Week 8

In African society one of the defining characteristics of dance and music are their interconnectedness, dance and music are thought as one, and not as two seperate identities. These qualities reflect on the nature of this music, which is generally composed of interlocking parts at the same time, with a buzzy timbre sound. These aesthetics qualities focus on the unity of the music which reflects on the mesh between dance and music as a whole.
In this same way it seems that the aesthetic and core qualities of a kind of music are based on what that music is trying to project. One music genre that comes to my mind is gospel music. In gospel music the ultimate point is to sing the glories of God. Often the melody is sung with one person with a group of singers supporting in the background, or a group of people singing the same melody. This creates unity, and allows one to focus on the message of the music rather than the performance of the music. Even if one person is singing, the way it is sung clearly gives focus to something beyond, rather than focusing on the singer. Also the audience at times sings along and moves along with the music. The music is very inspiring, and upbeat, and is designed to lose yourself to God. This makes sense as the very aesthetic qualities of the music reflects and achieves the purpose, identity of the music, which in this case is fostering a sense of community in the spirit of giving reverence to God.