Music and Rites- All cultures United

Just about every culture of the world has at least one rite that includes music. Among the various rites are weddings, funerals, coming of age, and for the very lucky ones, graduation. Speaking on behalf of American culture, all of the rites or occasions are accompanied by music that contributes to the ceremony. Because most rites are treated with respect and significance, it is important that the music contribute to the importance of the rite.

Music within rites tend to evoke specific emotions surrounding the event such as the feelings of accomplishment and completion during a graduation ceremony as the graduates walk to Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance". For some cultures, death is more so celebrated as a passage to a better place, however, most American funerals are used as a time to express grief, despair, and sometimes anger. Some of the instrumentation that I have heard and seen at funerals involve organs, pianos, harps, and flutes. Church hymns are often sung glorifying God and ask that he watch over their loved one as they pass into his kingdom. Most of the funerals that have been held for members of my family include very little instrumentation and all vocals are done acapella. We sing different types of Negro Spirituals and have a praise service afterwards which ,unlike the first half of the service, involves almost too many instruments. We even use drums. One of my favorite spirituals to hear and sing is "Give me Jesus".

Wedding in the states just as funerals can involve a number of religious hymns, however, the most popular song most likely to be heard at a traditional American wedding is "The Wedding March" by Mendelssohn. On the other hand, my personal experience at different weddings range from acappella singing groups singing a classic rhythm and blues tune, all the way across the board to classic soul music. I have heard Luther Vandross, KC and JoJo, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Smokey Robinson, Whitney Houston, Norah Jones, and Gladys Knight all sung during the wedding processional of the bride. Talk about creative!Most other occasions are more freelance with music such as birthdays where in my family, obviously, any tune goes!

Music included in rites can be traditional, as stated in my previous examples, or nontraditional, also stated in the previous example of weddings in my family:) My point is that the vitality and importance of the performance of the rite is just as important as the music included. The music effects human emotion making the rite associated with courage, happiness, peace, praise, or even grief. The music performed during a rite becomes apart of the ceremony for that rite making them inseparable to the mind and impossible to associate one without the other.