We’ve been talking a lot about social rituals. Well, just what exactly is a social ritual? Social rituals are, basically, traditions or customs that a society has followed for many years. For example, in America, most people follow the custom of dating. In Israel, they tend to follow the tradition of arranged marriages. Yet, in some countries, they use courtship. Even though all three of these approaches to finding a mate are different, they all are very similar because they are all Social Mating Rituals. Now, of course, mating isn’t the only social ritual.
The way our culture responds to and views death is a social ritual in and of itself. So is the way we do warfare. The way we eat and the way we clothe ourselves are also social rituals. One of the most interesting social rituals, in my opinion, is music. The music we listen to and the way it is used to influence us is much different then it used to be. With the start of the 20th century, music was just beginning to play a huge part in the rapidly maturing United States. For centuries, music had always been used to entertain people around living rooms and campfires.
It had always contained the ability to manipulate the emotions and feelings of a listener. But, as America started to prosper and business began to boom, people began to realize the potential money making qualities of music and the music entertainment industry was born. Today, it’s one of the biggest industries ever. An artist can have his music heard by thousands to even millions of people. Instead of entertaining just a few hundred people, artists go on tours around the country or even the world, playing music in front of millions of people (Ennis, 1992).
With the wide audiences available to artists, music became one of the best ways to advertise and to influence people with ideas and such. Many artists knew this to be true and took advantage of it. Music rapidly began to influence every aspect of American lives. It was heard in their homes, cars, offices, theaters, movies, elevators and countless other places. Music made it’s way everywhere. The songs that were sung defined what every American loved and worked for. It gave people hope and joy, as well as bringing out every other emotion possible.
Music was around during the bad times as well as the good. When people were down there were songs they could relate to, and when they were happy there were songs they could sing and dance to (Ennis, 1992). In the 1920’s the first pop music began with the big bands. They were a popular choice for many listeners, but new forms of it were already starting to branch. Swing and Jazz soon became very popular styles of music. They mainly consisted of several trumpets, saxophones, and even stringed instruments. A deeper bass, piano and percussion then supported them.
Jazz got it’s influence from African-American folk music, such as ragtime, fife and drum bands, string bands and spirituals. Because of the newness of Jazz music, it exploded though out the United States quickly. Jazz had a huge impact on the people of the early 1900’s. It lessened racism to some degree, and started opening people’s minds to other forms of dancing, which was considered an indecent act among many societies. African-American people gained a little more acceptance through Jazz music with their smooth ability to improve the already great sound of Jazz.
Such artists as Joe “King” Oliver and Louis Armstrong were huge and made a big impact on not only Jazz, but also many people living in the U. S. at the time. Through the jazz style, music was beginning to widely influence Americas’ culture (Stuessy, 1990). After World War I was winding down and Jazz was hitting it’s peak, anther new kind of music was once again emerging. Rock ‘n’ Roll emerged from the newly developed Jazz music. In 1955, Rock ‘n’ Roll took off with Bill Haley’s song “Rock Around the Clock”. The American people loved it for it’s exciting, heavy beat and it’s hypnotic power over people causing them to dance.
Rock was very popular among the younger crowds, especially with the teens. It related to the topics many young people were interested in. Rock musicians wrote songs about school, cars and young love. Many teens in the United States at this time loved it because they could relate to what the songs were saying, although some people believed it brought out the worst in people. Parents of the children often thought the style suggested ideas of rebellion and sin (Palmer, 1995). With the idea that rock was bad, it was in the begging struggle for popularity. On the other hand, it ended up gaining even more popularity.
One person named Elvis Presley hit the music scene and ended up having a huge influence on rock. His radical dances and catchy tunes shocked and amazed everyone. Instantaneously, people were in love with his music, attitude and view on life. At the arrival of rock and musicians like Elvis Presley, the American people were starting to be changed forever (Peters, 1984). Currently, Rock ‘n’ Roll is now the most popular form of music in the United States, the 1960’s were very turbulent and the music was there the whole time supporting the protesting, outrages and violence.
War in Vietnam, women’s rights, and Black rights were all big issues in the 60’s. The people had a new spirit at this time. They were very liberal and did not stay quiet. When they felt they had to speak their mind, they did. Rock music was one of the key element that gave the protesting Americans a way to speak out against the government and authority. It was the mass media through which people communicated and were influenced by. Almost every song in the 60’s had a message of protest, especially about Vietnam.
Peace was on all people’s minds. Bands like “Jefferson Airplane”, “The Beatles” and “The Who” all had songs crying out about peace and stopping the war. One of the most popular protests was the music festival called “Woodstock. ” It had great importance in spreading the word of peace and rebellion. The music was very successful in bringing these common feelings to the young people during this time. Because of much of music’s message of rebellion and protest it often encouraged the use of drugs and free love.
Some say, that if Rock were not around during this time period, a lot of the drug problems and immorality wouldn’t be so prevalent today. Then again, others say that if it hadn’t been around, a lot people would not have spoken their mind, therefore many more people may have been killed in Vietnam, and issues very important today may have never been brought to the attention of the people living in the United States. In either case, we can see by this short little history in America’s social ritual of music, that it has influenced our culture greatly (Palmer, 1995).
