The arts are not separate from society, but are highly dependent upon society and society, in turn, is also impacted by the arts. If students learn about the arts in isolation from their social context, their understandings will be significantly limited. Jazz is a particularly rich vehicle for teaching students about the relationship between society and the arts. It is an artform which has developed in the recent past in their own culture. It clearly demonstrates the impact of tradition, the role of cultural factors such as racism, the consequence of key figures and the role of public opinion in creating a changed artform.
Society has a considerable impact on the development of new artforms.
New artforms must gain some measure of social acceptance to continue and exert influence. The development of Jazz was both enabled and limited by social factors. Jazz is about challenging musical traditions and expectations. Jazz is a result of the influence of significant key musical figures. Students will identify the characteristics of musical sound.