MUSIC FOR CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION
In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther Jr. delivered the opening address to the Berlin Jazz Festival.
"Jazz speaks for life," King said. "The blues tell the story of life's difficulties — and, if you think for a moment, you realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph. This is triumphant music."
Music is a deep and enduring part of human culture. From the days of being an infant mothers sing songs to calm their babies down, when a life is lost people sing hymns to show respect and express emotion… Music has power. It contributes to the opening of hearts and minds; it reaches out to victims, survivors, perpetrators, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, pimps, grandparents, pretty much everyone in this gigantic earth we live in. I listen to music everyday because it soothes certain emotions and it adds to how I feel and it brings life to quietness.
Music functions as bridge between past and reconciliation. It allows for the understanding of a society in terms of its own interpretations of reality. This is due to the fact that the effect and meaning of music is derived from social, historical, spiritual and cultural context. During week four the theme Civil/Political Rights and Socio-economic Rights highlighted the significance of music in South Africa and in the United States during the struggle. During these time artists made use of textuals as well as the musical levels to make politically subversive statements and often hidden meanings were concealed in seemingly inoffensive songs. They found freedom in expressing their emotions in song, poetry, dance and art. They would be able to connect with how people in their relative communities felt. Music enhanced the political atmosphere in the various countries, and songs of protest openly confronted the politicians in power and mirrored the common concern of the population.
Berthold Brecht made an idiom about arts that I thought of as a perfect fit to our group discussion about the arts.
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it”
Our group had a chat on music and art and how they influence us individually and the society. Each of us shared something arty that influence us and explained its significance. We had songs, poems, dance, art pieces etc. all held in a bottle waiting to burst and become what I call the most wonderful exchange of words I have ever had. We took the above quote and slowly hammered our way in bringing forth the truths about our identity and how society has shaped it in the past, and how we live with it today. The title of this conversation was “race face” and one can only imagine what emotions came forth from such a topic, yet in light each emotion was a learning curve of a very fruitful nature. Each opinion, comment, tear drop and smile expressed in the room was felt and absorbed to a large degree.
The political use of music in South Africa changed from being a ‘mirror’ in the 1940s and 50s to becoming a ‘hammer’ with which to shape reality by the 1980s. In South Africa, music went from reflecting common experiences and concerns in the early years of apartheid, to eventually function as a force to confront the state and as a means to actively construct an alternative political and social reality. Our group reached the confrontation level, through the innocence of sharing our influential art pieces.
“The curious beauty of African music is that it uplifts as it tells a sad tale. […] African music is often about the aspirations of African people, and it can ignite the political resolve of those who might otherwise be indifferent to politics. […] Politics can strengthen music but music has a potency that defies politics (Nelson Mandela, in The Hidden Years, 3rd Ear Music).”
Music is for peace; if it can bring people of diversity together in a club or any gathering to dance and laugh ,then it is a remedy for conflict. Its existence is far richer than the beats and movement it produces. Music…
Sounds the call for us to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom,
In South Africa our land. (Last verse of the South African National Anthem)
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