Writer: Madhura Prakash
Editor: Vyakhya Vashishth
Illustrator: Saranya Bhakuni
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."- Plato.
Music as a form of art has no language barriers. Everyone has the right to listen to music of various genres. Through the years, music has changed and now, it has the power to influence or change people's moods, perceptions, and actions. Music has shaped various cultures and societies around the world since ancient times and it continues to do so. All human civilizations depend on music, which can have a profound emotional, moral and cultural impact on a society. The evolution of music has been an integral part of human lifestyle and no matter what the genre of the music is, people always appreciate it. Even though culture and music flow together, we need to be aware of our culture in the present days. Moreover, we also need to be aware of what kind of culture we want to create with music. As such, throughout human history, music has always been an important and significant cultural and social element. Even though everyone has a personal connection with music, its influences on culture around us might not be immediately obvious. For instance, music plays a significant role in social gatherings like weddings as a way to express and preserve one's culture through formality.
Even though music originated decades ago, in the 20th and 21st century, it has become more diverse and universal. In the 20th century, there was a rapid development of music scenes and also a great deal of significant change. To demonstrate how music was created, shared and appreciated, a mass market for popular music was developed in the 20th century. This remains the same even in the 21st century. The music during the 20th century was considerably different than that of the previous centuries. The main genre in the 20th century was Jazz and it rose to much popularity during those times. There were other genres too that were popular- country music, pop music, electronic music, and so on. However, in recent years, not only Jazz, but other genres of music -like the ones mentioned above- are gaining more popularity and there has been an evolution in music and in the way in which common people listen to music.
In the 21st century there has been a breakthrough in various genres of music, especially from the east. For example, in recent years, K-POP has had a major breakthrough globally and it has influenced people from all over the world. We can take the examples of a few individuals and bands like PSY, Tablo, Epik High, BTS, BIGBANG etc. We can also take examples from South-east Asia. Music from South-east Asian countries is also becoming famous around the world. For example, Japanese and Thai music are also being included in mainstream music today. They might not be as famous as K-POP music, but they still have a major influence all over the world.
Similarly, in India, many songs from the Southern regions are becoming famous. If we take the example of the cinema industry in the South, then we can see that the songs in those movies are becoming famous and are also being remade in other languages. This can also be the other way round (songs from bollywood movies being remade into other regional languages). Indian Music has also had a great impact on the world through recent events. This can also be called Globalization of Indian Music. For example, a lot of Indian musicians have been traveling abroad and have been acting as performers and teachers. Due to this phenomenon, events such as collaborations between Indian and Western musicians have been possible. Indian Music has also impacted some of the Western traditions and customs.
In conclusion, music helps bring people together and it can represent what is unique in a particular culture or in the region. It has the ability to represent a society and the culture associated with it. These elements altogether can also impact and influence many more societies and their cultures. Music has evolved a lot since the past decades and how it is perceived today is much more nuanced than how it was in the past.
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