Frith Response

Identity is formed by many aspects of our lives; one factor in particular is the music that surrounds us. The influence of music is a complex study because many restrict the influence of music to the idea that music can only represent people. In reality, music has the capability to produce an experience and build character within our identity, but music should never be constructed as a general mirror of who we are as a whole or individually. As Frith argues, identity is mobile, “A becoming not a being,” and that music‘s performance and lyrics are critically important to the identity of an individual. Hence, our identification is centered on how we contribute to society as a whole and how we individually contribute to society, Along with that idea; music shapes our way of identifying who we are based on how we are affected and how we react.

The most interesting part of Frith’s claim was his ability to highlight the idea that music is connected to class, culture, and subculture. The opportunities that people gain from learning different techniques and skills also enable people to create different types of music. For example, Ghana is a nation influenced heavily with drums and therefore the music that the country produces has a heavy influence on the beat. I also found it very interesting that music has the ability to connect people from all different backgrounds. It seems to me that more so than ever, we have been able to find wider ranges of music that relate to us because of the diverse social interactions that we face every day.