Example Of Violence In Classical Music example essay topic

As stated in the first amendment of the constitution of the United States, the amendment that deals with freedom of speech, "Congress shall make no law representing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and petition the Government for a redress of grievances" (1st Amendment). With regards to music and musicians, this amendment gives any artist the right to say whatever he or she wants, no matter how harmful this is to human psychology. No matter how much they condone violence, or glamorize death. Is this right or wrong in society's eyes? Isabelle Leymarie emphasizes, in her article "Rock 'N' Revolt", that "musical eurhythmics pre supposes both inner and outer harmony, peace with oneself and with the universe. Violence, in its latent form, is an intrinsic part of human nature and of the universe generally.

But when violence is unleashed and expressed, often in a paroxysm, in music or other art forms, it is a symptom either of social unrest or of inner imbalance or torment, emotional deprivation, and arrested development" (208). Essentially, she is saying that the music doesn't affect a person's mind, but they already have psychological problems. On the other hand, in Kathleen Heide's article "Killing Words", she states that, "Violent music lyrics can influence unbounded youths towards murder. This can occur with immature youth who view other people in stereotypic ways. They do not yet understand that other people's feelings differ from theirs, and do not feel empathy for others" (3). She gives music the credit for the violence because people don't know any better.

It is believed that lyrics in music can affect human psychology causing a person to become violent, especially in Hip-Hop, Rock / Heavy Metal, and some Classical music, by telling the listener to think of and perform horrific actions. Music is important in people's lives, according to P.G. Christenson and D.F. Roberts in their book; It's Not Only Rock & Roll: Popular Music in the Lives of Adolescents, society spends between 4 and 5 hours a day listening to music and watching music videos. Also they name music listening as their preferred non-school activity (33). As a result, it raises many questions from government officials and researchers about the impact of music on the human mind. The group influenced mostly by music is adolescents. Music is important to teenagers' identity and it helps them define important social boundaries.

According to Joanne Kenen, in her article "Senate Panel Tunes into Music Violence", one study had shown that teens listen to music for up to 40 hours a week" (par 10). Most teenagers can relate the music that they hear to their everyday life. Whether the song be about love, hate, violence, or material things; they find a way to relate it to their experiences. The article by Stephen Corey "What's that Sound", states that "Music can block out silence, on dark scary roads and in moments of l oneness.

But there's also a sense or two in which a song create a silence: when we " re 'lost in a song' the rest of the world around us makes, for all practical purposes, no sound [... ] sounds which can't be distinguished for feelings, from pulsing's and shivering's, from that gut need to make life stronger than death for at leas a few moments" from the anthology Mirror on America (303-304). As a result, they become part of the song mentally and sometimes imitate the artist. Joanne Kenen says in the article, "Senate Panel Tunes into Music Violence", that "Music can summon a range of emotions, most of which are wonderful. Yet there is some music that communicates potentially harmful health messages, especially when it reaches a vulnerable audience" (par 10).

Furthermore, artists tend to glamorize their lives in a way to only show their actions and not the consequences of those actions. Also, most artist aren't punished the same as someone whom isn't famous and rich. Also, the media continues to broadcast these artists, showing only the acts of violence without the consequences. America is one of the only countries that portray violence as something of honor. In the article "Media Violence", The American Academy of Pediatrics claims that, "The only country in the world with nearly as much entertainment violence as the United States is Japan.

Yet Japanese society is far less violent than American society [... ] A 1981 study found that the nature of the portrayal of violence is different in Japan: the violence is more realistic and there is a greater emphasis on physical suffering" (949). Evidently, the majority of violence comes from Hip-Hop. Rap and R&B are the main genres of Hip-Hop. It is believed that rap music contains the most violent lyrics. In particular, gangsta rap is categorized by lyrics that often involve references to street gangs, gunplay, sex, drug use and violence.

Also these lyrics have been accused of praising violent behavior. Furthermore, several major rap artists have been charged with violent crimes in real life, but their celebrity status also serves to glamorize their violent behavior. For example, rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard was arrested for killing a police officer and his bail was set at $150,000. In addition, he was arrested for threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend, and later he was arrested again for threatening to kill security officers at a nightclub. During this time frame, he had an album that had great sales, and his celebrity status rose dramatically. Moreover, Snoop Doggy Dogg was charged in a 1993 murder, and at the time, his bail was $1 million.

His bodyguard shot a rival gang member in self-defense and Snoop was acquitted of all charges. While all this was happening, he was already out on $10,000 bail for gun possession charges. In addition, Dr. Dre did five months in the Pasadena City Jail for parole violation, after breaking a record producer's jaw. Other offenses include assaulting a TV host and hitting a cop. Dre's former Death Row Records partner Sure Knight was sentenced in 1997 to nine years for probation violation; he attacked a man just hours before Tupac Shakur was killed riding in Knight's car. R&B contains a lot of violent lyrics, not quite as much as rap.

Some R&B lyrics influence sexual behavior. For example, singer R. Kelly's lyrics usually contain graphically sexual material. His song "Feelin on Yo Booty", influences males to grab a females butt. His song makes it seem ok, but in reality that is sexual harassment.

Furthermore, his entire "12 Play" CD influences sexual behavior. Additionally, a version of Shaggy's recent No. 1 hit "It Wasn't Me" talks about a man getting caught cheating, "butt naked, banging on the bathroom floor". Even Janet Jackson gets sexual on her album, All For You, with many sexual references. In contrast, R&B is not entirely based on sexual music, because those same artist that sing about sex in some songs, also sing about positive and inspirational things in other songs. One of the most inspirational songs of the 90's was sung by artist R. Kelly. "I Believe I Can Fly", contains the message that no matter what obstacles life may bring, always remember that you can fly.

Not only are some of the songs inspirational, but some lyrics focus on love and life. For example, K-Ci and JoJo's recent hit, All My Life, which contains the message that he has searched all his life, and he finally found his true love. In addition to popular Hip-Hop, some Rock and Heavy Metal music contain lyrics that deal with death and suicide. Joanne Kenen, notes in his article "Senate Panel Tunes into Music Violence", that "A Senate panel looking into possible connections between "shock rock", crime and suicide Thursday heard from a man whose 15-year-old son killed himself while listening to songs about death and the Antichrist. Describing how his son Richard showed him the "Antichrist Superstar" CD by the group Marilyn Manson, Raymond Kuntz said, "I failed to recognize that my son was holding a hand grenade and it was live and it was going to go off in his mind" (par 1). Furthermore, rock music influences violence visually by wild and destructive displays of behavior during their performances.

Some people believe that Rock music played a role in the Columbine High School shootings in 1999. During the Classical period, music was extremely dramatic and based on people doing things for the Gods. In her article "Rock 'N' Revolt", Isabelle Leymarie declares, "Violence is also present in classical music such as Handel's 'Saul. ' Beethoven's Erotica Symphony, in operas generally, such as those of Verdi, who once said that he sought to express "passions above all else" and almost all of whose heroines die tragic deaths, in Mahler's Fourth Symphony, in Berlioz's Symphonie Fantast ique, with its dramatic Dies i rae, and in Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, in which a virgin, sacrificed to the gods, dances herself to death (a riot broke out during the first performance) " (205). Another example of violence in classical music is presented In the anthology Perspectives on Contemporary Issues, where Isabelle Leymarie notes in her article Rock 'N' Revolt, "In Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange, the hero, Alex, driven crazy by the sounds of Beethoven, jumps out of a window.

In Cuba during the 1920's and 1930's, concerts by rival bands playing the popular music known as son degenerated into brawls which had to be broken up by the police" (206). Consequently, music is blamed throughout the world for violent acts of crime, especially when teens are involved. Some music lyrics negatively affect teenagers by repeatedly exposing them to themes such as Satanism, substance abuse, murder, suicide and sexual violence, which may be heavily reinforced by the way that the artist live. Heavy metal and rap music are especially criticized for lyrics that many believe glorify violence.

Music lyrics have also become increasingly explicit in the past two decades. Songs commonly make graphic references to sex, drugs and violence, whereas such sensitive topics were cleverly veiled in the past. Lyrics and music in general gets worse with every generation. Lyrics in present time are a lot more graphical and violent.

Lorraine Ali acknowledges in her article "Same Old Song", that "Things get ratcheted up a notch with every generation. You " re not rebelling if you " re listening to the same stuff your parents did; you " re embarrassing yourself. Remember Jim Morrison's hammy Oedipal psychodrama in the Doors' "The End" (1967); "Father, I want to kill you! Mother, I want to... argh!

Eminem's cartoonish "Kill You" moves the ball forward by collapsing both parents into a single Bad mommy to be raped and Murdered" which is part of the anthology Mirror on America (296). At the rate that music is going, future generations should be rapping, singing, and performing about things that are unheard of. Therefore, a solution to the violent lyrics is music censorship, but that is not entirely legal. Eric Nuzum Points out in his article, "A Brief History of Banned Music in the United States", that "Musicians have no legal "right" to play music, package album cover artwork, or perform live. Music censorship is only a violation of Constitutional rights when our government, its laws, or its agencies conduct the suppression.

Although it may be hard to believe, only in rare instances is what we call "music censorship" actually a civil rights violation. Any other attempt to suppress music, its artwork, and live performances is entirely legal" (par 13). The first amendment protects the artist, and allows them to say what they want in their music, even if it is harmful to human psychology. Many doctors and other creditable sources agree that music has a great influence when it comes to human psychology. Music in not the entire blame for violent crimes committed throughout the world, but it has a major connection to the crimes. From the anthology Perspectives on Contemporary Issues, Isabelle Leymarie implies "It is undeniably deeply rooted in the collective psychology: rock, rap, free jazz, and reggae all express the violence of the cultures which have bred them.

But people and their environment are inseparable; the pent-up violence in the individual affects society and vice versa" (208). Music can be a good thing or a bad thing; it all depends on the person that interprets the lyrics. Generally, music has a psychological influence over the human mind, whether good or bad, lyrics are something that gets the mind going.

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