Music: Using Education and Entertainment to Motivate Change

摘要

Music has traditionally been cherished in society for its artistic beauty and its raw expression of life and spirit, and it continues to be enjoyed today. The songs of birds inspired Mozart and other great classical composers to recreate the elegance of nature's sounds, while folk music, passed down through generations, has served as an influential base for many other forms of storied expression-from country music and gospel to blues and jazz. Along with its emotional and creative elements, music has played a critical role in encouraging social engagement. Historically, the power of music to communicate and create connections has helped unite people around a common identity or purpose. In the Soviet Union, traditional Kazak folk songs celebrating birth, death, and other life stages were adapted into modern operas and literature supporting worker ideals, sovereignty, and nationalism. In the United States, the traditional hymn "I'll Overcome Someday" was taken up by the black Tobacco Worker's Union in the 1940s as the collective labor song "We Will Overcome"-and in the 1960s was adapted as the civil rights classic "We Shall Overcome."