How Does Music Influence Culture?
It might seem inconsequential, but music can definitely have a powerful impact on both the culture from which it is borne and the society into which it is released. Not only do music and rhythm have powerful impacts on how humans perceive their world, but the same influence can be applied in countless different ways.
Professor William Kilpatrick noted that humans “tend to learn something more easily and indelibly if it’s set to a rhyme or song,” a fact exploited by a myriad of different advertisers. However, if this is applied to morality, which is the strength or weakness of a philosophy or societal movement, the same powerful impact can be seen. Humans see it every day in the glorification of violence in song lyrics and the objectification of humans. Alternately, song has been used as a means of passing covert messages, and rhyme has historically been a means of conveying importance or meaning. This is why professional writers employ alliteration to emphasize a statement or passage. While alliteration is often frowned upon in scholarly writing, journalists and amateur bloggers employ it regularly. Since the first caveman pounded out a rhythm using sticks or bones, humanity has been both moved and empowered by music, for better or worse.
