Globalization and Music

In our current age of globalization, traditional cultures, natural habitats, and precious resources around the world are being marginalized in favor of the market forces of transnational capitalism and the ideals of economic efficiency. While these may be worthy goals, the disappearance of small tribal languages, rare plant and animal species, and limited resources certainly should raise a warning flag in our personal and national consciousness. One such dimension of human society marginalized by cultural globalization is traditional music, which in many regions of the globe is being passed up in favor of Western pop styles. Master musicians from traditional societies now have trouble finding employment, and their musical craft itself is beginning to fade into obscurity in the face of globalization. Moreover, the instruments themselves are being neglected as a result of the importation of electric guitars, synthesized instruments, and the recorded foreign music. While there can be no doubt that the confluence between such traditional music cultures and dominant Western styles has yielded expressive new varieties of music, a result of globalization that ought to be celebrated, the traditional instruments themselves are caught in a losing battle for their own survival.