Music and Society

"Give me control over he who shapes the music of a nation, and I care not who makes the laws." - Napoleon Bonaparte

In every culture throughout history there has been a connection between the society and music. It is often true that music follows the predominant values of a certain culture (or subculture) and can be the product of the times. It is also good to consider how music can start trends and affect society’s ideals. Beethoven, Elvis, and the Beatles and are just a few artists that come to mind whose music revolutionized their respective societies—not just in ideas about music, but about culture as a whole.

As can be seen in our own society, certain groups can be associated with particular music genres. While researching, I read about an issue related to the Columbine shootings. When it was found that the two shooters were heavy metal and Goth music fans, the media raised the concern about whether their behavior was influenced by the music, especially by the singer Marilyn Manson. This question over the influence of certain types of music is certainly not new. In the modern case of the social effects of certain genres—rock, rap, what have you—perhaps it may be only a correlation, rather than a causation (an important distinction in psychology), though even then one should not discard music as an empty medium. You hear all the time about “not listening to the words”, but I always wonder if that is a viable excuse to not be changed in some way by the music you experience.

The desensitization of our society can hardly be ignored. Explicit language, provocative dress, the prolongation of adolescent behavior—did these come about on their own? Or did they find a vehicle in music, among other things? Here is an interesting, if rather controversial, quote by Plato on a related subject:

“Our music was once divided into its proper forms...It was not permitted to exchange the melodic styles of these established forms and others. Knowledge and informed judgment penalized disobedience. There were no whistles, unmusical mob-noises, or clapping for applause. The rule was to listen silently and learn; boys, teachers, and the crowd were kept in order by threat of the stick. . . . But later, an unmusical anarchy was led by poets who had natural talent, but were ignorant of the laws of music...Through foolishness they deceived themselves into thinking that there was no right or wrong way in music, that it was to be judged good or bad by the pleasure it gave. By their works and their theories they infected the masses with the presumption to think themselves adequate judges. So our theatres, once silent, grew vocal, and aristocracy of music gave way to a pernicious theatrocracy...the criterion was not music, but a reputation for promiscuous cleverness and a spirit of law-breaking.”