Multicultural Perspectives In Music Education - Free Solution

Question: Write an essay on how (a) The effect music on brain (b) The effects of music in our society /lives (c) Function of music society (d) Music and its relevance to society. Answer: Music is a cultural activity or an art form having a medium of sound and silence. Music has some common elements and those are melody, rhythm, pitch, texture and dynamics. It is related to the emotions and spirituality of human being. The influence of music on humans can be both positive and negative. The effect of music can be both instant and long term. The brain is the control center of the human body and the music affects the brain in different ways (Bunt et al). Music Psychology is the study that deals with the experience of music and musical behavior. The cognitive neuroscience of music involves the scientific study of the mechanisms of brain that are involved in the cognitive processes related to the music. Researchers have found that Baroquo and Mozarts music with a pattern of sixty beats per minute, enhances the activity of the right and left hemisphere of the brain (Kotarba et al). It has been seen that the learning of the music activates the left hemisphere and the right h emisphere is activated by the music (Anderson et al.). Activities such as singing or playing an instrument engage both the left and right hemispheres of the brain and results an enhancement of brains capability to process more information. The Center for New Discoveries has found that the potential of learning can be increased at least five times by the sixty beats per minute music. In the ancient time the Greeks used to sing their drama because it helped them to memorize more easily (Bunt et al). A renowned psychologist Dr. Lozanov designed his own way to teach foreign language to his students which involved some pieces of classical music. He found that the average rate of retention of the students was 92%. Some certain kind of music has been proven to relax the mind and body by releasing the neurons. Now a days music therapy is being done for the treatment of various mental illnesses. Music influences heart rate and blood pressure and that is why it is being used for stress manage ment (Ruud and Even). There are many ethnographic researches that describe music as a community based participative activity which involves the participation of both commercial and non-commercial people who shares a common set of values (Ruud and Even). Music is an expression of different cultures of different societies. The people of different societies have their own unique type of music and musical instruments. From the very beginning of the civilization music has served as a purpose for bringing people together (Kotarba et al). Music is a part of various religious ceremonies throughout the world. Previously a particular society used to play their own unique music in the regional language which is known as folk. However, with the civilization, a generalization of music and musical instruments has taken place (Anderson et al.). With the modernization of technology the instruments have become more advanced and complex and the people are getting familiar with the music of other societies and countries by means of media and technologies (Kotarba et al). In recent days, many musics are being composed that includes the musics from different cultures which are giving birth to an entirely new musical combination and are involving the participation of people from different culture and society. The societal aspects are related so deeply with music that it is not easy to understand that if the music affects the society or the society is reflected through the kind of music it plays (McRobbie and Angela). A music society is a group of people that promotes teaching and learning of music, musical expression and creativity (McRobbie and Angela). Music society, not only deals with the music, it also influences some other factors related to its members and the society. It helps to develop the awareness about the functions of music in the society and beyond (Kotarba et al). The learners and listeners get exposed in the context that is created by a musical composition and also understand the philosophy of the music. The music society helps people to realize the genre of music that represents a particular historical time or event, an aspect of human life, the nature or the culture of any particular community. Apart from all these the music society has a major role in the entertainment and recreation of the people of a society (Anderson et al.). The humankind is incomplete without music and art. Music has always helped the people to find the meaning of their emotions. Music has its magical healing power which can relax the brain and body of human being and helps to get relief from the tension and stress. It is able to draw and emotionally uplift the mind of thousands of people from different parts of the world (McRobbie and Angela). Music can be one of the best ways to express ones feelings, joy, love, anger, passion and other emotion to the others. The perfect way to express the word of love to the beloved person is music. The music is one of the most important part of any celebration or religious function of any society. It gives rise to the aesthetic sense and spirituality of the people. Music has served various purposes of human life like, praying, expressing love and respect to God, encouragement in hard work and expressing different emotions (Bunt et al). If someone has the knowledge of music, he or she can participate in different cultural activities in the workplace which can be helpful to build a good relationship with the employees and a participative image to the seniors (McRobbie and Angela). If someone does a course on music it is always considered as an extracurricular activity while recruiting that person for any job. Apart from that, music has been proven to improve the performance and willingness of employees in any organization specially where the job is stressful. There are also opportunities to do higher studies on music and choosing it as a career (Anderson et al.). References: Anderson, William M., and Patricia Shehan Campbell, eds.Multicultural perspectives in music education. Vol. 3. RL Education, 2011. Bunt, Leslie, and Brynjulf Stige.Music therapy: An art beyond words. Routledge, 2014. Bunt, Leslie, and Sarah Hoskyns.The handbook of music therapy. Routledge, 2013. Erkkil, Jaakko, et al. "Individual music therapy for depression: randomised controlled trial."The British journal of psychiatry199.2 (2011): 132-139. Kotarba, Joe, et al.Understanding society through popular music. Routledge, 2013. McRobbie, Angela.In the culture society: Art, fashion and popular music. Routledge, 2013. Ruud, Even.Music therapy: A perspective from the humanities. Barcelona Publishers, 2010. Small, Christopher.Music, society, education. Wesleyan University Press, 2011.