ipl-logo

Popular Music Research

1408 Words6 Pages

Defining Popular Music ‘Popular music’ is a term that currently and historically has relied on varied interpretation to function. It is difficult to present a fixed definition of the term due to the problematic research methods/approaches coming from a variety of backgrounds that have allowed us to arrive at this point. The lack of consensus in the academic realm surrounding exactly what encompasses popular music and whether or not it should be a discipline of it’s own, alongside problematic relational studies has blurred the academic lines of popular music studies. This lack of agreement has also potentially influenced media scepticism and pushed a narrative that has hindered the term ‘popular music’ from a non-academic angle. The Centre …show more content…

The following will investigate and exhibit other potential perspectives surrounding the definition of the term popular music and highlights important historical events and figures to the development of this area of study. The growing acknowledgement of the sociological aspect of music since the unsteady, textual beginning of Popular Music Studies has been a positive development in academia, however, whether a definition should be in terms of social characteristics, aesthetics or both is yet to be generally agreed-upon and requires further academic discussion. A Historical Perspective As an academic focus, popular music studies has always been under dispute. In the 1960’s at the beginning of popular music studies, much of the research focussed on the textual aspect of music. Lyrical analysis was initially popular amongst English Literature academics, and classical musicians would often draw comparisons between popular music of the time and the music of famous composers such as Handel and Beethoven. The focus here was on musical analysis, harmony, chords, orchestration, performance technique/skill, etc. Cloonan states, ‘popular music was thus initially judged by how far it fitted into a Western canon’, as …show more content…

From this point of view, the focus when studying popular music, should be on the social aspect, ‘the social penetrates, produces or contextualizes music.’ (Prior, 2011) Questions surrounding the masses, how they interact with popular music and what makes it popular are at the forefront of sociological research in relation to this topic, determining and/or hypothesising the social forces behind the popularity of genres, songs, trends and more. Thus begs the question, should the term popular music be defined in relation to mass interaction and possibly even social forces? The word ‘popular’ alone is tied with sociology. In the Oxford dictionary, the word ‘popular’ when relating to ‘cultural activities or products’ is defined as ‘intended for or suited to the taste, understanding, or means of the general public rather than specialists or intellectuals.’, which could potentially relate to music as a cultural activity or product, however, this definition is very casual and lacks acknowledgement for the forces behind popular music and leaves many open ended questions, i.e. geographical location, points of origin, accessibility, etc. This definition cannot function effectively in the academic realm as it allows space for ignorance. It can be (and has historically been) interpreted from a

Show More
Related
93 Words | 1 Pages

For one, this book offers many, rather critical commentaries on American popular culture, primarily via Egan's exploration of the music industry; she expresses the way in which trends come and go as well as the effects of these cultural shifts, which often leave once famous individuals, such as Bosco, in the dust. What is popular in one moment (in this case, punk rock) can easily and quickly be replaced by another trend (overproduced pop music and music aimed primarily at preverbal toddlers). This struggle rings especially true for two characters, Bennie and

Read More
1233 Words | 5 Pages

The Evolution of music in the 20th Century Music is a living art form, not only is it not static in its production, like a painting which once created is intended to remain the same, but the techniques and styles used to generate music change throughout the course of history as well. Many musical theorists and philosophers have proposed different motivators for the dramatic (as compared to changes in different eras) changes in music that occurred in the 20th century. These motivators include firstly the blending of cultures through migration, both forced and voluntary, represented by the views of George Lipsitz and Iain Chambers in their respective essays “’Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens’: The Class Origins Of Rock and Roll” and “A strategy

Read More
474 Words | 2 Pages

Critical Response 4 Within his article, Simon Frith asks a question that caused me to stop and think: “The question we should be asking is not what does popular music reveal about ‘the people’ but how does it construct them? (137)” As he states, music is an individualizing form that creates an identity or self-definition that we use to give ourselves a particular place in society. The hip hop movement aided in constructing the Puerto Rican identity in New York City, allowing artists to experiment with language and race relations while challenging the traditional notions of Latinidad.

Read More
178 Words | 1 Pages

“Blue-Collar Blues & the Rise of Country Music” music has been in the world for thousands of years and with each generation our taste of harmony and rhythm has changed and evolved. In the 1970’s The United States of America was still a country that was trying to build it self and its culture. Because of the civil rights movements and the recession that was happing in that time period. African-Americans, Hispanic-American, white woman, and other diverse groups were trying to shift their audiology to focus more on their culture that would give them their own symbols. In this paper I am mainly going to focus on the authors main arguments that she/he gives us in the article that I’m going to read, the large picture of American Culture and history

Read More
1619 Words | 7 Pages

Mainstream Pop which is popular music listened to by the majorities. 3. Country and Western which originated in the southern United States in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1920s. Country and Western music generally remained regional until after 1945. It is important to note that during the 1930s and 1940s, some pop music became widely recognized while other styles remained regional.

Read More
966 Words | 4 Pages

It was not a coincidence that the rock and roll music prevailed among the youth. The new generation who were born after the war urged to need a kind of carriers to unleash their minds and feelings, which can express their opinions to society and the world. Apparently, the traditional art and pop music cannot satisfy the young people's demands. It led that the rock and roll music provided the most suitable and robust way to express their cognition to the world. In some sense, the rock and roll itself became a symbol which represented the brand new social campaign cutting across lines of classes and races.

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

In today’s society much of the music that we consume and listen to goes through a complex process that involves recording, production, and distribution. A vast majority of the music that we listen to is also a direct result of what we are exposed to through the radio and media, and for the most part the artists that take up space within our music apps are people that we never met, or know personally for that matter. However, music has not always been like this. In fact, recording, producing and distributing music is a fairly recent event in time. In the past, music or better yet folk music, was an art that was created and sung/produced by individuals within a community.

Read More
1020 Words | 5 Pages

Music is a powerful and influential form of entertainment, that has enabled society to express their emotions and thoughts freely while promoting a strong sense of community. Post World War II, both American and British music influenced a significant change in the Australian lifestyle. The dominant influence from these countries have impacted on Australian culture and has introduced neoteric sense of community, fashion and behaviour through the deliverance of music. The strong influence of rap music from the United States of America enabled a new subculture to form within Australian society.

Read More
545 Words | 3 Pages

Music it’s here, it’s there, it’s everywhere, and it’s been here for millions of years. From the cave men beating sticks on rocks, to boys performing for their king, to where people just listen to music to have a good time and goof off. But music comes in eras where a certain style, taste, and artists rule the charts. The 1970’s was the end of a music era and the start of one that still holds true today. The fashion, the music, and the politics.

Read More
864 Words | 4 Pages

Hi, everyone. My name is Yu Takada, and I went to Wellington Secondary School for 1 year. I want to talk about the history of music in Canada, but even the term “Pop Music” had widely contrasted definitions over various decades. As genres such as the blues, country music, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, rock, and rap. However, the more general concept of “pop music” traces its origins to that period in the mid-19th century when sheet music publishers.

Read More
1132 Words | 5 Pages

Without Rock and Roll, many genres of music would never have emerged, such as: garage rock, pop rock, blues rock, and psychedelic rock. Although rock no longer rules popular music, the styles of the 1960’s still appeal to the ears of those born long after. The utopian frenzy of rock defined the music of that era, and to this day continues to structure the music we call Rock and Roll

Read More
254 Words | 2 Pages

Steven Feld responds to two questions in his article, “Sound Structure as Social Structure”: what are the representations or features of small-scale and egalitarian societies through organized sound? And, what are the major ways that these same features reveal themselves in social organization and ideology if soundmakers and soundmaking?” Within these questions there are aspects to consider, such as ethnomusicological and sociomusical questions. Ethnomusicological questions tend to be more about the “cultural study of the shared meanings of musical sounds.” Whereas sociomusical questions deal more from the viewpoint of the social structure and organization of musical sounds (Feld 1984, p. 383).

Read More
1817 Words | 8 Pages

The music industry covers a vast spectrum of styles and genres. The public demand for this has grown over the years and even the uncommon is common in the world of music. Additionally, public demand for access to music now has grown and changed over the years, changing the way companies and artists deliver their music message to the public. Technology has opened the door to artist in a way that gives them exposure but this exposure lacks education of the industry itself.

Read More
1094 Words | 5 Pages

History and definitions The term "popular culture" was coined in the 19th century or earlier. Traditionally, popular culture was associated with poor education and the lower classes, as opposed to the "official culture" and higher education of the upper classes. The stress in the distinction from "official culture" became more pronounced towards the end of the 19th century, a usage that became established by the interbellum period.

Read More
1281 Words | 6 Pages

People are immersed in popular culture during most of our waking hours. It is on radio, television, and our computers when we access the Internet, in newspapers, on streets and highways in the form of advertisements and billboards, in movie theaters, at music concerts and sports events, in supermarkets and shopping malls, and at religious festivals and celebrations (Tatum,

Read More

More about Popular Music Research

Related Topics

Open Document