Photo: Live 8 concert 2nd July 2005

 

Task 2

 Music generally, and song in particular, has played an essential role in society for many thousands of years. In fact, no human culture appears to be without music and song, and it is one of the earliest sounds we remember.

 

Here are some examples highlighting the power of music, as well as websites for you to access in order to find out more. See what you can find out from the web links and make notes of your findings.

 

• Exposure to music helps the development of infants’ motor skills, language development, co-ordination, and, in some cases, improves behaviour [BBC], [Musical Minis]

• In educating young children, studies have shown that structured music-making can help with reading and maths, and again, can help social skills and behaviour [BBC]

 

• In hospitals and other medical centres, music has been proved to have hugely beneficial effects on health and wellbeing. Music therapy uses music to help children and adults with a wide range of needs, including learning difficulties, mental and physical illness. “Music therapy is founded in the belief that anyone can respond to music, no matter how ill, disabled or traumatised.” [Nordoff Robbins]

   

Case study - Live Aid/Live 8

The Live Aid and later Live 8 concerts demonstrate the power of music as a campaigning tool to raise awareness and action on key issues – poverty, the environment and peace in war-torn regions. 

Live Aid: In July 1985, Live Aid featured 16 hours of live music, televised around the world and featuring some of the greatest artists of all time. Concerts in London and Philadelphia formed the central focus for a ‘global jukebox’. Bob Geldof and his team originally hoped to raise £1 million on the day to help victims of famine in Africa, but the final total was over £110m.

 

Live 8: Twenty years later, on a single day in July 2005, concerts took place worldwide in ten venues. Over 150 artists and bands played across the globe to ask people to give not their money, but their names, to petition for change. An estimated 3 billion people watched Live 8, coming together with one message – ‘Make poverty history’. 

 

Case Study: Oxjam 2007

 

Watch this video made to promote the event:

 

 

Oxjam is an annual music initiative put on by the charity Oxfam to raise money to relieve poverty in the UK and internationally. Last year's Oxjam, the biggest yet,  launched on Monday 1 October 2007. To mark the launch Oxjam took over an Oxfam shop in a secret location in London.

 

During the day, the shop sold the best donated records and musical instruments, that had been donated to Oxfam stores from around London, plus special celebrity memorabilia from the likes of Elton John, Goldfrapp and Corinne Bailey Rae.

 

As part of the Oxjam launch, Kaiser Chiefs, Chemical Brothers, Jarvis Cocker, Hard-Fi and The Pigeon Detectives designed exclusive badges for the festival. There were also limited-edition items, sporting artwork created by the bands themselves available from Oxjam events around the country. 

 

By night, the shop was transformed into a gig venue, hosting intimate sets from top name artists. Later in the month, supporters of the initiative put on their own gigs and sold tickets in aid of Oxfam. 

 

 Other examples and sites to look at from 2007 are the Live Earth concert, focused on the environment, and the Concert for Peace in Darfur, a charity concert by Muslim artists:

http://www.live8live.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/thelive8event/liveaid/
http://www.liveearth.msn.com/
http://www.samiyusuf.com/live/7_press/index.htm (for coverage of Muslim event)


Write up your notes making a point of any interesting points/facts from your online research.