note 2] Subotnik, 241.
[Note 3] Subotnik, 241.
[Note 4] Subotnik, 242.
[Note 5] Subotnik, 245.
[Note 6] Subotnik, 248.
[Note 7] Subotnik, 249.