Example of discussion board response

Music Is Evil

Some music genres are considered as evil. Jazz music, for instance, at times stimulates brutality and sensuality. This has been known to have a demoralizing impact upon the brains of human beings according to the researches conducted by many scientists in the past. This kind of music goes against the religious teachings of some denominations and norms of particular societies. The rock and R&B music concepts are forbidden by the teachings of Mohammed. Jazz, rock and R&B music have been known to have an evil influence according to the outcry of many segments of religious leaders and societies in 1921. The same concerns were echoed by the music educators back then. The evil influence is detrimental to the listeners and can lead to the degradation of the moral values that are enshrined in the religious teachings both from the Islamic and Christian religions.

R&B leads to immoral dancing, as well as promiscuity. Others claimed that rock had a permanent and adverse impact on the brain cells of its listeners. The name “jazz” by itself according to Christian teachings means immorality. The leaders of religious organizations rely on the content and the values propagated by these types of music when banning them. Their basis should be that the music does not enhance the Lord’s message. The devil’s message that is portrayed and promoted in jazz music is the same that is promoted in rock music as well as in R&B. This ought to form the basis of the religious leaders as they fight to have the music banned in their societies.

These kinds of music have been common in environments where drugs, booze, and broads are used. It is a very well known fact that most musicians in jazz and R&B music industry have had a history of drug abuse, as well as an immoral lifestyle. The musicians themselves have for years in the past been associated with a sinful and terrible lifestyle in the religious culture (Songsofdavid.com). These categories of music require the musicians and listeners to immerse themselves into the music vocabulary which is in most cases vulgar and religiously unacceptable. They view the music as a way of life and for one to fit in the industry, his/ her actions must match the profession and the conventions of the industry by being a sinner, drug addict, or a womanizer. During the fourth century, the bishop of Constantinople claimed that where there is jazz music and dance, there is the devil. There are numerous fleshy dangers that jazz and rock music dancing can instill in the behavioral norms of the fans. It is evident that the religious leaders have every justification to ban these kinds of music if elected to positions of power to protect the erosion of either Islamic or Christian values in the society, just like the Taliban government did in Afghanistan as to control, censor, and ban these kinds of music altogether.

What Does Tsugaru-Shamisen Say About Japanese Culture?

Shamisen refers to a three-stringed Japanese instrument that is played with a plectrum. Tsugaru shamisen can be termed as the jazz of Japan. This is according to one of the best artists in the kind of music, namely Chisato Yamada. The kind of music came to Japan from China and the Japanese developed their own method of playing the music. It has evolved to be one of the best music genres in Japan with a huge number of followers all over the country. Koto and shakuhachi are the most popularly known musical instruments in the Japanese music culture. Most of the official Japanese cultural music was in Chinese which is monosyllabic. It also had tones. Japanese music has long polysyllabic words. It also does not have tones. Traditionally, the Chinese language was used in pronunciation and in the reading of the various Japanese words used in music (IroMegane). The Japanese literature in the Hiean period and poetry tried to avoid the usage of Chinese words as much as possible.

Although Japanese music has been distinctive in the past, there has been the enormous importation of foreign forms of music from other cultures and countries. This has resulted to the “jazz” form of Japanese music which has features of the western form of music. The early music of Japan was popularized by the overseas visits of famous artists from Japan to the United States. This led to the Japanese music being criticized for not being original and being derivative. It has been termed as an unworthy imitation of the United States jazz.

Is African Music Primitive?

African music has been known to be ancient, rich as well as diverse. It has distinct musical traditions. The African music is passed down the generations in an oral form. The music in Africa has a long history and the only written explanation of the history is enshrined in western journals. The music is primitive and lacks dynamism. It does not allow for the incorporation of the current matters and issues in the modern society.

The African music covers the cultural periods of human species. These are the eras that contain information regarding the first human cultures and instrumental music. It entails playing of primitive instruments, shouting, primitive singing, crying and murmuring. These songs are particularly structured for use as a child’s lullabies, funerals, rituals, celebrations as well as other kinds of ceremonies. There is an extensive use of primitive string instruments attached to wooden blocks, primitive drums, shells, seeds, bones, and horns. Therefore, referring to African music as primitive is not necessarily a negative comment or an idea that is born of arrogance. It is actually the truth of the matter. It is a fair and objective statement that is aimed at giving the real meaning to this kind of music.

Although there has been a general notion that the African music is primitive, there have been efforts and strategies by many African artists to advance this kind of music by incorporating more of the western ideologies and practices in their music (Zzounds.com). This has been witnessed in the recent past, whereby western musical instruments have been used to spice up the traditional African music and make it more impressive and attractive, especially to the young generation who has been known to prefer the western kind of music.

Many concepts and traditions of western music have been imported into the traditional and primitive African music. The African artists now use western attire and symbols in their music as a way of breaking from the past and bringing in the much-required change in this kind of music. Although some have criticized this as a move to dilute and spoil the taste of the African music, most people think and perceive it as a way of causing positive advancement in the traditional African music which can attract attention from listeners across other continents, not just those in Africa. Advancement was also seen in the content of the music and the expressed ideas. The content in most cases resembles the one that is mostly common in western kinds of music. Use of strong language, different dancing styles are just but part of the many changes in the African music that reflect the advancements that have been made to make it more western.

Where Did Music Come From?

Music can be defined as the language of emotions. It moves the human body as well as the human heart. It was an essential activity for the Homo sapiens. During the era of the Neanderthals, there existed a peculiar proto-music language that was actually holistic, manipulative, multimodal, musical, and mimetic; it is where music is said to have originated. The kind of music during these past years influenced the emotional states and behaviors of people. It used sounds and movements which where temporally controlled, melodic, and rhythmic. It utilized symbolism and gesture. This is the kind of concept that Mithen termed as “Hmmmmmm” system of communication. It referred to a prelinguistic mode of the music of action and thoughts.

According to Mithen, the Singing Neanderthals had a certain kind of vocal tract as well as the respiratory control that enabled speech, although neural circuitry used for language was absent. Mithen argues that the Neanderthals lacked the cognitive fluidity and metaphorical thought which is the capability to actually hold in mind information from various cognitive domains. The fact there they lacked the symbolic artifacts in their dwelling places implied the absence of symbolic thought and, therefore, the presence of symbolic utterance or the spoken language where the music originated.

The Neanderthals had challenging lives with their physical abilities, huge body size as well as large and dependent infants which required complex and emotional communication system which had to be more sophisticated, as compared to the previous species of Homo sapiens. This included iconic gestures, vocal imitation, dances, and sound synaethesia. This in a way led to the origin of music.

‘The singing Neanderthals’, as Mithen called them used various musical aspects in their bodily movements such as toe-tapping, hand clapping, head-nodding, and dancing. Music making in those eras was a first and foremost a commonly shared activity, just like it is in the modern and western worlds. It was a well throughout human norm that was embraced for years and enshrined in their cultures and history. The Neanderthals embraced communal singing in most of their daily activities. This included the use of natural sounds gotten from the traditional forests.

The interest by the Neanderthals to express their cognitive studies and feelings with face, body, voice and being able to decode the emotional signals from other members, embraced the idea of using music in emotional intelligence (Hewett). The efforts by the Neanderthals to develop a common language of communication also led to the evolution of music that modern human beings have adopted in their musical activities today. The Neanderthals played a key role in the birth of music that has grown over the last years. Their music was based on a common goal and in striking a common way of expressing their feelings to each other. This was mostly witnessed when there were community activities, where all the members had to be present.

Why Is N. Indian Classical Music so Effective as a Means of Spiritual Expression?

The North Indian classical music has had a huge impact on the Indians and the humans at large. It continues to thrive as a means of spiritual expression, despite the emergence of other genres of music from across all parts of the world. It has stood out as a distinct and impressive kind of music to express spiritual experiences. It is not only expressive but also elaborate in nature. It is well structured and has certain partitions that make it easy to learn and explore which is similar to most of the western music genres. It places great emphasis on improvisation as opposed to other kinds of music in the country.

It is monophonic in nature and is actually based on a single melody line that is played over a certain fixed drone. The performance is based melodically on particular ragas as well as rhythmically on ‘talas’. This made it gain popularity in the country and among the people of different cultures in the country. The performances are in most cases solo endeavours, although the duets were also gaining huge popularity in the recent past. The music is taught orally via traditional oral methods. It uses primary media instructions which make it easy to deliver and to teach to new interested people. It lacks the complex and difficult to grasp rules and compositions. They follow an easy notation that is familiar with the traditional songs in most communities in India.

The human body is taken to be the drum. This is so because the body is symbolic of the rhythm of life. This makes it interesting and thrilling. There is a totally amazing science about the sounds, as well as the body in the drums used which looks at what producing different sounds or being under the actual influence of different sounds does to the entire song experience. Every single sound that is used in this kind of music has a given impact and meaning. If you listen to any kind of these sounds, you become loving and attached to it. Other sounds make a person joyful and aggressive to achieve even more. The sounds used in these kinds of songs create arrays of emotions that are aimed at producing a positive impact on the lives of human beings (Ishafoundation.org).

The music that is covered in these songs has a harmonious arrangement of particular sounds. This produces a common phenomenon at all levels of cultural values and it has acted a stepping stone for many spiritual processes. The Indian classical music walks a person through the creation process and through the nature of the creator. Apart from entertaining, the Indian classical music brings out a spiritual fulfillment. In classical music, the ragas, tones, and all the sounds used are meant to make the listeners and singers deeply engaged in it and to make them meditate about their supernatural being. This kind of music has no limitations in terms of achieving spiritual fulfillment. It is an easy form of music and all you need to know are the proper sound arrangements, so as to do incredible things to other people in the congregation depending on the situation.

Is This Really Music?

Music is understood differently, depending on the culture that it is referred to. What can be music to some ears can as well be noise to other ears. All people have different perspectives in regards to music. Everyone thinks that he/ she knows music when he/ she hears it but only a few people can tell why and how. The act of imposing a common definition to music in all cultures can be impossible because of this. People have different opinions in regards to what music is. Many scholars only study and cover the sounds and behaviors that are mostly considered music by the people who make them, as well as the people who listen to them.

Music should be a form or communication as opposed to what is presented in the videos. What is presented is serious artwork that does not reflect any aspect of music. Music should be a language and can be easily understood and studied. It should have ingredients that cover the norms that are distinct in the society that the music played in. There needs to be a connection between music and the human language and everyday experiences (Chnm.gmu.edu). This was mostly popular and evident in the prehistoric times, as opposed to the present moments where there has been many perspectives of music over the years.

Music should be difficult to explain and to demonstrate without instrumental means. It should be difficult to explain without the use of nonmusical means such as words, as opposed to what is presented in the videos. Writing about music can be synonymous to dancing about architecture. In most cases, the way people perceive and think about music is not shown and presented in the kind of music they produce or listen to. Although the culture in most instances dictates what music is, some societies proclaim that music is invaluable but go ahead to persecute the musicians and to deny the artists a livelihood.

Music can be more respected and enjoyed if it is not defined. It is easily appreciated if it is not analyzed. Music is like a record of the historical events and the human experiences that words or serious artwork cannot explain. This kind of history is transmitted from generation to generation through oral practices. Music conveys memory. Music reminds us about places, people, events and the ancient occurrences. For most people, music is more than just music and they tend to experience it at the individual and personal level. This is not possible when using serious artistic works. Music cannot be replaced with artistic works because many aspects would be missed and the intended meaning or message will not be conveyed. Although the two are distinct and important, they supplement each other very well if used with the required planning and thinking.

Have You Ever Been the Victim of Ethnocentrism?

I have been a victim of ethnocentrism. I used to think that our ethnic group was the most superior and the most talented. I used to tell myself that our ethnic group had the most intelligent and sharp beings in our society. This is so because of the norms that had been installed in me when I was still a young kid. I used to be told that our ethnic group had the wisest members and other ethnic groups ought to respect us for that. This affected my relationship with other members of those “inferior” ethnic groups. My ego was really high and I used to lie to myself that I had special powers that others did not have.

This kind of belief affected not only my personal and social life but also my academic life, whereby I became reluctant thinking that I was smart enough to pass exams and do marvelous even without reading. This affected my grades and performance deteriorated over a very short period. I tried to talk to my teachers about the same but they knew the root cause of the problem. They advised me to shun such kind of thinking and to view myself as a normal person, so as to be able to improve my social and performance levels (Iupui.edu). My parents had no idea as to why my performance had deteriorated.

After discovering the problem, I also approached the school counselor who helped out and gave me the plan to follow to get over the problem. After this my performance improved drastically and I realized that my attitude was just a misconception. I realized that no member of any ethnic group is superior. We all have equal potential and what matters is how hardworking and committed we are to what we do. After changing this mentality, I started a club to campaign against such believes and to help any victim of such believes to heal faster and carry on with their normal activities.

This kind of ethnocentric mindset is detrimental to a person’s life in all aspects. It lowers one’s performance and puts a person into disagreements with his/ her colleagues. This later wreaks unnecessary havoc that can have long-lasting adverse impacts on the lives of the victims. It also kills the self-worth and confidence of the victims which lowers their productivity levels at work and in school.

What Would Your Music Culture Be Like?

If I were to invent or design my own type of music, I would incorporate different instruments from my culture. It would reflect the norms and values of the culture as opposed to the modern kind of music that does not necessarily reflect the norms and values of the communities and behaviors. This is the kind of music that would explain the major events and occurrences that have happened in society over the past.

This kind of music would aim at educating and equipping the young generation and the future generation with the societal norms and values that can make them better. It would be aimed at bringing the members of the community together and more close to discuss the issues that affect them in their day to day activities. I would use different traditional instruments like horn, and drums. Apart from the traditional instruments, I would use some of the most impressive modern musical instruments like guitar, so as to incorporate some aspect of the modern genre of music. This would be aimed at attracting young people who tend to like western music more that the traditional types of music.

My music culture would also aim at praising the heroes and the heroines of our culture and community. It would be designed to appreciate the people who have had an invaluable impact in the lives of many members of society and especially the marginalized groups of people like the disabled and the less unfortunate. This kind of music is important so as to encourage others to follow suit and to the same and help in alleviating many problems that the contemporary society members are facing on a daily basis.

In my music culture, I would make it open such that anyone can compose a song and deliver it to the members to listen to the message contained therein (Chnm.gmu.edu). There should be no limit or some sort of boundaries in regards to the age limit or the gender of musicians. I would design it in such a way that there no types of music that are reserved for the youth or the more advanced members of society.

What Do You Make of “Ma”?

Ma is a Japanese concept and word that is translated to mean a gap or space. It can also refer to a space that exists between two structural parts. It is in most cases experienced in the spatial designation. It is used to refer to an interval. It is a widely used concept in many instances in the Japanese culture. It refers to the spatial or temporal events and things. It is used to suggest a form of measurement as well as a gap or opening between time, and so forth.

It is the foundation of the traditional Japanese art forms. It is a Japanese aesthetic principle. It is more than just the way of seeing, it is viewed as a way of life. The Japanese architect Arata Isozaki actually refers to it as a fluid term that does encompass many aspects in the lives of normal people in Japan. The usage of the term is used to encompass all the spheres of life, environment, and art in the Japanese culture. It covers fine art, music, drama as well as architecture. A general term for this is “the art of ma”. The various understanding that exists when referring to this concept has been found to be fundamental in explaining the different expressions that exist in the western and Japanese artistic creations and expressions.

The concept existed before the notion of nothingness which means emptiness. It is expressed in various concepts and aspects such as wu, shunyata, and mu (Kaisyngtan.com). It is a recurrent theme in the Eastern philosophies and a problematic term that is mystified as well as romanticized because it is in most cases misunderstood.

Music – What Is the Point?

Music is critical in the lives of people. It is a fuel that is used in creativity. Researches have shown that the most creative minds have the ability to create innovations through music as well as to discover new things in the world. Listening to music is an instrumental activity and it challenges one to listen to a particular story that is narrated in form of a song. Music enables one to tell a story without the use of many words. This requires the right usage of ones’ brain which is critical in exercising one’s creativity. This leads to intellectual and to more independent and smarter human beings.

When used in the education system, music makes the education more enjoyable and interesting. Music is usually very engaging in the classrooms which make it a great told for memorization. It is a common fact that most teachers used songs to teach the multiplication tables to kids to help them retain the information in their brain for a long time. Music has also been used in the education sector to teach about self-discipline and time management skills that are critical in the production of a full grown and well-grounded student. It helps one in wiring the brain in a way that it views the process of learning new ideas easier and in a lighter manner.

Music is also the language of the entire universe. Music has no boundaries and is used by all individuals across the globe to express their ideologies and to explain what they feel about certain concepts and activities. It is used to pass information from one generation to another and from one community to another. Music has also been used for many years to influence the actions of certain personalities or to praise iconic figures in the society. This has played a huge role in education and in communicating to people in different parts of the world or in different continents.

Music also possesses spiritual powers in which people use to communicate with their supernatural being. It is used to praise the supernatural beings from different communities and as a way of giving thanks to the same supernatural beings (Piano Around the World). This is important in improving the spiritual well being of people and to help people stay more connected to their creator. This has been done in the past and it continues to be done today.

Music – The Universal Language?

Music is generally referred to as the universal language. It is the indicative nature of music that makes it a universal language. It has an ambiguous nature that means that is understood by all people in the same format with no major differences in terms of the content and meaning. Music is used to communicate to all groups of people at all levels and in all parts of the world. Music can be used by any individual in the communication process. It does not rule out any group from using it which makes it a common and universal language in this undertaking.

It is through music that people communicate, express their feelings and explain their feelings. It is such a powerful tool, especially in the modern world because it is easily accessible and liked by the majority of people. This makes music a good and appropriate channel to use in communication and it passage of message from different parts of messages, as well as from different cultures to others.

Many researchers have agreed that music is the universal language due to its flexible nature. It can be played anyplace. In fact, music is played in almost all occasions, which makes it easy for one to use it to communicate his/ her ideologies to others. It has been used to pass information from the past generations to the current generations. This practice is bound to continue, whereby music is used to pass the norms and values of a society of one community form the parents to the children over years.