How music can shift social structure especially in countries after wartime and/or poor countries - Dissertation Example

Music is considered to be a universal language that can transmit emotions and ideas across boundaries. A politician or a scientist making a speech will probably not make an impression on the masses as compared to a simple road side musician. People can long remember the words of a song than that of a speech of a politician. One can even remember the lyrics of a much hated song even after 20 years. According to a survey of 132 people, 89% stated that they were more likely to believe a musician than a politician and 62% stated that they were more likely to believe in the lyrics of a song than what was written in a newspaper.

Music expresses the current issues in a society and it also exposes people to new ideas and trends (Smart, n.d.). Part Two THE POWER OF MUSIC TO MAKE PEACE: There has been a strong bonding between the musicians and the peace activists all over the world. The role of musicians in the peace and civil rights movements in America in the decades of 1960s and 1970s is known to everyone. Likewise music’s support to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the “Singing Revolution” in Estonia that eventually ended with the Estonian independence in 1991 are all examples of the fact that music, whether sung by professionals or by ordinary masses, has the power to make changes in the society (Hassler et al, 2009).

In the past few decades music has been given another role other than entertaining the people. Research in the field of psychology has proven the point that music has the inherent ability to affect a person in the following ways: Heal traumas Reduce level of stress and depression And influence behavior (Hassler et al, 2009). At the same time musicians have also accepted their new role and for that matter they have taken their talent. This "How music can shift social structure especially in countries after wartime and/or poor countries" essay describes how music and society both affect each other and at times it becomes difficult to find out which influences most on the other.

There has been a strong bonding between the musicians and the peace activists all over the world. The role of musicians in the peace and civil rights movements in America in the decades of 1960s and 1970s is known to everyone. Likewise music’s support to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the “Singing Revolution” in Estonia that eventually ended with the Estonian independence in 1991 are all examples of the fact that music, whether sung by professionals or by ordinary masses, has the power to make changes in the society (Hassler et al, 2009).

In the past few decades music has been given another role other than entertaining the people. Research in the field of psychology has proven the point that music has the inherent ability to affect a person in the following ways: heal traumas, reduce the level of stress and depression and influence behavior. At the same time musicians have also accepted their new role and for that matter they have taken their talent to war torn places and to people who have been damaged and left isolated by the war.

Using their talents and insights that they have learned in a multicultural class, festivals or on stages, the musicians all over the world are playing an important role to connect with people in order to help them to reconcile and heal.