The Evolution of Music

As trends have changed over the years, music has conformed to the evolution of our society. 

 Music has changed in many ways over several generations; it has become more modern in sound and style. An example of this would be how instrumental music dominated the industry–now artists have switched to an Electro-Pop sound. Despite the turnaround, music still brings communities together and builds common ground with diverse groups of people. 

Throughout the years, music has shifted from the Jazz Age, (1940’s) to Rock and Roll, (1950s) to Disco, (1970’s) to Hip Hop with added choreography, (1980’s) and in the 1990’s to 2000’s, Pop and Country dominated the radio and are still widely listened to today. 

 Interviews with choir student, Caroline Rogers, and choir director, Joel Shapiro, gave further insight into how music has evolved over the years. 

 When asked about her favorite artists, Rogers replied, “Growing up, my favorite artists were Taylor Swift, Destiny’s Child, and TLC.” 

These artists are radically different from the popular creators of previous generations. 

Rogers continued to explain that, “The evolution of music depends on how you grow into your own person as you get older, and what you listened to when you were growing up.” 

 Rogers also mentioned how today’s technology has influenced the spread of trends, explaining, “Mass demographics can adapt quickly to popular songs using apps such as Tiktok and Instagram.” 

 Over the years, the choir curriculum has also changed to match modern fads. When asked about these changes, Shapiro explained, “We incorporate more global music now than we did when I was in school. I teach pieces from South Africa, Haiti, and other countries, and this is radically different from the Western classics that we used to teach”. 

 As we transition to an era of new trends and societal standards, personal interests start to change too. With the amount of influence that celebrities and media have, it becomes easier to be exposed to cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. It is important to understand cultural music and the music of the past to have an open perspective, and this has become widespread in modern media. The evolution of music has grown, and it will keep growing as society progresses into the future.