Music and Social Change Series

Recently I started a series of blogs about the exchange between music and social change around the world!

I just released a blog about the impact of rock & roll on united states politics, and vice-versa:

https://jomichaelscheibe.wordpress.com/2019/02/28/music-as-a-means-of-social-change-rock-roll/

"It is not a new idea that music both works in tandem with social change and can play a critical catalyst to change. In generations where music has been recorded, and sheet music survives, it is essential to analyze the exchange had with society at large.

One of the most dynamic music movements in the United States was the development of Rock & Roll, specifically during the 1960s and 1970s. During this period the political, international, and social affairs of the United States were quite tumultuous. The civil rights movement and women’s rights movement were gathering momentum, the country was amidst the cold war and thus had numerous international threats, and simultaneously the country was also engaged in the Vietnam War. Rock & Roll ascended and developed during this highly political time, nonetheless serving as a relic for the state of the United States at the time."

A few weeks ago, I released the first installment in this series. It focuses on the exchange between jazz and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States: 

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/23582404/posts/2144904034

"Throughout time music and social change have always been in the conversation. The role of music in social movements is one that has been and continues to be contemplated from numerous perspectives. The United States, in itself, bears a deep history of social change, one that has developed in tandem with its sounds and rhythms. For this article, I will focus on the evolution of jazz, and how that coincided and became the anthem of social change in America during the 20th century.

Jazz originated in New Orleans, Louisiana during the late 19th and early 20th century, and was a significant form of expression among African-American communities.  The genre is not monolithic by any means and encompasses a wide range of music and styles that combine the musical history of Europe and Africa."

Would love to hear about the types of music that you find have had a large social impact, or been shaped by politics and society!