Music

Music is an integral part of culture. Not only is it interesting in itself and an object worth studying as is any other part of culture, but it also sheds light on various cultural processes. Anthropological interest in music, moreover, is not limited to sōcalled “primitive” or “folk” music any more than anthropology itself is limited to the study of “simple” societies and cultural forms. Just as anthropology studies complex societies, among others, and complex ways of life, so too does it study all types of musical expressions.

Ethnomusicology, which is the specific branch or concentration of anthropology concerned with the understanding of music in culture, studies music within human society and culture. It is concerned in particular with the way in which music symbolizes the way of life of a people. It studies things such as social transformation and power as expressed through music and its role in sociocultural life.

The anthropological study of music is concerned with understanding music as a cultural expression. Ruth Finnegan argued that understanding music is critical to understanding a culture itself. She wrote,

Source: © iStockphoto/George Argyropoulos.

An anthropology of music looks at the web of relationships in which music finds itself and is used. Music is part of many social relationships. It is often part of children's games, marriages, parties of all sorts, formal occasions, and many other events—scheduled or not.

Music is certainly part of ritual, both religious and secular. It provides an entrée into understanding these significant aspects of social life. The type of music for these events, the ways in which they are performed, and the manner in which music relates various elements to one another add to the cultural understanding of a society.

However, David Coplan argued that “music shouldn't be studied within its context but as a context itself.” Coplan called our attention to the study of music comparable to the study of language. Through studying music in context, he maintained that anthropologists will approach a better understanding of culture itself, looking at the manner in which symbols work to represent meaning.

Nevertheless, most anthropologists who look at music do so within social contexts. They are interested in the meaning it has for specific groups of people at particular times and places as well as its general cultural relevance. Allan P. Merriam argued for the necessity to understand the contexts in which people make and use music and promoted a broader anthropological approach to music and its role in culture. Alan Lomax attempted to demonstrate how the structure of a people's music results from its social and cultural structure and function, an approach[Page 1651]that Joseph Nketia criticized as too mechanical. Nketia found that it ignores the complexity of a society's culture.

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