Music has influenced each generation both positively and negatively, because musicians have always had a strong hold on the way that we go about our lives. People have always looked to music to help them through their day or simply to inspire them to finish/do something. As the years have gone by, the music style has changed drastically and many people are starting to change the way that they are and how they act in various situations. Children are starting to curse at a younger age, disrespecting their parents because they feel as if they’re entitled, preaching that they can get rich and famous, and mimicking those that are at the top of the social totem pole. Humans have lacked originality for years, but common sense has become less common in the most recent decade.
Since the beginning of time, each generation has made its mark on music history. It made its way up through the churches and at those times people used only one instrument to create a beautiful, harmonized sound: their own voices. Accapella blew up in churches during the Medieval period and has since then progressed into the competitive tournament of accapella groups. Various colleges, like ivy league schools, have been a part of accapella competitions for years and they carry on the tradition year after year.
Classical music influenced other genres to explore with instruments such as violins, saxophones and horns. Rock ‘n Roll legends, Led Zeppelin, are most famous for their song “Stairway to Heaven” in which they use a flute. The band Chicago has recently been admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and have been recognized for their use of horns in their music. Rock bands have had a huge impact on the way each generation has turned out; hippies arose and haven’t allowed people to forget what they worked to achieve. The timeless songs of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, and others just like them, have opened the eyes of many and influenced the way people think as well as how they act. For years, we have been dependent on music and based our lifestyles off of what we listen to.
After years of hard work, dedication, traveling on smelly tour buses and spreading their music every way that they can, rock bands have begun to die out and their music has been underappreciated by the current generation. Hip-hop and pop has blown out of proportion, leaving people wondering if real music and legitimate talent actually exist. Hip-hop groups and artists from the 90’s such as Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., N.W.A, Cypress Hill, etcetera all were influenced by rock bands like Pink Floyd and The Beatles. They experimented with everything they could just so that they could appeal to as many audiences that they could possibly reach out to. Rap has also recently been proven to be of positive use in the classroom.
“Rap music started as a dance fad beginning in the mid-1970s among Blacks and Hispanics in New York's outer boroughs. It is another generational brand of Black language and musical usage and an extension of Black verbal and rhetorical strategies. Rap offers a series of precepts to live by and a way to understand and deconstruct the language which oppresses its listeners. Since rap songs or lyrics are intended to be spoken and not sung, they have great value as a unique form of poetry” (Edward Anderson).
The rap genre has been misunderstood for so long because the meaning behind most of the lyrics are vulgar. The artists from the 90’s have had a bigger effect on its generation because many rappers described what it was like growing up. Their lives intrigued people, our ears perk up when something is catchy and rappers tend to reach out to their listeners with their beats following the lyrics. Nas has been known to rap about growing up in New York and Immortal Technique has opened up our eyes to the gang violence, drug problems and such among the Spanish/Hispanic community. We very rarely realize that rappers, especially those that were booming in the 90’s, were sending a message to all that living a gang lifestyle isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. In today’s rap generation the artists write irrelevant lyrics that appeal to young minds; children’s minds are like sponges. In a way, it’s poetic justice that rappers are frowned upon for parading their lifestyles as if it’s the way everyone should be. They’re the influence of young minds and these days they don’t realize just how much the affect people’s lives.
“At best, positivist approaches measure not ‘popularity’ but sales. The result is to reify popular music, treating songs solely as objects, neglecting their role in cultural practice or ‘way of life’” (Richard Middleton).
Music has become more about becoming rich and famous rather than to enjoy the actual act of creating music in order for people to enjoy and look into the deeper meaning of each lyric. We have progressed into a time where making money as fast as we can is far more important than making a positive impact on the society. Music used to be something that people would bond over and share with others in order to find out more about another person. “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” was written by Lennon and McCartney after they had a trip on LSD. Many say that drugs are bad, but it opened a musician’s mind to what else is out there. It allowed them to visit another dimension and see things beyond the norm. Drugs are definitely not the way to go when writing music, but it was a way that artists in those days allowed themselves to be free and to let themselves go.
For people suffering with dementia, music has been proven in various testing that it “increase(s) in patients’ self-expression following music therapy” (Melissa Brotons and Susan M. Koger). A study such as this has shown a progression that music has made in the medical world. Doctors Melissa Brotons and Susan M. Koger have said that patients become more “conversational” and they are able to answer questions as well as participate in various activities. This positive attribute to our society is bringing people with dementia a new way to go about their illness so that they can continue to enjoy life. Losing your memory is difficult and being able to find peace with yourself is a very crucial part of every person’s life.
The extent of today’s music has reached a level of disappointment with the exception of a few very talented individuals. We need to bring back classical, rock and old-school hip-hop back to show children what meaning behind the lyrics actually is. It’s all underappreciated and not many take the time to step back and realize that if it weren’t for the older musicians, today’s musicians wouldn’t have much to work with. Influence comes from those who did everything before them.
