Music as a Sacred Ritual

Livingstone describes rituals as an “agreed on and formalized pattern of ceremonial movements and verbal expressions carried out in a sacred context”. A ritual is therefore a routine action that acquires a sacred meaning for a group of people. It also acts as a mean of social communication and unity that brings a certain group of people together. Music, just like rituals, acts as a social communicator that establishes and maintains the identity of an individual within a certain group.
In some instances, music plays a guiding role in shaping identities during the rites of passage. Each transition; from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, is accompanied by a change of preference in the kind of music we listen to. As we grow up, our personality evolves along with the our music preference that is influenced by the subculture that we identify ourselves with. That’s the reason 13 year olds listen to One Direction and 50 year olds to U2. Music also underlines the meaning of a certain rite of passage. The difference in melody, form and sentiments expressed by music played at weddings and funerals symbolizes the happiness of the former, and the sadness of the latter. Ritual and music are related because they both shape the values and define the sacred that are expressed by a group of people.