Major Twentieth-Century World Events, Essay Example

Music is the one thing every human on earth shares. Listening to, playing music, and creating music is intrinsic to cultural development and maintaining familial and traditional customs. The type of music is determined by the culture from whence it stems, but is not limited to that culture alone. Everyone agrees that music is relaxing and soothing, but music also has deeper effects on the body’s brainwaves, heart rate, and breathing rate. However, music is most widely known for its use as an expressive outlet for children, men, and women. The art of music is instilled deep into the histories and natures of humankind. Music has been used as motivator and method of expression for many years. In fact, many world events have affected the art of music in the twentieth century. The first event that has had an effect on the art of music was the Civil Rights movement. Music and singing provided a voice to the “voiceless” people. It was through music that protestors gathered the strength and motivation to endure another day, and singing songs of freedom, faith, and hope was the one thing they could control. The Civil Rights movement contributed to the category of music known as “freedom music”. Freedom music has greatly influenced gospel music of today. A second world event that has affected the art of music was the crash of the Stock Market and the Great Depression. During the Great Depression, the music industry came close to collapsing. Phonograph record sells drastically declined, so record companies focused on the sale of radios and radio programs. Up until The Great Depression, people were only exposed to a limited selection of music, but the prevalence of radios allowed the population to hear free music, of all kinds, for the very first time. The third world event that also had an effect on music was the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, a new category of “antiwar music” was created. These songs were specifically written by musical artist to protest and express disapproval of the war. In many ways, the Vietnam War was the start of the proliferation of rock and roll. Young people began to recognize the power of rock and roll as an expressive outlet. Festivals like Woodstock exposed many individuals to a category of music that is popular even today.