Achieving the analysis of the perception of citizens of Ghaem of Mazandaran local music

1-1 Introduction

The connection of music with many social and individual areas of human daily life has never been as much as in the present era. Today, the presence of music as a communication tool or channel or as a symbol for communicating and creating and receiving meaning is an undeniable fact. Also, the new wave of development of technological tools has had a significant impact on music consumption, so that "people are able to listen to music from the Internet, various audio carriers, and in large volumes on very small devices that hold many hours of music" (Fazli, 1385: 1) in the importance of music consumption. Storr believes that "it is even possible that listeners who are not able to read musical notes or have never tried to learn an instrument, are so deeply influenced by music that for them a day that passes without seriously mingling with it is considered a wasted day" (Stor, 5: 1388). At the same time as the 20th century, music has entered the daily life of people with more and more scope. So that the consumption of music in the early hours of the morning from the waves of various media for people, it is considered normal and sometimes important. Also, after that, in urban spaces, subways, local markets, shopping centers, etc., the sound of music has different purposes and uses, such as persuading the audience, selling goods, creating solidarity, advertising, maintaining order, peace of mind, identity, and communication and transmission properties of the message, etc. In fact, music gives people the ability to express their emotions, refine aesthetic feelings, and gain pleasure and relaxation. Also, through music, people are always commuting to the world outside and inside themselves, and by adding meaning to their daily life, they choose music as a refuge to escape from the realities (sometimes bitter) of their lives. Therefore, music can create a positive mood in people, stimulate creativity in them, and by removing anxiety and tension from people, it can help them relax and ultimately improve their cognitive potential (Fazli, 2015). In fact, "the study of music is both a social phenomenon and a historical phenomenon, which from a historical perspective can enhance our knowledge of the melodic and spiritual foundations of the past." And in all historical periods, the way of life of the people of that society has somehow been reflected and crystallized in local music and systems. In this context, Schuman believes: "If you listen to the national songs of the past, you will not only find the source of the most beautiful human songs, but you will also study and understand the distinctive features and pages of the brilliant history of the nations of the world." (Ansari, 1390: 70) Therefore, considering the importance of the relationship between music and society, the present research tries to find out, by focusing on the local music of Mazandaran and the types of its audience, what the consumers of this type of music basically understand and receive from the local music of Mazandaran, and in other words, how the citizens (Qaimshahri) interpret and decipher this type of local music. The method used in this research to analyze the audience's perception of local music is a qualitative research method and the phenomenological interview technique was used to collect data. 1-2 Necessity and importance of the research It can be said that music consumption today is opening and stabilizing its place as a part of the cultural consumption of people in the society. In this context, depending on the music used and what kind of music it is (pop, rock, national, local), people may receive different meanings about the world inside and outside of them. In the importance and necessity of this issue, it should be said that music consumption has become a part of daily life today. "Since music is an essential element of the culture system, it can largely determine some general orientations of culture and cultural changes" (Qasmi and Rezaei, 2015). Music is one of the only media that is a kind of language and somehow bridges all cultures and histories. For example, when an artist sings a local piece in the plains, a Japanese audience can connect with it and understand that this song is a kind of fiery message.For example, when an artist sings a local piece in the plains, a Japanese audience can connect with it and understand that this song tells about a kind of burning message in itself and the folklore culture of that region. Also, in addition to the functions of music that were mentioned, music can have a function of social cohesion. For example, a song that is sung together creates a common emotional state that their "existence" emotionally reacts in similar ways (Stor, 1388,: 18). In this regard, music has a special attraction and subjectivity for each of the scientific fields, which creates the need for discussion and investigation. So that "psychologists have an opinion on the role of music in the development of people's feelings, emotions, and psychology, as well as its therapeutic capacities. Anthropologists have studied the role of music in the development of popular culture and sociologists have studied the functions of music for identity formation and in the politics of resistance against power and the reproduction of social status, etc. Another function of music that makes the importance of research about it more necessary is the role of giving identity to the audience. In this context, due to the multitude of local ethnic groups in our country of Iran, expressing national and ethnic identity through music is considered one of the most important functions of music. In fact, "Attention to music in the country of Iran, on the one hand, goes back to the tendency of Iranians to music (Zonis, 1377) and on the other hand, to the role that music plays in the identity of young people in contemporary societies. This situation is even more complicated with the current of globalization and the spread of western music in the world. (Kothari, 1391:133). Another point that makes the necessity and importance of the current research more colorful is the relationship between the cultural capital of individuals and music consumption, especially in the country's young population. So that by consuming music, people achieve a kind of distinction according to Bourdieu in cultural consumption, and this is considered a kind of cultural capital for them (especially in the case of girls). Their effort to collect music records, go and watch music concerts of their favorite groups with hundreds and thousands of other women and girls, gives them the experience of "power from the crowd" so that this experience is more important than the music itself, especially for girls, and gives them the possibility of being together and a common feeling on a wide level, which is far from their daily life experience and feeling of powerlessness. It is the cultural base of every people and nation" (Hajarian, 1386:14), but this same music with this historical, cultural and social age only has artistic and sociological value when it is received by its audience. As Victoria Alexander writes about this, "Art is never true to itself, but must be understood in relation to those who consume it. Especially, the meanings people get from art, and the type of art they choose to consume, is based on their previous contexts and social networks" (Alexander, 2010: 280). Society members create meaning by consuming artistic products and how they use them in their daily lives. And in constant rotation, they will create a fixed pattern of these meanings in the social world, and these meanings will shape the frameworks of the social realities of art. In this context, the question is, how much do people consume local music, and what is their perception and understanding of this type of music, and what meaning do they derive from understanding this type of music.

1-3 Problem Outlines

Today, we are living in an era where music has become a part of people's daily lives, and on the other hand, the experience of music consumption by the audience has become more complicated than in the past. Despite this breadth and importance, very little research has been done in this field. "Despite its widespread distribution, music still remains a mystery" (Stor, 2018: 4). And while being a subset of culture and having many other functions has a very high value, unfortunately, in our country, the topic of music has been neglected by officials and sometimes ignored by experts in the field of cultural studies for various reasons that are mentioned, and it is clear that "in a culture that is dominated by verbal and visual aspects, the meaning and importance of music appears confusing and complicated and is considered less than it is" (ibid., 6). The author's interest in music, instrument playing, and the professional activity of Iranian music and the feeling of the Iranian society's need for this rich art are the reasons for choosing this topic for the thesis.