As time progresses, the uses and attitudes toward music evolve. This can be seen through the pieces of music we analyzed in class. The “Baamaaya” is a traditional dance and musical composition performed in Ghana. This dance was first performed to mark the end of the drought in the 19th century. In the past, this production was performed whenever it rained. Today, it’s performed at funerals. Both in the past and present, the instruments used in this performance have stayed the same. It uses traditional African drums, a rattle, and the flute. The dancers also wear the same traditional clothing. Men dress up in women clothing and dance. The change in setting of the performance is ultimately a positive thing. While there is no longer a drought in Ghana, the community still finds a way to incorporate this unique performance into their culture still. They changed the way it was used to keep it in their cultures.

The “Rite of Spring” is a production created by Igor Stravinsky and Vaslav Nijinsky. Stravinsky composes the music while Nijinsky choreographs the accompanying ballet dance. This production premiered in 1913 at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in France. When it was first performed, the musical style and dance were seen as disturbing and horrific. People of the time were unaccepting of the performance because it didn’t agree with the traditional style of ballet that they were used to. They expected a consonant harmony performed with smooth and graceful looking ballet performers. What they received, however, was the complete opposite. Stravinsky composed a dissonant harmony combined with jerky and abrupt movements from the ballet dancers. The story told by the production is another reason for it’s rejection. The dance tells the story of a pagan girl sacrificing herself to ensure a blessed spring for her village. Performing a Protestant piece in a predominantly Catholic country wouldn’t please the audience, explaining the critical and hostile attitudes towards the piece. Today, however, society is more modern and accepting of things that may not have been accepted in the past. In modern society, the music used with the dissonant harmonies isn’t seen as unconventional. There are many examples of modern music that uses dissonant harmony. We see the piece created by Stravinsky and Nijinsky as a production that was futuristic or advanced for it’s time. In both time periods, this piece is used as a form of entertainment. While it was unable to achieve this goal in it’s original time period, “The Rite of Spring” is able to do so in modern times. It is also used as inspiration for other forms of unconventional ballet performances and musical compositions. The music itself has stayed the same from the past to the present while the attitudes associated with it have changed. This change in attitude is a positive one as it allows for more creative productions to be made. Having a shift from a negative attitude towards the piece to a positive one makes producers more inclined to make such evolved and unique pieces.