Ethical analysis: Ethics & Music - A critically communicative phenomenon

Music is a powerful communicative phenomenon. It has come to be the soundtrack or background noises to our lives, but even earlier on it serve the purpose to share stories. Music can be defined by a number of things because it is simply sound, but most do not recognized everyday sounds as music. Instead music is perceived to be sounds in a rhythm that for a melodious tune that all too frequently get stuck in our heads. This common form of music that we identify with serves as entertainment in the car or at concerts, boost our moods when down, interpret and intensify how we perceive movies, and fill in the silence as clean or work on homework. It is hard to avoid interacting with on a daily basis much like it is hard to avoid seeing advertisements on any given day because they are everywhere just like music. However the question stands of whether or not music is ethical. One would hope it is because of how much we interact with it and how much it has become a part of our lives, but upon evaluation of this communicative phenomenon through the theory of an ethical scholar it is not a simple yes or no.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a twentieth century scholar whose ethical theory is based on the teachings of Buddhism. Hahn’s ethical theory is five mindfulness trainings that serve as suggestions on how we ought to live by the universal law of dharma and be aware, give in social service and be active in society. The five mindfulness trainings are to respect live, be generous to others, practice sexual responsibility, listen deeply and speak lovingly, and avoid consumption of toxins. These five mindfulness trainings will be used to evaluate the ethicalness of music in our society today.

Hahn’s first mindfulness training is to respect life in all its forms, end suffering by accepting it and reconditioning the mind to show compassion, and living in the present moment. According to this guideline music as a whole is ethical in that it is about life and how life is lived. Music also contributes to a holistic way of living because people dance to it and live freely through music. “Footloose” was an entire movie made in 1984 and remade in 2011 dedicated to the power of music in the lives of people and the strength of dancing to music to live life that separates a town. The stories told through music transpire through generations to teach later generations of the suffering experienced with the hope that the sharing of such knowledge will allow others to learn from the mistakes, make changes, and end the suffering. Finally music can interpret and intensify a present moment to maximize the living of it, such as someone dying in a movie or play is more dramatic and sad when music is added so that a desired emotion is felt by the audience watching. While music may seem ethical according to this guideline there are also many ways and exceptions to the ways in which it is ethical. Not all music is respectful of life, rap music being the biggest culprit. Since music tells stories of lives, they often tell the stories of the most memorable moments, not the day to day. Among these “memorable moments” are tales are heartbreak, murder, abuse, and sex. Any of these moments cause suffering in the life of others rather than inflicting compassion onto others. While music is usually a healing art, it can make the suffering worse. When upset, angry, or in pain particular music can been a reminder of that feeling and exacerbate it causing one to be deeper in their state of suffering. Also as seen with other forms of media, music can be the inspiration for people who copy the actions described so that the suffering is now transposed onto someone else. Finally, music maybe an aid to living in the present for the musician and the listener, but songs are inspired by memories or hopes and dreams and a good presentation of such song requires the musician to think back to an experience they had that can put them into the emotion state of the song. For example, Dolly Parton’s song “I Will Always Love You” is based on her relationship she had with Porter Wagoner after they split, but also looking to the future is that she would “always love” him, maybe it is just a song. Or “Million Lives” by Jake Miller that reflects on his rise to stardom and the encounters he had with fans that inspired him to keep going. Or Gloria Gaynor’s powerful ballad “I Will Survive,” saying it does not make it true, it is a hope that she will make it through as survive the suffering. In concert, some performers depend on the audience knowing the songs performed and then the energy created by the audience remembering the first time they heard the song or another experience that makes the song special to them. This retrieval of memories surrounding a song does not allow the listener to live in the moment of the music either. As a whole music is ethically respectful of life, but there are some very strong exceptions that overpower the music that does follow the training.

The second mindfulness training regards generosity towards others, especially the poor. This training denies the idea of theft while encouraging giving and accepting of material gifts, education, or being able to live without fear. As applies to music, this training is fulfilled by the sharing of knowledge through music beyond silly classroom songs sung in kindergarten to remember things or even later in life as a college student to remember the definition of science. Of the knowledge shared is everything from overcoming fear and suffering to accepting and living fully through joy. This is the most important way of giving through music because it gives opportunity for oppression to stop before it even begins by knowledge of how previous experiences of oppression can to be and therefore how to avoid the same choices. Music also has come to be able to give materially. Songs and performances are dedicated to support particular charities and relief efforts. “We are the World 25 for Haiti” was a song released in 2010 by a collaboration of musicians to raise money for Haiti after a devastating earthquake. Hunter Hayes did a series of free concerts while on tour in 2014, but encouraged concert goers to bring items to give to local food banks for those in need. Such a feat was accomplished by the power of the music performed bringing people together and the desire to do good. However so much generosity needed to change the world is hard, almost impossible to do in the three to six minutes of a song or even the hour of a record. Again there are some exceptions in the world of music that do the opposite of everything this training stands for. According to this training the music industry is more ethical than the music itself, but the influence music has in daily life inspires such ethical practices of generosity.

Hahn’s third mindfulness training of sexual responsibility with love and commitment and to protect others from such irresponsibility is another training that has its exception in the phenomenon of music. Through this training Hahn cautions the difference between love and lust, one of which exist and the other does not, one of which good and the other is an evil human desire. There is music that speaks of love and commitment with the occasional sexual responsibility that follows, but what appears most frequently at the top of all of the charts is not of love. Top songs are of lust for sexual relations, money, and power because that is what society has come to desire in their music and in their lives. Music is tells the stories of lives of everyday people and their desires in life are reflected in music and the more it is heard the more it is wanted; the cycle seems endless. Though the memorable moments of lust serve as great inspiration for music it is not ethical, therefore music is not ethical according to this guideline.

The fourth mindfulness training regards deep listening and loving speech. Words and actions are meant to have purpose whether for the purpose of wonder, world regard and understanding, nobility and credibility, evoking change and making change. To not take part in this training is to give into suffering that the first training tries so hard to stray away from. Lyrical music is the easiest to apply to this training because the meaning is spelled out in the words of a song for the listeners. Instrumental music is more interpretive on both sides of “speaking” and listening because the composer and musicians of the piece do have a message to share, but the audience’s perception of it differs per person. But for either type of music the listener responds through words or actions of what the music meant to them, how the music was made or performed, and spreading the reach of the music by sharing it with more listeners to interpret and respond. However the training is specific in that the listening is deep listening. With the increased popularity of music and the ways to listen to music, music is used for the purpose of a background noise to fill the silence. That’s one of the reasons why there is music in movies, to avoid silence! The experience of listening to music is not experienced when listening to it while doing homework or falling asleep to it because one may hear the tune, but they are not really listening. Another exception to the deep listening and loving speech yet again comes from chart topping rap, pop, and hip-hop music when it dehumanizes women, talks of crime and violence, and derogatory language. Finally, music does not allow all to participate in both sides of the actions of speaking and listening. Only a privileged, “talented” as they are often referred, few are able to openly share their message through music with the world even though at some point in everyone’s life there is a message to be shared. Music is ethical in its mindfulness of speaking and listening despite a few because of its power of engage an audience is a two part conversation.

The fifth and final mindfulness training of consumption of others’ things, drugs, alcohol, and other toxins has its exceptions just like all of the other trainings when it comes to music. It is important to keep in mind that this training is not being applied to the rock stars that are constantly high or drunk on the road, but rather the content of the music performed by said rock stars; however their intoxicated state does add credibility to the unethicalness of music that does reference or inspire such consumption. Even with the usual exceptions music is unethical in regards to the rules of consumption in this training because it is consumed in excess in daily life by listeners and produced in excess to engage more in the music.

It is hard to separate the music from the industry because for the most part the industry is unethical, but the tradition of music is ethical. There are also the discussed exceptions among many more that begin to toy with the ethicalness of such a phenomenon, but have yet to be successful in bringing down the entire practice of music. According to Hahn’s five mindfulness trainings, music is ethical for it makes society aware of itself and its surroundings and inspires social services and activism.