Music And Identity Construction
"Becoming what one is, is a creative act comparable with creating a work of art".
-Anthony Storr
"It is not easy, however, to be evil when music is playing".
-John Miller Chernof
Identity is a construction: ‘For identification, identity is never an a priori, nor a finished product; it is only ever the problematic process of access to an image of totality.’ (Bhabha 1994: 73).
Popular music is important in the formation of identities: ‘Music remains an important cultural sphere is which identities are affirmed, challenged, taken apart and reconstructed’ (Connell & Gibson 2004: 117).
Music contributes to the formation of individual and collective identities. As Frith describes, music plays an important role in the construction of identity because ‘it offers so intensely, a sense of both self and others, of the subjective in the collective’ (Frith 1996: 110).
On the one hand music is an individual experience, invoking emotions and associations which are highly personal. Individuals can create and shape their identities through listening to a certain type of music.
On the other hand, music is a collective experience, because through listening individuals are drawn ‘into emotional alliances with the performers and with the performer’s other fans’ (Frith 1996: 121).
People get to know themselves as individuals and themselves as groups through cultural activities such as music.
By Juan Camilo Moreno.
CC0 Public Domain
By: Zaharem González Peralta
Cuban charanga: Class, popular music and the creation of national identity
Recent literature on class, race, identity, nationalism, and transnationalism has opened up new theoretical territories that continue to move us closer to better understanding the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of culture. In few instances is this more evident than in the evolution of musical organology, genres, and ensembles created in the Caribbean via the interactions of ongoing socio-cultural influences from the
colonization of the New World. The origins and development of modern Cuban charanga—a term that describes both a popular Cuban musical ensemble; identified through its primary instrumentation of flute, violin, bass, piano, and Cuban percussion; and the music it performs, such as contradanza, danza, danzón, mambo, and cha-chachá—is a specific case in point.
Beginning in 1791, the arrival into eastern Cuba of several thousand elite-class Franco-Haitian refugees fleeing the Haitian Revolution brought cosmopolitan French culture to Cuba. This migration changed the cultural panorama of Cuba in less than fifty years and it was into this milieu that the modern charanga ensemble (the successor to the extant brass, military-style orquesta típica), and its associated musical genres and styles, developed. Charanga then ostensibly moved west to Havana in the nineteenth I looked towards theoretical concepts regarding national identity formation and class constructs for a greater understanding of charanga and what it means when an ensemble or the music it performs is identified as “charanga.”.
At first, just articulating the terminology, its meaning, and the significance of the term charanga within Cuban society was a daunting task. What I discovered is that charanga stands not only for the name of a distinct ensemble and as a term used to describe the music performed by this ensemble, but it is also a contrived verb, changar,a slang term used to describe the desire to play charanga music, to dance to charanga music, to party to charanga music. I was confronted with the notion that charanga is so integral to Cuban national identity that Cubans have even transformed the noun ‘charanga’ into a verb; to ‘be’ or to ‘do’ charanga. This is revealing in terms of Cuban identity construction: charanga is important enough to become an action, something to do, or be, and not just a ‘thing’ in Cuba.
Music and identify construction of Rock
The main genre that change the form of people in Colombia, saw the music was the Rock n Roll.
At 50´s, Rock n Roll born in United States. It create a social movenmet in the country and then in the main countries in the world. The social problematic that EE.UU. had in the age generate that the yonger people revealed than the society and the situations that pass in the moment.
Elvis Presley begins to participed in this medio inpired for John Lennon, who in the past getting US people singing his songs and they understand the meaning of protest agains the government. and sharing.
When Rock n Roll arrived to Colombia, the acceptation of the yonger people were very good, but the case of the parents and the adults were negative because this change the society in its whole. With the other genre, when arrived to Colombia never change in large scale than the Rock n Roll.
- Rock n Roll mixed cultures.
- Rock n Roll changed roles.
- Rock n Roll create culture.
The identify construction is part of the growing of Rock n Roll. Then to pass the years in the world we identify that for history, Rock n Roll get to stay in the mind of generations with band as The Betles, Soda Stereo, Joel Billy and then another artist copy their songs and play them back to never die.
By of: Katty Ortega Galvis
Music and identify construction of Reggae
Reggae is a music genre born in Jamaica in the mid-1960s and was born after other genres like ska and rocksteady.
The time reggae is slower than the ska3 and rocksteady. The Wailers, a band formed by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in 1963, are perhaps the best known group that made the transition through the three stages of the first Jamaican popular music: ska, rocksteady and reggae.
The Rastafarian movement is created in the early 1930s in the slums of Kingston, Tie, Jamaica and others.
It comes from the desire of people with brown skin to return to the roots and cultures of the slaves aside the consumer world of today. It seeks human kindness and most of the followers use dreadlocks.
Today the movement has spread throughout much of the world and has followers from different cultures, languages and nations.
By of: Eliana Piñeros
Article fom Witmer, R. M. S. (2011). Cuban charanga: Class, popular music and the creation of national identity (Order No. 3532550). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. (1222674017). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1222674017?accountid=45375
Vallenato is a Colombian typical music that born in the "Costa" and it´s lyrics were so influenced by the literature, politics, love and cultures of those age. is located in the former province of Padilla, current territory of La Guajira, part of Cesar and part of Magdalena, takes part of the departments of Bolivar, Sucre, Córdoba, is a genre that is interpreted based on accordion, guacharaca and music box.
Vallenato festival has evolved as an event. Its first versions were free and it was to see the participants in action. Gradually, it was organized, with regulations and technical specifications. Currently, it is a folk event: it is increasingly influenced and determined by the laws of the recording industry and the market.
Vallenato is a tradition that comes from generation to generation, it is takes in the blood and pride in the motherland. However, Vallenato has been listed as the main genre of Colombia to the world, thus omitting that we are a multiculturar country and not only have vallenato, but also Colombia have a lot of tipical music that it can represent us like the llanera music, trova paisa, cumbia and other.
MUSIC AND IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION OF VALLENATO
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BY Carmen Muñoz Ramírez