Isn’t it interesting how music is really the soundtrack of life? It has the ability to capture and evoke emotions, note events, and commentate on society from a social, political, historical, and romantic standpoint. Music as an Agent of Change focused on the symbiotic relationship between music and society in the United States during the Vietnam War, 1955-1975. Through readings, lectures, discussions, group presentations, and a research paper, this class highlighted the evolution of music from reflecting to reacting to various events that occurred. I loved this class because of how it allowed me to dive deep into a specific and impactful time of history. I knew about the Vietnam War, but now I know about the Vietnam War in a more intimate manner. By looking at the Vietnam War through the window of music that accompanied that period, I have a greater appreciate and deeper understanding of how music was used as a means of coping, speech, and unification.
Our research paper was focused on analyzing five different songs that were released between 1965-1975. The goal was to look at each song through a musical lens, i.e. how the rhythms, lyrics, and sounds support the meaning of the song, describe how the song either reflected or reacted to the events during that time period, and argue if it was an agent of change. This research paper challenged me because I had never analyzed music based on its sound before. Yet overall, I am thankful that this class pushed me in my analytical abilities because I now value and cherish the music that I listen to notice the motivation behind music, and ask, it is an agent of change? and/or reflecting or reacting to events that are currently or have happened? A lot of the music we listened to are what my parents remember listening to when they were growing up so it has been nice to be able to connect with them over music and gain a more personal insight into their childhood!