The Role of Music in Society

Music has almost been around as long as we have and ever since then it has been affecting society. However, society affects the music that we listen to as well. As quoted in this particular website, "Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Music has been that way in the past, and actually not much has changed since then. "Music reflects and creates social conditions – including the factors that either facilitate or impede social change. The development of recording techniques in the latter half of the 20th century has revolutionized the extent to which most people have access to music." So while back in the days before the technological advances such as recording were around, music was more difficult to access so it was more appreciated. "It is powerful at the level of the social group because it facilitates communication which goes beyond words, enables meanings to be shared, and promotes the development and maintenance of individual, group, cultural and national identities. It is powerful at the individual level because it can induce multiple responses – physiological, movement, mood, emotional, cognitive and behavioral. Few other stimuli have effects on such a wide range of human functions." So music can be very relaxing, therapeutic, but also unpredictable. Every person perceives music differently. So in conclusion, the way music affected society in the past and vice versa is relatively the same today. While technology advances, the affect music has on us is still the same.