What do you think.....?

Question

This is a dicussion question for my music appreciation class and I am struggling to answer it please opinions are welcome to give me some idea on what to say, Thanks!
One of the books in the suggested resources is a fairly mystical book by 20th-century composer Cyril Scott. He thinks that cultures are a product of the music that preceded them; that music has the power to introduce a change in the way people in society think, feel, and act—even if they don’t hear it directly. What do you think about that? Many people think that music is a product of the culture it comes from. Is that true? Is the other also possible? When a pebble drops in the water, the ripples reach far beyond the place where the pebble was dropped. Do you think music can effect the environment like that? Could it have a negative as well as a positive effect?

Answer 1

I think every different culture brings out their own music. Think about taste in clothes and colors.

People around hte middle east are more covered, the music and the instrument they use are similar but are not the same. The taste in music is so different to the west. So i think music is like fashion, clothes. Some things becomes hip and other people follow it, saying so in some cultures certain words are not ok to use, but in others they are. So some parts of music is always changed due to culture.

As we are growing more diverse, our taste in music is becoming alike, and if you notice alot of cultures are becoming more flexible to meet in the middle with other cultures, just because its hip, or just to stay out of problems.

Answer 2

You could argue both sides of the fence. I want to say that music is a product of the culture it comes from but once that music has been dropped in the water so to speak it does ripple out for years. I mean listen to some of today's musicians and they will always tell you that they were influenced by musicians from decades before or a culture that they visited (ask about Spanish guitars) You could argue that our current culture is a product of the rock and roll era that preceded it. I mean look at the influence that the Beatles had. Holy Cow! Now they shook the landscape.
But then take the blues....look how that has influenced later cultures also...but it wasn't created from something that happened in the past. Those people were living their "blues" at the time they made the music. But I'll bet they borrowed some of that feel and re-phrased it to suit the "now" of their life.
I think that's the case with every kind of music. People can hear music and take from it the feel that it brings and use that feeling to create something entirely different.
So I think that both sides of the fence are valid. It just depends on which view you like.

Answer 3

I feel music is a product of the culture it comes from...My neighborhood has Hispanic music playing in one house, rap in the next and then hard rock in the one after that....Different cultures enjoy different types of music,,,, and then a certain appreciation is also learned as we are exposed to it more, and more....

Answer 4

Sorry, I am lazy and didnt read it. Good luck with it though