Toward a model for the evaluation of the cultural strength of various musics
Conclusions and recommendations
Step 4: Use results to inform strategies for encouragement of musics
This preliminary study suggests that the three modern African musics used in the Ubangi Protestant churches have a moderately high cultural strength for people who have high urban experience and ideals. All three of these musics--along with the use of Lingala during services--were cited as important to foster unity among the various tribes in the church. The continued expansion of Lingala as the LWC portends the continued growth of these modern African musics throughout the Ubangi. Traditional church songs do not enjoy widespread use but show high cultural strength for people with high village experience and ideals. There are some factors suggesting that if there was an expansion of composition and use of songs of traditional music in the church, these songs would soon enjoy a higher cultural strength even within the Group 1 population. That is, because people in Group 1 still use their tribal languages in the home and have a strong association with the village and tribe from which they originate--even if they don't live there, greater exposure and use of traditional songs could energize a part of their lives underused during the acculturation process.
The application of these preliminary findings for people within and without the church who have an interest in encouraging the growth of musics with high cultural strength should be informed by the following observations. First, because of the strength and growth of urban culture (a phenomenon concomitant with the spreading use of Lingala as a LWC), modern African church musics will continue to flourish. They will enjoy a high cultural strength, especially for men and the young (though book music may dwindle in importance and use, because of its very limited cultural domain and low musical integrity and levels of communicational clarity). There is no need to expend energy to support it.
Second, traditional musics are in danger of continued diminution, and possible extinction. The spread of urban culture also seems to be associated with the withdrawal of village culture. This association leaves the village populations without a strongly integrated music for their use.
Third, a vitalization of creativity in and use of traditional music in the church would have an immediate benefit for people in the village leaning populations and a probable cultural strengthening benefit for the urbanized populations.
Model of cultural strength of a music
The model used in this preliminary study must be modified and tested in at least three ways. First, the criteria for evaluating cultural strength need to be evaluated and tested in varying cultural environments. Undoubtedly, they will need to be refined and expanded. The philosophical basis for their relevance and even the concept of cultural strength are also open for discussion.
Second, the investigative steps for arriving at measures for defining the musics and the criteria for determining their cultural strength need to be rigorously defined, making room for statistically relevant surveys and studies. These steps will have to be flexible enough to allow for reliability in varying geographical, political, cultural, and musical environments.
Third, the whole process must be tested by application to musics in various situations around the world.
The usefulness of this model and process will rest on its ability to describe and explain musics of the world as definable entities in the context of a rapidly changing and interacting world. These musics are a resource of enormous benefit to the world and any tools for understanding them are crucially important.