The Cultural Context of Music: Analyzing the Impact of Music on Cultural Norms

Music stands as a single medium to convey ideas and unite people with and without
words. While many forms of media are have a combative nature, such as newspaper and similar
print media, music has a more peaceful nature and does not directly promote conflict (though it
can be used to). Music also has a direct connection to emotions and can cause great grief or
happiness, as well as create empathetic bonds.
In the People Get Ready! Meditations on Freedom Summer concert, the chosen music
created and enhanced empathetic bonds between the audience and performers, and between the
performers, audience, and performance content. The concert opened with a solo piano piece
Troubled Water composed by Margaret Allison Bond and performed by Professor Tan. The
solo piano sets the intended mood for the concert reflective and slightly jarring in intensity and
content. Troubled Water establishes the mood through a fluctuating tempo with elements of
rubato (a style of stretching and condensing the tempo, controlled by the performer) and use of
light, unexpected dissonance on a single instrument. The themes of the composition reflect
known spirituals, helping to form the environment of nostalgia and reflection.
The other pieces on the concert furthered the reflection aspects with two sections title
People Get Ready Meditation I and II which provided personal narratives and commentary on
events of Freedom Summer and the jarring intensity of the violence shown through interpretive
dance and Adolphus Hailstorks piece American Guernica played by the wind ensemble. All of
these performances convey an empathy through music that is much stronger than just spoken or
written word. While the stories told are powerful on their own, the piano accompaniment
strengthens the bond the audience shares with the performer, and therefore the events being
portrayed and described.

The empathy shared by the audience and performers helps to communicate shared ideas .
Because the tone is already set, the audiences mood can be manipulated by the content and help
convey the same ideas to each individual person, where print and spoken word are often
misinterpreted or construed differently by people with different biases . In this way, the unifying
effect of the music in the People Get Ready concert can be compared to the spirit songs used
by educational institutions. Miami Universitys Fight Song and Alma Mater both have unifying
properties used in different situations.
The current lyrics to the Miami University Alma Mater Old Miami, New Miami are not
the same as the original lyrics written by Alfred H. Upham. Upham was President of Miami
University from 1928-1945 and his history with music, including membership in the music
fraternity Phi Mu Alpha, enabled him to create the music for the Alma Mater . The current
version takes a modified version of Uphams first verse and chorus, and adds a second verse
developed in 1989 (below).
Old Miami from thy hillcrest,
Thou hast watched the decades roll;
Generations questing from thee,
Sturdy hearted, pure of soul.
[Chorus:]
Old Miami! New Miami!
Days of old and days to be;
Weave the story of thy glory,
Our Miami, heres to thee!
Our Miami, you were founded
In our nations early days;
Now we join with generations
In this song of love and praise.
[Chorus]

It is the second verse and chorus that is sung at sporting events . The effect of the alma
mater in created a sense of pride and shared history is altered by the time the song is performed .
Typically the alma mater would be performed following a win in an intercollegiate sport
bringing together the athletic team, the student fans and any other fans who stay to listen and
sing. At these occasions, the Miami Alma Mater emphasizes the pride felt for the team and their
success and makes that pride a near tangible expression. In the recent football win which broke a
long losing streak, students (both those who knew and sang the alma mater and those who did
not) reported that the unification of all of the fans while the marching band played that alma
mater was one of, if not the, most powerful experience they have had at Miami University. The
ceremonial playing of the alma mater takes the pride that is felt and transforms it into something
shared and acknowledged by those present.
Recently, there has been a change from performing the Miami Alma Mater after hockey
wins, to performing it before each hockey game. Because it is performed at a different time, the
emotions and bonds expressed by the song are different. By performing it before the game has
been played, fans are not expressing pride over the win, but rather the pride expressed in closer
to the original intentions of A.H. Upham. Pride before the game is played represents pride in the
school and the shared experiences students have there, and also hope that the team representing
us will triumph. These performances also convey shared hope for the future, as it is performed
before the game starts.
As the music of People Get Ready was used to convey a sense of community and
reflection and the Miami University Alma Mater establishes a pride in a shared history, the
Miami Fight Song is used to create excitement and enthusiasm for university students and
alumni, particularly at sporting events. The Fight Song is performed before university sporting

events and when god things happen at sporting events, though the exact timing and definition of
good things differs based on the sport and its rules. Focusing on hockey, the fight song is
played before the game when the players leave the ice after warm-ups, when the team enters the
ice for the start of the game, anytime a Miami goal is scored, and at the end of each period (the
exception being the end of the game is Miami has lost). In this procedure, it is not difficult to see
the two main purposes of the fight song at sporting events: (1) to rally spectators and increase
morale, and (2) to celebrate success.
To accomplish its purposes, the Miami Fight Song is written as a march, making it easy
to clap along to even if one does not know the words. Clapping along to a piece of music helps
people to feel involved and contribute to the volume, even if they do not sing or are new to the
event. The first performance of the fight song acts an introduction in this way; those familiar
with the procedure demonstrate the correct attention given to the fight song and audience
response. When the team re-enters the ice for player introductions, the spectators are now a
community and stand together to celebrate the beginning of the game and raise the teams morale
with support. The fight song differs from the alma mater in being an expression of shared
celebration rather than pride; however, both fight song and alma mater are used to unify and
raise morale when presented before a sporting event.
Interestingly, the morale effects of the Miami University Fight Song extend beyond the
performance of the piece. The line Love and Honor stems from the chorus of the fight song:
Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand.
Proudly we shall ever hail thee
Over all the land
Fight, fight fight!
Alma Mater now we praise thee,

Sing joyfully this lay!

Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day!
This use of this line as a tribute to Miami on merchandise and in conversations between alumni
and students reflects on the impact of the fight song as a unifier . The line Love and Honor
carries little denotative meaning when spoken alone, but rather conveys the feelings expressed by
singing the fight song in a large group of people sharing the same goals . The meaning is so hard
to convey to someone who has not had the same experiences that Miami University has
dedicated a web page to explaining it, stating
The Hub, Beta Bells, Upham Arch. Playing in crisp autumn leaves in central quad or
taking in the beauty of stately redbrick Georgian buildings. Strolling along Slant Walk
and taking the same path as a U .S. president, tops CEOs, and some of the best teachers
ever.
Standing in line outside Goggin for two hours in the snow and the wind to make sure
wed get seats next to the glass. Flopping around that same ice rink trying to play
broomball. Varsity, intramural, and club sports, outdoor pursuit center, rec center.
Student activities. Leadership opportunities. Cultural events and big-name speakers and
concerts in Hall and Millett . Studying in Luxembourg. Uptown life.
Sharing toasted rolls, rubbing turtle heads, and sidestepping the seal beloved
traditions. The finest traditions of all being the Love we hold in our hearts for our college
days and the Honor we feel in continuing our support of Miami.
Were all connected through the Miami logo and our experiences with this great
university.

By this description, Miami University conveys that the only way to truly process the meaning of
the words is by experiencing the traditions that it represents, many of which actually involve the
playing of the fight song. The amount of meaning and feeling behind those three words shows
the immense power of music to convey shared ideas to a large population.
Like in the People Get Ready! Meditations on Freedom Summer concert, the Miami
University spirit songs also convey a sense of community and shared ideas. In the People Get

Ready concert, music is used to set the tone of the desired reflective segments and develop a
community from the individuals sitting in a sold out concert hall. With the Miami University
Alma Mater Old Miami, New Miami, feelings of pride in the university and its successes
become almost tangible when performed by large groups, and through the Miami University
Fight Song, shared experiences and feelings that cannot easily be put into words can be
condensed down to three words that gain their meaning from the song from which they are taken.
Music, above all other media, conveys shared ideas to large populations and unites feelings
otherwise difficult to express.

References

Miami University. (2014). Love & Honor. Retrieved from

http://miamioh.edu/shop-miami/love-and-honor/index.html

Miami University Alumni Association. (2014). Sounds of Miami. Retrieved from

http://www.miamialum.org/s/916/interior-3-col.aspx?pgid=411&gid=1

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia - Alpha Theta Chapter. (2008). History: Alpha Theta. Retrieved from
http://www.mupma.org/history/athistory.shtml