A "Classical" Introduction

          Greetings!  Today I introduce myself in the classic, usual way of introductions that may be somewhat boring. However, I would like those who will be reading my blog to know that it will NOT be boring. Why? Because it is about one of the few things that binds the world together: music.  My name is Jenna Teter and I was born and raised in Fresno, California.  The first two years of my college education I attended a junior college in my home town of Fresno and now I currently reside in Fulton, Missouri where I am a senior at Westminster College.  Although I am majoring in Transnational Studies with a minor in History, I have grown up with a continuous passion for music through singing, playing piano and dancing.  This semester, I am taking a course called "Music of Resistance, Revolution, and Liberation" which is the main reason why this blog exists.  An obvious fact is that I will be writing about music, but what about music?  Specifically, how major historical events throughout history affected the genre's of music that exist today; how music has brought groups of people together and empowered them to fight against such things as the Apartheid, the segregation laws of Jim Crow and many others; and finally the way which music has affected change, something called musical resistance.  

          Imagine what it would be like to sit through a movie that does not have any music.  Well, most would agree BORING.  In Star Wars, Darth Vader might not seem as frightening without his epic theme music, Rocky wouldn't seem as triumphant in the boxing ring without "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background and the Sound of Music wouldn't even exist as a movie!  But besides movies, music has the power to affect change and influence decisions simply by the message it presents.  Five ways in which music affect's change in the social and political world are: 1) it expresses solidarity with rights issues; 2) it raises awareness of moral, political and social issues; 3) it has the power to bring raw emotions out of individuals; 4) it raises consciousness which is not the same as awareness, but rather more of a mental and spiritual recognition of something; and 5) it brings unity to members of a movement such as the Civil Rights.  Although music has affects on communities and various social events, it is the community that impacts the music.  Music is simply the glue that binds separate individuals into one functioning unit and says what words can sometimes not. 

          Many music artists in the twentieth century used their talent to spread a message they wished to communicate to the world.  Kev Carmody, an aborigine Australian who lived through forced assimilation, a policy enforced by the Australian government that forced aborigine children to live in white society, wrote most of his songs protesting against the white British settlers and the suffering they brought upon him and his people.  At 10 years old, Carmody was taken by the Australian government and placed in a white boarding school that taught aborigine children how to live as the white population.  Six years later, Carmody left school and returned to his origins where he never once thought about becoming a musician.  Years later at the age of 33 he received the opportunity to attend University where he studied geography, history and music.  His reading and writing skills had almost no existence after leaving school at such a young age, therefore in the early days of his college years he brought his guitar to class and expressed how his opinion through his music.  As he moved further into a music career, Carmody focused on writing songs that spoke of British settler’s Christian hypocrisy and the suffering they inflicting upon the aborigines.   In 1990 he produced an album titled Pillar of Society that including one of his most famous songs “Thou Shalt Not Steal.”  Kev Carmody is a pure example of how music can bring awareness and solidarity to social and political movements. 

 Here is a clip of his music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6fem7-ucxg

Similar to Kev Carmody, a women named Nina Simone used her music to protest against the civil rights movement.  Born into a preacher’s family in North Carolina, Simone desired to be a concert pianist yet her plans changed when she was denied a scholarship from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia although she presented an excellent audition.   Years later, she was approached by Bethlehem Records after performing in a small club in Philadelphia.  During her career she recorded over 40 albums with songs mainly speaking out against segregation in the United States and racism towards African Americans.  During the 1960s she became especially active in the civil rights movement and her music became a part of this.  One of her most famous songs is called “Mississippi Goddam,” a song that soon became an anthem during the civil rights music.  Music is one of the most influential tools to inspire change amongst societies and a tool that has not lost its influence.  

Here is a clip of her music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVQjGGJVSXc