Unit 30: Music in Context
The study of any chosen art form requires placing it in context with other art forms. Any style or feature, regardless of discipline, will have been influenced by previous events. These experiences could be from any source: other art forms, previous personalities, cultural influences as well as social and political trends and demands, religious beliefs and so on. Global influences are hugely important and quickly felt with the ever accelerating capabilities of technology. Any single creation will, in effect, have a creative family tree, an inheritance trail which can be traced back through the creator’s experiences and through previous works and how these in turn were influenced. Disciplines migrate to other forms (for example architecture to art to literature to music).
Some events are directly linked (for example how war directly results in works of art, literature, photography, music and film). Other influences have a longer process of evolution (for example the social and cultural origins of pop music to the present-day milieu of genres). Often a completely different development will open new avenues (for example improvements in mechanical recording and reproduction of music and the effect on songwriting). All continue to develop.
Learners will be able to research these pathways and understand how the chosen art form resulted in the way it did, and when it did. Study should be as wide and detailed as required to formulate an informed conclusion. On completion of this unit learners will have much greater knowledge and appreciation of how art forms emerge and develop. An awareness of possible future directions which could influence the way music is produced and marketed will also be cultivated.
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