Joseph Lam on Culture

University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Musicology Professor Joseph Lam theorizes in his article "How Should We Listen to Music by Asian-American Composers?" the essential difference between Western composers and Eastern composers.



Western composers:  Use Eastern musical elements for the the sake of music.



Asian-American composers:  Use Eastern musical elements for the sake of cultural preservation.





This is interesting, considering that in the previous page my definition of American born Asian-Americans would have fallen under Joseph Lam's definition for Western composers.  Perhaps I am forgetting to acknowledge the realities that come from being of Asian descent.  Since these American-born composers are of Asian blood, any act of employing the sounds of traditional Eastern musical elements could be seen as, in a sense, using their heritage to preserve a sense of Eastern culture amidst all of the Western-ness.  Ultimately, it does not matter if these composers are cognizant of how their purely art-related choices could be seen as culture-based decisions.  All that matters is that their act of employing such sounds and instrumentation into their music is preserving a sense of culture for those who wish to maintain a connection to their traditional Asian history, possibly fearing that their heritage would be forever lost within the melting pot that is the United States.



​Then, on the other hand, you have the Asian immigrant composers who have come to the United States to work and live.  This group, as I theorized in the previous page, is seemingly cognizant of their musical decisions, as seen in Huang Ruo's quote on the proceeding page.  However, it is not only about cultural preservation, in this instance.  Composers like Ruo, and even Tan Dun, are trying to create music that is so seamlessly interweaving between Eastern and Western tradition that it sounds like a new kind of musical experience has been created.  Additionally, you have composers like Ryuichi Sakamoto who believe that the entire ordeal between Eastern and Western musical influence is cyclical: "Asian music heavily influenced Debussy, and Debussy heavily influenced me.  So the music goes around the world and comes full circle.”  In this aspect, it is almost as if we can argue that, in the end.....



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