A person expresses his/her identity in a variety of ways. Theclothes we wear, the foods we eat, and the language we speak areall outward projections of “who we are,” or more accurately, “whowe think we are” or “want to be.” Biological factors, namely raceand sex, are often cited as the source of a person’s identity;however, cultural factors are equally, if not more, importantdeterminants. For example, what makes a person “African”? Must heor she have “black” skin? That can’t be the case, because Africanscome in an array of skin pigmentations, including “olive” and“white.” Likewise, would it make sense to consider Australianaborigines or the Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea “African”because many of them have a dark skin color? Certainly not. Rather,people are “African” because they think “African.” And because theythink this way, they behave as “Africans.” While it is obviouslynaïve to think that “African” denotes any specific culture, it isequally naïve to think that “Western” is a culture as well, and yetthis gigantic category of identity is often applied to anyone oranything associated with a Euro-American background.

How others interpret the behaviors of an individual or group isalso important to the formation of identity. If, for example, aperson’s behaviors are considered by others to be representative ofthe qualities of being “African,” then that person’sself-perception as an “African” is reinforced. However, if othersdo not agree that the person’s behaviors are typical of an“African,” then a conflict arises in which either the individualmust modify their behaviors, thereby altering the perception ofthem, or the atypical behaviors must be accepted bythe others asproperly “African.” If the conflict is not resolved, then the“African” identity of our hypothetical person would be continuallyquestioned. Obviously, discussions of identity easily run the riskof stereotyping. Music plays a vital role in expressions of ethnicidentity. Groups and individuals often use music as a way to asserttheir unique ethnic qualities in relation to others. Outsideperceptions of particular musical activities as normative behaviorfor a group or an individual reinforce the sense of ethnic identityexpressed through the music. Along with other cultural elements,such as language, religion, dress, diet, and so on, music shapeshow people think about themselves and their role within a society.In many cultures, the expression of ethnic identity through musicis an essential aspect of daily life, so understanding andappreciating musical activities is an important part of getting toknow how people from these cultures think. Even in cultures wheremusic is considered a specialized activity, much is expressed andrevealed through the types of music common to the culture. Forexample, the glitz and glamour of Super Bowl halftime shows revealsthe emphasis American culture places on extravagant entertainment,even though these music performances are certainly notrepresentative of all the music found in the United States.

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