The University Museum

WHY CONSIDER MUSIC?

Making music is a part of all human cultures and societies. However, like the spoken or written word, not all musical languages are exactly alike. Song styles, instruments, and harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic forms are only a few of the musical elements that vary from place to place.

Nonetheless, songs are performed for similar reasons regardless of geographic or sociocultural area, revealing what is important in people's lives. Some of these reasons include:

Like songs, musical instruments can also tell us details about the people who produced them. The physical qualities of instruments bear witness to where, when, and by whom each instrument was made, where it has traveled, and how it has been cared for and played. Such knowledge can reveal many traits about an individual or a group of people, such as their economic status, the kinds of technology at their disposal, and even what they consider useful or beautiful.

Prown, Jules David 1993. The Truth of Material Culture: History or Fiction? In History from Things: Essays on Material Culture. Steven Lubar and W. David Kingery, eds. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Shelemay, Kay Kaufman 2001. Soundscapes: Exploring Music in a Changing World. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.

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