Connecting to Music - Topics for Discussion

Connecting to Music - Topics for Discussion
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1. Do you feel composers and musicians should feel a sense of social responsibility for the music they create? Why or why not? How do you think the music of today will affect the culture of tomorrow?
2. Every civilization has created music. Why do you think music was an important component of every culture and society? How do you think ancient Romans, cave dwellers, and modern individuals differ or agree in their view of music?
3. How are the technical properties of modern music different from properties of Baroque or Enlightenment?
4. How do intellectual advancement, social status, and scientific discovery change music?
5.   How do musicians make meaningful connections to creating, performing, and responding?
6.   How do the other arts, other disciplines, contexts, and daily life inform creating, performing, and responding to music?
7.  How does music help establish community identity? Provide an example to illustrate your point.
8.    How does music help form national identity? Provide an example to illustrate your point.
9. How has music historically been used by political leaders to influence public opinion or to manipulate people? Can you think of a specific example?
10. Much of the music your parents listened to when they were younger is no longer popular today. How does this relate to national, community, or individual identity? Some songs that were popular when your parents were young are still popular today. Why do you think this is the case?
11. Think of an experience in which you used music to serve a social purpose. What was the experience? What social purpose did music serve in that experience?
12. What might a piece of music tell us about its audience, beliefs, themes, ideas, and attitudes of the period in which it was created?
13. What similarities and differences do you see between the use of music in advertising and politics? What characteristics of music allow it to sell a product?
14. Where have you seen music used in religious or spiritual life? Why do you feel music was used in that situation? How did music affect the experience?
15. Why are there so many different forms of sacred music? Do you feel the forms, sounds, and style of sacred music tell us something about the associated belief system?
16. Why do we as a culture include music as a major component of significant ceremonies or events?
17. Why is music important to our community? Why do we invest tax dollars to bring in music to the community? How can you find value in community music?
18. Why was music such a powerful tool in shaping the culture of New Orleans? Do you feel music has contributed to your community’s identity? Why or why not?