Music Genres with Political Influence

Music and politics have had a close relationship for many years and continue to be tied together today. In his book, Music in China, Frederick Lau briefly explores this idea. In regards to Confucianism in China, Lau writes, “The goal of many music scholars who adhered to the Confucian ideology of music was to avoid practical musical matters and focus instead on abstract writing about music’s relationship to cosmology and ethics” (Lau, 24). Musicians in China were using their musical ability to help influence Confucian values in China. Their goal was to establish social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society across the entire nation (Center for Global Education). By expressing these ideas through widespread song, their political ideas created an influence throughout China. Traditional Chinese music is not the only kind of music that has used its voice to take a political stance. In fact, there are many genres throughout history that have used their musicality to convey a political message. There are many genres that have had a close tie with politics throughout history. Significant examples of these genres are classical music, jazz, blues, pop, and rap music.

 Political statements through classical music can be dated back to before the twentieth century, however, the most influential compositions were introduced around the time of the first World War. The Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians was formed in the early 1920’s, and by 1929 the RAPM was supported by totalitarian dictator Joseph Stalin. “In general, Soviet music was neo-romantic while Fascist music was neo-classical”(Music and Politics). In 1938, Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev wrote the soundtrack for the film Alexander Nevsky, which follows the story of the Teutonic knights as they invaded the Baltic States.



The score was to be interpreted as a political metaphor for the Nazi invasion of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Similarly, mid-twentieth century Germany utilized classical music to promote communism and ideas of hatred toward Jews. For example, from 1933-1945 “the music of Gustav Mahler, a Jewish Austrian, virtually disappeared from the concert performances of the Berlin Philharmonic”(Music and Politics). In addition, Carmina Burana, a cantata composed by Carl Orff became the unofficial anthem of the Nazis, due to its popularity at Nazi social functions.




European classical music was used by government institutions to heavily influence and communicate with the population. In the West, many activist groups used classical music to communicate with the government institutions.
For instance, during the American Women’s Right’s Movement, The March of the Women, a piece composed by American women’s rights activist Ethel Smyth, quickly became the anthem of the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1910.


The piece was described by suffragette newspaper Votes for Women as “both a hymn and a call to battle.”  The most famous performance of this composition was conducted from inside a jail cell in Holloway Prison in 1912. Tom Service claims Smyth “[leaned] out of her cell window and [directed] her fellow inmates with a toothbrush”(Political Pieces).


In order to analyze the political presence in Jazz and Blues, it is important to understand the motives behind the creators of these musical genres. Jazz and Blues are the children of spiritual hymns. They were created by African American slaves as a response to the largely prevalent oppression and genocide present in North America. The defining attribute of these spiritual hymns, bending the 3rd of the chord, known as the “blue note” by historians, gave slaves a certain freedom and resilience within the confines of their life.



As time went by, the musical ability of many black Americans began to be noticed by white entrepreneurs, leading to these spiritual hymns to be used throughout shows such as Blackface. Blackface, a minstrel show, was a sort of musical theater that portrayed negative stereotypes of African Americans to white audiences.


Eventually, around 1910, great innovators such as Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith evolved the spiritual hymns into the genres of blues and swing jazz. “Swing jazz had been generally viewed as morally or socially unacceptable. Because its roots came from African-American groups, the white majority dismissed it as its racy lyrics, lack of strings, and fast tempos were deemed to be a sign of cultural degradation,” (HistoryofJazz.com). These characteristics of swing such as fast tempos and bending pitch symbolized a resistance to white European musical traditions. With the help of innovators such as Elvis Presley and Charlie Parker around the year of 1950, these traditions of Swing and Blues evolved into Bebop and Rock n’ Roll.


Rock n’ Roll and Bebop not only symbolized a certain resistance to the culture, but reflected the poor economic climate since it became too expensive to have larger bands. When speaking about these genres of music, the term Jazz is used to group Blues, Swings, and Bebop together, when in fact they evolved out of spiritual hymns on slave plantations in reaction to resisting tyranny.


Not only have politics seeped into the worlds of jazz, folk, and classical music, they also have a large presence within the pop music culture. From artists openly voicing their political beliefs to writing them into their songs, politics and pop music seem to coincide. In the previous presidential election, pop singers were particularly sure to publicly promote a specific candidate. Pop music sensation Katy Perry even went so far as giving a speech on election day reminding everyone that they “must vote,” she pauses then resumes saying, “for Hillary Clinton.” Fans of these stars look to these musical icons and pry at them to announce their political beliefs. For example, again in regards to the election, Google Trends reported that the most searched “Who is __ voting for” on google was Taylor Swift. As shown in the image below, people inquired more about Swift’s political views than anyone actually involved in political affairs.


Image result for most searched who is taylor swift voting for
Pop stars do not restrict vocalizing their political beliefs to speeches or comments to the press; some of these stars include them in their songs. Justin Meyers in his article “10 Times Pop Music Got Political” explained how world renowned rapper Macklemore teamed up with singer-songwriter Mary Lambert and adapted one of her songs to take on LGBT rights “when it was a hot topic.” (Politicians in the state of Washington, at that time, were voting on legalizing same-sex marriage.) Since music can often “say more than words,” Macklemore and Mary Lambert collaborated together on the song “Same Love” to show their support of gay marriage.

Music has a powerful political voice in many different genres. From traditional Chinese music all the way to American rap music, there are unique and specific ways that music can be used to convey political messages throughout the world. This use of music to express a political statement has proven its importance throughout genres, and will continue to be an ethical part of music-making for the years to come.

Intro/Conclusion/Bibliography/Blog: Mackenzie Taylor
Classical Music: Anika Hille
Jazz/Blues: Frank Saxton
Pop Music: Emilia Soot

Works Cited

"10 times Pop Music Got Political." Official Charts - Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web.

Alexander Nevsky. By Sergei Prokofiev. Battle of the Ice. Youtube, n.d. Web.

Dailymail.com, Iona Kirby For. "So Who Is Taylor Swift Voting For? Google Reveals Users Are Curious about Singer's Stance after She Opted Not to Make Any Public Presidential Endorsements." Daily Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 08 Nov. 2016. Web.

"Katy Perry Speech at Election Day (Nov. 8, 2016)." YouTube. YouTube, 08 Nov. 2016. Web.
MackleRyanLyrics. "Macklemore - Same Love (Lyrics + Official Music Video)." YouTube. YouTube, 05 Nov. 2012. Web.

The March of the Women. By Ethel Smyth. YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web.

O Fortuna ~ Carmina Burana. By Carl Orff. YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web.

“A History of Jazz.” The History of Swing Jazz, www.historyjazz.com/swing.html.

Google Search, Google, www.google.com/search?q=minstrel%2Bshow&rlz=1C1MSNA_enUS657US657&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifuv2s3PDWAhVR5mMKHZmoAbcQ_AUICygC&biw=1536&bih=759#imgrc=1flk9epAGI5CwM

“12 years a slave cotton field song.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 Mar. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcJ6Wxdcj-E.

jane8948. “Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - Hot house.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 Sept. 2006, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFFfoLhxgmI.


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