It has always been a debate whether the term World Music represents all the music around the world or the non-Western music/ third world music (Feld, 2000). World Music has been influenced by the globalisation during the 20th century. Which are the main factors of this influence and how it affects the identity and diversity of world music? This essay will analyse what world music is, following by a discussion of how globalisation, as well as, political and economic factors influenced its identity and diversity.
Carl Rahkonen (1994) in his technical report states that “world music means different things to different people, making it difficult to define” (para. 2). However, there is a reference of the term of world music by academics in the early 1960s (Feld, 2000). According to Feld (2000), [world music] “was a friendly phrase, a less cumbersome alternative to ethnomusicology, the more strikingly academic term that emerged in the mid 1950s to refer to the study of non-Western musics and music of ethnic minorities”(p.146-147). Ethnomusicology is the study of music and musical instruments of all non-Western people. It explores human music-making activities and studies the music in cultures but also music as culture. The research of an ethnomusicologist focuses on the culture as a whole, being attached to some cultures but simultaneously have equal preferences to all (Nettl, 2005). Each music, they believe, is equally an expression of culture, and each culture and each music must be understood first and foremost in its own terms (Nettl, 2005, p.14).
Ethnomusicology has a holistic view of culture as an organic unit and focuses on where and how the music is performed. It also studies the status of the musicians, as well as, the musical instruments which are used for the creation of music. According to Nettl (2005, p. 12), “music must be understood as a part of culture, as a product of human society”. Important role in the study of music in cultures plays the environment. Everything we listen is from our environment from which we get material as a result to create an identity. Music is related to culture and this is the reason of the importance of studying it as a whole. For example, there are cultures where people speak loud or simultaneously to each other not giving space to the other to speak. Like their music. In Bosavi of Papua New Guinea, Kaluli people have an intimate connection with the birds of rainforest using them in their rituals as they believe that they are spirits (Feld, 2001). Through those poetic songs, listeners takes the role of birds and as they receive the sadness they start crying as birds, “completing a symbolic and emotional circle” (Feld, 2001, para. 5). This example shows how the ecology and geography maps the identity of a culture and gives it a unique character. Of course, unique soundscapes have disappeared by “traffic” because of globalisation, technology and other social and economic factors which will be analysed later in this essay.
Moreover, the ethnomusicologist Bruno Nettl (2005) writes about the evolution of the term Ethnomusicology through his own experiences. He starts from the period after 1950 when an ethnomusicologist was involved with folk music, primitive music and ancient music which were recorded with the use of a tape recorder. The next decade of 1960, an ethnomusicologist was believed to be someone who was playing world’s traditional musical instruments. In the 1970s, new terms were included in the correct definition being an ethnomusicologist describing as a person who studies “ethnic” music or “ethnomusic”. Finally, in eighties and nineties the appearance of the term “world music” and “diversity” is obvious and remained until today. “By 1987, the term world music was in use by some ethnomusicologists to describe their objects of study, all the world’s music, not just its neo-traditional mass-mediated popular forms. Independently of developments in the music business, these scholars had used the term world music to replace the term non-Western music” (Rise, 2000, p. 224 as found in Ling, 2003, p. 238).
Since the 1980s when lot of changes and developments were happening in the world, the term of world music became a marketing device in the media and music industry. Worldwide systems of transportation and communication broke down the isolation of these cultures and exposed them to new ideas and new musics (Rahkonen, 1994, para. 4). The exchange of information within the cultures has been more developed as now small media technologies permitted easy access to previously unknown or socially exclusive musical styles. It has to be also stated that the cassette tape which was invented by Phillips in 1966 has become the most common propagator of recorded sound in the world (Rahkonen, 1994, para. 6). World music in that era was on CDs’ labels and combined western popular music styles with one of many genres of non-western music. “The sounds of countries other than North America or Western Europe, has begun to be recorded, packaged, and sold as a successful new pop genre” (Frith, 1989, p. 5 in Field, 2000, p. 148).
The cultural diversity of world music emerges from the moment it entered the West. According to Rahkonen (2008), “as ethnic and foreign musics enter the Western commercial main-stream, they bring the possibility of greater understanding, or at least familiarity with other cultures” (para. 22). Music of non-Western cultures was now on the surface applied to other music genres creating something new. A question emerges here. Did the West respect the authenticity of music and culture of non-West?
The reason of the spread of non-Western music -world music- is the Globalisation. “Since the 1980s, globalization has been a profound and ongoing process occurring in many economic, political, cultural and educational dimensions of the contemporary world” (Ho & Law, 2009, p. 439). Globalisation influenced the musical context as by its development of nations, challenges and change the identity of cultures as it focuses on the global not the local (Alleyne, 2008). Due to the spread of globalization and its impact, education, societies and cultures faced changes in their “structure, processes and concepts” (Ho & Law, 2009, p. 440). Besides, world music had been influenced by the spread of globalisation. There is a plethora of opinions and statements whether the effects of globalisation in world music are positive or negative. Hall (1997) describes globalisation in the music context as the addition and development of new forms, new rhythms and new impetuses in the globalizing process.
Globalisation effects in the music education of Hong Kong are stated by Ho and Law in his article “The struggle between globalisation nationalism and music education in Hong Kong” (Ho & Law, 2009). Hong Kong came across lot of changes in the school system since it became “one of China’s Special Administrative Regions (SARs) [and] it has been given China’s national flag and athem, and share in traditional Chinese musical culture” (Ho & Law, 2009, p. 441). As Hong Kong was under British colony, English language was the first language of people in that country. English music and songs were be sung and educated in that period. According to Ho and Law (2009), the educational system of Hong Kong changed in 1990s and the education reformed in order to fit and cope with the globe of 21st century. Non-Western music was included in their music curriculum as it was believed that students “should perform and listen to music in a variety of genres and styles from different periods and cultures so as to develop musical ideas by employing appropriate compositional devices, and through respect for different musical traditions and cultures” (Ho & Law, 2009, p. 444). However, Ho and Law (2009) suggest that “music teachers should be aware of music socialisation, and examine the ways in which music and society interact across socio-cultural boundaries” (p. 451).
Another study of Alleyne (2008) about “Globalization and commercialization of Caribbean music analyses reasonably the effect of globalisation in a specific genre of music, reggae music. He believes that “the recording industry’s corporate motivations have been capitalist rather than cultural” (p. 247) and focuses on the influence of market in reggae and Bob Marley. One first reason of the globe’s to import, product and consume reggae music, is the geographical position of Caribbean islands which is associated as an attractive destination for tourists. As Caribbean has a small population and limited economies, its market was not enough promote its music products and attract more consumers until globalisation’s impact. Of course as Alleyne (2009) writes, “in an era of increasingly globalized popular cultures, the idea of authenticity remains highly valid in assessing the value of artistic changes and fusions” (p. 249).
Reggae music had an impact of pop music and especially white singers like Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, and Eric Clapton. Bob Marley was the icon of Reggae which was used a lot in the market. It is also stated that his audience was focus on the lyrics of his songs as most of the lyrics had political focus. Here we can see the conflict with identity and authenticity. Bob Marley had his reasons of writing its lyrics and songs which as it is seen, they are not so interested in the Western audience. After his death, new sounds came to the surface by mixing and reproducing reggae combining other genres as digital industry was giving the opportunity to easier reproduce, edit and mix music. R&B and hip-hop elements have been added to compositions of bands which follow their own identity. As Alleyne well points out, “fusion and transformation are not actually the central issues here; it is the ways in which sonic change occurs and the commercial premises for it…there was a clear imbalance between you might be considered to be reggae, and the trend-driven contemporary urban American component, with the latter overshadowing the former” (Alleyne, 2009, p. 260).
Moreover, another example of the influence of globalisation in world music and specifically in reggae music is the creation of a new type of music called “reggetika”. Trio Tekke is a Cypriot band which was created in 2005 by two Cypriots and an Anglo-Chilean. The two Cypriot members of the band focus in the reuse and reproduce of Greek Rebetiko song in more contemporary ways of expression. On their way of producing, they met the third member who had Anglo-Chilean roots as a result the blending of creativity, elements and ideas of two cultures into one. According to the band Trio Tekke, “blending various characteristics (rhythm, harmony and improvisation) of idioms such as Reggae, Latin and Jazz with the color and the melodic lines of Rebetico” (Trio Tekke, n.d) they developed a fresh sound called “Reggetika”. This new sound is a prove of how the globalisation inspired other cultures to borrow, respect, create and share something new which will remain as a new identity of Trio Tekke band. Indeed, in this case we come across issues of authenticity and identity. Reggae music is now being affected by another genre of music, sung and played by a western band and maybe lost its identity and authenticity as many may think. In my opinion, something new is now created and automatically gains a new identity. Reggetika got its identity and authenticity since 2009 when the first album was created.
Globalisation had its positive and negative influences to world music. Some examples and theories are being referred above but of course there are more to be stated. Lot of new groups have been created in 1990s being influenced by the world music. Graceland album by Paul Simon was created in 1986. This collaboration was done with South African group called “Ladysmith Black Mambazo” and Paul Simon during his attempt to finance artists from non-Western cultures. South Africans had to face the racism of western people in that era. However, academics greeted these productions with critical inquiries into how they mixed pleasure and imperiousness (Feld, 2000, p. 149). In addition to the positive effect of globalisation, Rahkonen states in his article that based on his research in Finland, “Western popular music did not replace indigenous music, but was combined with the existing musics in the culture. This resulted in a greater diversity of musical styles than ever before” (Rahkonen, 1994, para. 20 ). Likewise, Bruno Nettl emphasises that even though Western music entered in the field of non-Western music, this lead the world to the result of increasing the diversity of the cultures (Nettl, 1985).
To conclude this essay, it would be interesting to make a reference to an article which nicely describes the similarities of Classic and world music based on historical events and showing how both types of music were spread. Jan Ling (2003) in his article “Is “world music” the “classic music” of our time?” analyses the reason why world music and classic music are similar. He points out some specific characteristics of Viennese classic music based on history. Viennese classic music was built from different social classes, collected from different parts of Europe and had a new public, intellectual, progressive, middle-class public and interested innovation. There were created new musical forms on the melody rhythm and harmony which were easy to identify and music was advertised and sold widely. Likewise, world music in West and by world music here we mean non-Western music was also built from different social classes collected from different parts of the world not from Europe. World music has similar audience and finally both musics were launched from the newly born capitalistic market, world music is linked to the global economy and global distribution of products (Ling, 2003, p. 239).
As the world continues to improve in communication systems and transportation, but also as people continue to educate and research, world music will be more adapt and developed in Western culture. World music will interest not only specialists of this type of music or ethnomusicologists but also new music teachers, musicians, students and people of the West. Globalisation’s influence had its benefits and drawbacks in world music but opened new doors to its development and appreciation in the West.
2016-11-13-1479072843