Native American Music
Culture is a very important thing in the history of any community. Culture differs from one society or community to another. In the United States of America, culture is defined by the region, race, gender, and certain groups of people. The United States of America is considered to be one of the countries with many immigrants. The immigrants tend to take the cultural practices to America. On the other hand, American Natives have their culture, which they feel is good for them (Brill, 2016). When you look at history, music has had a good history in the United States of America. America is considered one of the countries where there are many musical talents. This has been contributed by the culture that has been preserved over time. In America, music is remembered for its role in ceremonies, expression, recreation, and healing purposes, among others. The Native American Music has its originalities from Europe, particularly the United Kingdom. During the time of colonialism, Britain came with their culture. Both the Natives and Colonizers could use music in different backgrounds, whereby in some areas, it became the culture. This paper, therefore, analyzes the history of Native American music as a cultural dimension and how it contributes to contemporary cultures. The paper also analyzes the various backgrounds where music has been used as the cultural dimension in history.
Music is one of the cultures that are respected in the United States of America. It started by the early 1500s where people composed all through the 1700s. It has been applied in different ceremonies and backgrounds in remembrance of some important dimensions to the lives of American Natives. In many cases, music mas made for entertaining people on different occasions (Nettl, 2016). Some of the occasions where music has its originalities are the birth ceremonies, marriage ceremonies, and burial ceremonies, among others. The traditional composers targeted the specific audience while composing the songs. During the 1500s there the musical instruments were few, and hence music was purely different from the modern one. American Natives also considered music as a way of bringing unity to society. Through music, many people could meet, interact, exchange ideas, and fight commonly against enemies. The composers were very genuine and composed their feelings towards things. In this case, the Native American Music was classified into the following areas.
Love music-Music in Native America is regarded as the way of expressing your love feelings to the other. For instance, many traditional composers could compose the love song that targeted a certain person. The culture has been preserved up to date because most of the modern musicians compose the songs which they dedicate to their loved ones. This means that it has been a long time culture that has been preserved up to date. It is believed that music arouses some sensation of love (Nettl, 2016). When it is played to you, you can feel the presence of love. In this case, individuals and the government used music to teach love and unity in the country. Additionally to that, the Native Americans have valued song as a very special thing, and it helps in strengthening the love relationships, especially when it is dedicated to someone.
Motivating music-Music in the past was played to motivate people during the time of work. In most cases, people could play music while working. It is believed that music takes away the evil thoughts and welcomes keep on motivating people in their journey of meeting their long term dreams. Native Americans have preserved the culture of music being the motivating factor. In modern America, you will find that when people are doing manual tasks, they choose to do it while listening to music. This culture has been preserved over time. In the past, there were songs that were constructed specifically for motivating the people while they are at work. Those songs are most preferred by many communities, and they help people in meeting their goals.
Funeral music-Another area where music has been used as a cultural dimension is during the funeral ceremonies. In this case, there is some specific music that is constructed to say goodbye to the dead and also console the deceased (Malone & Laird, 2018). The culture has been preserved for a long time because when you read the history of American Music, you will find out that there is very old music that was particularly used in the funerals. The funeral songs tend to console the deceased people, and it shows respect to the dead according to the Native American culture. It is a taboo for every community to have their specific funeral songs, and they are only played during the funerals.
Birth ceremony music-In the past, the birth was considered to be a very special thing. Some communities in the United States of America had specific songs that they could play when a child was born. It meant that the children were the sources of happiness to the community. Today, there are specific songs played during the birth ceremonies and which are composed to encourage someone to keep on working hard in realizing their dreams. The American Natives values birthday songs. Their songs encourage people to realize remember the dates they were born and the achievements they have so far. There are specific people who conducted those ceremonies in the past and hence making it the culture.
Entertainment-The biggest role of music both in traditional and today is the source of entertainment. Music in the past was composed to entertain people in different areas. There were areas where people could meet to celebrate their achievements. For instance, when after a long day of work, people could go to the night clubs to refresh their minds and from this point, they would need the entertaining music. Entertainment has remained to be the cultural factor when it comes to music because when you ask people in the modern society about why they listen to the music, they will tell you that they are doing so for entertainment. This means that Native Americans use the entertainment factor of music as their culture.
From the above information about Native American music, it can be concluded that music is one of the essential things which are used to define culture. The history of Native American music is long, and it played different roles in the community. Some of the roles which have been discussed by the paper include the entertainment role, funeral ceremony role, motivating role, and a source of love and unity. The mentioned factors are, in other words, termed as the cultural dimensions of the music.
References
Brill, M. (2016). Music of Latin America and the Caribbean. Routledge.
Malone, B. C., & Laird, T. (2018). Country music in the USA. University of Texas Press.
Nettl, B. (2016). Native American music. Excursions in World Music: eBook & mp3 Value Pack, 424.