MALAYSIAN MUSIC IN CONTEXT:
Geographical
Location
Social
and Political Background
Trends and Developments
in Music
Malaysian music is still in a state of
evolution. It is the hypothesis of the present writer that a truly Malaysian
music, one in which various elements of the various local cultures are
merged and blended into a uniquely distinguishable musical style, has only
just become attainable with the current peace, inter-racial harmony and
prosperity experienced in the country. This is reflected in the relatively
recent emergence of various Malaysian contemporary composers, be they from
the classical or popular music traditions, who consciously strive to achieve
this blending of cultures in their work.
Music in Multicultural Societies:
The Case of Malaysia and the U.S.A.
The evolution of Malaysian music may be
compared with the evolution of American music. Both the United States and
Malaysia were former colonies of the United Kingdom and both nations emerged
from this era with plural societies which were reflected in their music.
Having said this, the music of America has since developed its own unique
and instantly recognisable identity which blends elements from its various
component cultures: White-American, including both British and European
traditions; Afro-American; Afro-Carribean; and Native American. Music in
America has often been used as a tool for social integration - Afro-Americans
and Euro-American ethnic groups often use music as a major symbol of group
identity as well as an expression of central social values in a more general
way (Nettl 1993). The birth of a genuinely American music was the result
of a conscious effort on the part of certain composers who deliberately
included elements from the various musical cultures in their compositions.
The pioneer in this respect, sometimes called the “Father of American Popular
Music” was Stephen Collins Foster (1826-64), an early songwriter who combined
Anglo-Irish and Afro-American idioms with Italian operatic song forms (Tick
1993). The first great American classical composer, Charles Ives (1874-1954),
combined quotations of gospel, ragtime and parlour music with complex symphonic
and chamber structures, while jazz music evolved through the pioneering
efforts of the great jazz composers Louis Armstrong (1900-71), Jelly Roll
Morton (1885-1941) and Duke Ellington (1899-1974) who combined catchy Afro-American
and Afro-Carribean rhythms with European melodies and dance rhythms (Tick
1993). George Gershwin (1898-1937), who drew on black folk music, jazz,
tin pan alley and European classical traditions, and Aaron Copland (1900-90),
who blended American folk music, pop, jazz and blues in his classical style
compositions, are two other instantly recognisable American composers who
consciously strived to create an American musical identity. Many others
have followed and today American music’s unique identity is firmly established
on the world music scene.
This observation of the evolution of American
music is a useful one. Malaysian music, and in fact the musics of all developing
nations, can be said to be on a similar evolutionary pathway. Part of this
journey involves the transition from a wholly orally or aurally transmitted
folk music to a notationally transmitted music which may be reproduced
upon demand.
NEXT: Types of
Music in Malaysia
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