This is a powerful combination, and many parts of culture have already used this to their advantage. You have been influenced by the songs you know.
By songs, I'm not even beginning by thinking of the pop music industry. No, the time that this was recently brought to my attention was when watching scenes of celebration for the royal family on television.
In conversation, I will say like many English people that any event held by the monarchy will be full of pomp and ceremony, and I will likely say it in a way that indicates it is not something I associate with. I will probably convey that I am not really interested in it all. That I am not really very patriotic.
But while I watch it, among the scenes and visuals that are shown, songs that every Britain is familiar with will be sung- the National Anthem, and possibly other old songs or musical pieces associated with our nation, such as Land of Hope and Glory, or Jerusalem. As this happened recently, I was quite surprised at my own emotional reaction. I wasn't singing "God save the Queen" along with the television, but the music in particular, with the images of the royal family, made me feel quite patriotic.
Staying on the theme of national pride, the last time that I watched England play in an international football tournament saw a similar story of change from apathy to enthusiasm. I began simply watching the game hoping that it might be vaguely interesting, but prepared to go and find something else if it wasn't (I'm not a devoted or even regular sports watcher). But as the game progressed, and music was both sung by the stadium fans and played by the commentators, I found myself feeling increasingly engaged with it all, and rooting for our team.
The marketing industry have been aware of the power of music since well before I was born. The war between big companies to present the catchiest jingle or theme song to consumers is given as much funding and attention as the visual campaigns they run in advertising. Many adverts on the television even have karaoke text on the screen to encourage you to learn and sing along to their songs.
Going back in history to look at deeper foundations of this musical mystery, song was used long before company jingles and television to enable people to change their emotions or to enhance their memory.
Dancing and acting, two skills that span all cultures and all eras, have always been accompanied by music of some form when possible. These artistic talents convey emotion in a powerful way, and music is known to enable this.
Religion and news have made use of song from early ages to equip carriers of knowledge with a tool for remembering what matters. The largest part of our nursery rhymes originate from a news story in a previous century, and the largest book in the Bible is the book of Psalms, spiritual songs. The tradition of conveying matters of national importance by song is no longer used, however the Church still uses songs to enable a congregation to join together in declaring statements about God, and to do so with a passion that normal speech would not make easy.
What songs do you think have influenced your life? Even if they are old ones, I would guess that, like myself, if you found a copy of the song and played it, you would be surprised at how much of the lyrics you remember, and maybe even the feelings it brings back.
Image source: http://www.writeraccess.com/blog/sing-a-song-of-subheads/attachment/86536840/
No comments:
Post a Comment