Expression of Music as Advocacy

One of the most common overarching themes I found most interesting is the usage of music as an expression of advocacy. From the historical evolution of African Americans – very apparent in the topics we discussed in the albums throughout the semester, such as Jazz and its Forerunners and Three Offspring of the Rural South. We even made posts in the discussion board about Music as an Advocacy and for myself, I talked about the song “We are the World” by Michael Jackson, which was used in times of great needs of philantrophy and humanitarianism, but more specifically during the Haiti earthquake which I was able to experience for myself personally.

Starting off the semester, we were asked to post about our personal perceptions of music – about what music meant to us and I talked about my disconnection from a lyrical standpoint and how I focused more on the musical side – the instrumentation and melody, etc. For me, music has been a expression of mood – how the tempo played, how the melody flowed, the timbre of the chords struct would dictate how align it would be with what I would currently be feeling. (mood af). Anyways, as we progressed through the semester, I gained a better appreciation of music for how much impact it has in people’s lives.

Amazing Grace was one of the musical pieces that we discussed in the semester. With such a rich historical legacy, it’s made such a lasting impression globally in the Christian community. One of the topics I talked about regarding Amazing Grace was the origins of it – regarding the African slaves who worked in plantation farms. Allegedly, the story goes that many were not educated, but with their limited allowance of information – music included, were taught notes that were playable on the black keys of the piano. This would symbolically represent the segregation and racism that existed at the time. Of course, a lot of black African American gospel music and other tunes with origins dating back to these times can allegedly be played by these 5 key notes – including Amazing Grace. That sort of shows the historical impressions of the song – how it came to be and how it formed – but having such a sense of connection to this piece.

In Album 3, we talked about the uprising of the Blues and Country Music. Originating in the Deep South of the United States in the early 1870s by African Americans, it was a melting pot of African traditional music, African American work songs, and spirituals. This genre of music was an expression of the working class – the hardships faced by many people. The relatability nature of the blues was one of the reasons it grew in popularity amongst the American people. This expression is again, another evident form of advocacy through music that connects many people.

Eventually, the blues led to the evolution to the famous Jazz genre. The thing that stood out to me about Jazz was how unique it was. Jazz branched off from traditional musical sense by applying unique instrumentation, tempo, and rhythm – the very fact of this is evidence of the expression that jazz represented a group of people – that they were expressing themselves in a new form of music.

Music has changed throughout the years and the various albums we’ve covered shows the robustness and the range that music can be – but one common overarching theme is the advocacy – is the reason why people play music. Whether it is through hardships, love, or any other medium, music continuously is used to express and invoke sympathy, empathy, and emotions throughout.