Blog Assignment: Music And Religion

Your blog topic for Wednesday, January 5, is “Music and Religion.” As we talk about Native American music this week, we'll frequently find ourselves discussing different ways in which the music and religion of that Music-Culture interact. The music and the religion of Native Americans are closely intertwined—song creation is attributed to the Deities, performers will act out the part of Deities (Yeibichai) when singing some of the songs for various ceremonies, and the songs are a most important means of transmitting religious ideas from generation to generation. We'll also discuss ways in which the stylistic traits of their music can be traced back to their religion—the importance of the cyclic-ness of Nature is reflected in the ubiquitous repetitive format of their songs. These are just a few ways that we'll discuss the intersection of music and religion in the world of Native America.

As we go through our other Music-Cultures, we’ll frequently return to this music-religion link. First, though, I’d like you to think about the way that music and religion intersects in your own culture. You should consider the music-religion link under two rather large umbrellas:

1. Use. How is music actually used in religion in your experience? And what is the purpose of that use? What sort of performing styles are expected, and are there any rules that should be followed? Write about the practical and practicing side of music and religion.

2. Aesthetics. In your experience, do the prevailing religions of your surroundings have an influence on what is found aesthetically pleasing in music? Is there any way in which the values of those religions are inherent in the way music is built or experienced?

Yes, I know, these are pretty huge ideas. I don’t really expect you to exploit every corner of this topic, but I do expect you to think about it at length before you start typing. I also realize that many of you have been linked to more than one religion over the course of your life or have led a mostly-secular existence. That's ok--you can define "religion" as broadly as you need to. Take the topic and run with it, and see what happens. And yes, I know that several of you have already touched on the Music/Religion link in your Musical Autobiography blog entry. What I'm looking for here is not necessarily an evaluation of your personal experiences (although some of that is ok, too) but more of a general evaluation of music issues concerning a religion you're familiar with.