Ethnocentrism is basically the judging of another culture by the standards of one’s own culture. This may mean that one can observe another culture in an insular manner and this means that there are negative connotations to the term. It may mean that one does not appreciate another culture especially in musical or art terms and that is obviously detrimental to one’s artistic success.
I have experienced ethnocentrism in various ways. A typical example would be the influx of African culture through the phenomenon of immigration and a negative view of this. I decided to judge the music by my own standards and this made it seem hollow and without much purpose so I believed that it was inferior to my understanding of music. This form of ethnocentrism is snobbish and is detrimental to success since I could not really appreciate the rhythms and pervasive energy which permeates this music to my loss.
Art should be a universal form of bringing cultures and different opinions together so it is by nature self defeating to be an ethnocentrism. This type of attitude will make you lose out considerably on life and essentially it will mean that you will not gain from other experiences and cultures. It is important not to be resistant and close minded where other cultures are concerned as you can always learn a lot by sharing experiences. Finally one can only enrich oneself by absorbing other cultures since simply standing one’s ground and believing that one’s own culture is the norm is ultimately self defeating. Cultural affiliations, labels and stereotypes should be a thing of the past.
How has technology affected global music?
Technology has become an important part of music as more sounds have now entered the mainstream and we are not confined to traditional instruments which make traditional sounds. A typical example would be the fusion of rap with hip hop and the sounds these create when matched with technology.
Many say that music is the food of life and this has no better meaning than the actual experience music brings. Amongst the most popular genres, one can find pop and rap as well as R and B where jazz plays an important part. In fact, Rhythm and Blues actually came out of jazz as a genre and this type of music has been considerably influential across a number of countries in different continents.
Today it is possible to create a wide variety of sounds using very simple and basic technology. This also means that the music is more widely distributed and the possibility of electronic dissemination has also increased popularity and appeal immensely. Thus an artist’s music can be put on the internet and this is immediately available for download so it is far more widely disseminated than used to be the case. Technology has managed to globalize music like it has globalized everything else.
Some may see this as the death of the music collector since so much music and art is now available at one’s fingertips. However one may also take the positive view which means that music can penetrate far wider markets and cultures which were hitherto unknown and technology has certainly helped all this to happen.
Discuss your own feelings concerning the idea that the United States of America is or is not a "melting pot." Support your statement with musical and ethnic examples.
The most obvious example that shows the United States as a melting pot is the example of jazz. Jazz is a genre of music that begun in the 20th century as result of a mixture of African and American music culture. For over a long period jazz has included 19th and 20th century’s music. West African jazz has a unique characteristic that uses blue notes, improvisation, syncopation, polyrhythm, call-response and the swing note.
Jazz has generated different subgenres namely: Dixieland, which existed in the early 1910s, big band style swing from 1930s to 1940s, bebop from mid 1940s, free jazz, hard bop and a range of Latin fusions. The Latin fusions further included afro-Cuban which lived from 1950s and 1960s, jazz fusion from 1970s, acid jazz from 1980s. Acid jazz merged both funk and hip-hop features. Afterwards Nu jazz preceded acid jazz later in the 1990s.
Jazz music has advanced over time characterized by periods. The first period was referred to as rag time which is characterized by the eradication of slave trade. It was experienced from 1890s to 1910s. This opened up new prospects for the African Americans at liberty. Employment was limited to the educated Africans hence resorted to entertainment. They provided cheap entertainment in dances and vaudeville, mostly bring together the bands formed. Ragtime emerged as a sheet of music, popularized by musicians like Ernest Hogan, Vess Ossman.
The jazz age preceded the ragtime and it existed between 1920s and 1930s. During this age, the sale of alcohol was prohibited resulting to rise of illegal speakeasies changing to scene of the jazz age. This era had popular music that had present dance songs, originality and show tunes. During this stage, jazz acquired a negative reputation of being decadent. Members of the older generation pictured this to threatening to old customs in culture and supporting immoral values.
