This week’s readings questioned the concept of music from different angles: Slobin and Titon argue that music is in fact not a universal language and those who decide what is it, and how good is it, are communities and societies. In addition, Taylor, and White, demonstrate how these traditional practices are then turned into commercialized products, categorized, and sold (commodified) as objects that bear almost no resemblance not only to its original sound but, most importantly, to music’s religious or societal significance.
The playlist below contains three examples bound together through Afro-Cuban music, one of the most commodified traditions in the world. The first one is a Santería religious ritual, the second one a Santería performance, and the third one a salsa song closely related to Santería. For your journal entry I ask you to engage in some of these questions:
What is the role of music in each of these individual examples?
In the first two examples, can music stand as an individual object or does it depend on dance and ritual to understand it?
Is there a progressive sequence of commodification—between the religious example, the representation of religion, and the mainstream song—that can be explained through this week’s readings?
What are some of the added or substituted elements between Marc Anthony’s cover and the other examples? Why do you think this selection process happens? How and who decides it?
This week’s readings questioned the concept of music from different angles:…
This week's readings questioned the concept of music from different angles: Slobin and Titon argue that music is in fact not a universal language and those who decide what is it,...
