Music Geography

Music geography is a sub-field within both urban geography and cultural geography. Music geography is the study of music production and consumption as a reflection of the landscape and geographical spaces surrounding it. Music geography gained popularity in the academic world in the 1960s and 1970s by cultural geographers. Scholars saw a relationship of music to landscapes and regions, either with the type of music produced from various places or in lyrics that are inspired by these areas. It became evident that individuals associate music with space.[1]

This subfield is important because sound is a vital facilitator of ideas and spreading culture. Through hearing and listening to music, an individual begins to generate memories and images; a powerful source to further investigates geographical backgrounds of groups. There is diversity in music, the music forms and production of it,which are a reflection of the diversity in human societies. It continuously develops over space and time, as would landscapes progress in order to adapt to changes.

Subfields with music geography includes:

History

Historically, music was purely an oral tradition that was replaced by the introduction of radio broadcasting in the 1920s. The advances in recording technologies have led music to become a significant reflection of culture and geography. John and Alan Lomax described recording instruments as “song catchers” of folk music, along with linkages of the new and old world of Celtic traditions. For example, much of the popularity of country music in Southern and Western regions of the United States is due to its reflection of a certain American cultural region.[2] Folk music was the first genre of music to be research and analyzed by scholars due to its nature of movement across regions in its style.

During the 1980s, a rise in music market studies was a result of the diffusion of music styles through globalization and popular. Much of the production and demand within the music industry has dissolved the separation of certain genres to certain space, and moved towards integrating of all forms in music. This was also a result of the introduction new musical acts by social media sites such as YouTube, MySpace, SoundCloud, Facebook and so on. Music has become a multi-billion dollar industry that was driving our consumerist culture. In addition to this, music began to influence people’s perspective of certain regions (politically and socially), musical interest and the identities of groups. Further research in music geography includes its correlation with: national identity and spatial impacts.

Soundtracks: Music,Identity and Place

John Connell’s book titled Soundtracks: Popular Music, Identity, and Place explores the many ways in which popular music is spatial, linked to particular geographical sites. It is also a description of an individual’s everyday perception and idea of a place, the movements of people, products and cultures across space. Connell argues that music is mobile. Because music has elements of cultural, ethnical and geographical concepts, there is a correspondence to global, technological, cultural and economic shifts, all which influence identity. An example of this can be observed with the cover of the book, an image of a busy neighborhood with a musical band playing in the background. This illustrates migration’s influence in constant transformation of geographical landscapes, often presented with music.

Connell suggests links between:

music, tradition and authenticity, reinvented in the public space of the city; it demonstrates how technological changes (notably the digitization of music) have informed local music production, generated new home recording cultures and small scale entrepreneurialism.(1) [3]

Due to the lack of ethnographic materials, music geography has been ignored in the academic world. However, with the studies that been conducted (in Europe and North America) results show how musical production and consumption are affected by physical, social, political and economic factors which surround them. The developing connections with new cultures do not erase the past of a place; rather they inherit a certain set of circumstances, traditions and social relations of older generations of cultural producers and consumers. Therefore, music transforms from a cultural expression to a product of traditions mixed with modern changes.

Movement of Music

With globalization and migration process, cultural diffusion has allowed all styles of music to be consumed globally. The evolution of blues music, for example, has been the foundation of many genres. John Strait’s studies the migration of blues in Mississippi Delta shows the association of and circulation of musical culture across the globe. It highlights the importance of understanding the social and cultural backgrounds of any music.[4]

Another form to of music geography can be understood through colonial history. During this time frame, ethnic groups were exposed to extensive resettlement that disconnected them from their lands. An article by Hancock-Barnett explores this precise notion by analyzing Zimbabwe’s Shona population and their resistance to colonial influences through music. Music was a method to carry those landscapes and cultural heritage with them to resettlement areas. Preserving culture and identity, the musical landscapes resistance was able to strengthen and sustained cultural nationalism of the Shona people. The main form of resistance was the Shona Mbira music. A central role in shaping a Shona’s individual identity, this musical instrument was used within daily and ceremonial life. Mbira is an ancient instrument closely connected to their natural landscapes, whether by the resources used to create it, or by its usage. Music is an active practice, which is more powerful is preserving heritage than through other forms of resistance, such as violence.

Further Research

Distinctive musical expressions tend to formulate and evolve in distinct places, and unlike other cultural phenomena, music can easily and endlessly diffuse across most regional boundaries and borders” (Strait, 202) [5]

Music geography is the study of music and factors of landscape and geographical distinctiveness, which attribute to the unique styles consumed. Much research has been done on geography and music. However, other factors contributing to music further establish it correlation with the movement of people and information has been neglected. Globalization has allowed distinct unique music to be shared and heard globally. Future research should try to include other contributors such as:

References

  1. ↑ Warf, Barney. "Encyclopedia of Geography: Music and Sound, Geography and." SAGE Knowledge (2010): 1-7. Print.
  2. ↑ White, Billy D., and Frederick A. Day. "Country Music Radio and American Culture Regions." Journal of Cultural Geography 16.2 (1997): 21-35. Print.
  3. ↑ Connell, John, and Chris Gibson.Soundtracks: Popular Music, Identity and Place. London: Routledge, 2003. Print.
  4. ↑ Strait, John. "Experiencing Blues at the Crossroads: A Place-Based Method for Teaching the Geography of Blues Culture." Journal of Geography ( Houston) 111.5 (2012): 194-209. Print.
  5. ↑ Strait, John. "Experiencing Blues at the Crossroads: A Place-Based Method for Teaching the Geography of Blues Culture." Journal of Geography ( Houston) 111.5 (2012): 194-209. Print.

Works Cited

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