The functions of music in social development in the 20th century: a comparative study in Iran and America

The purpose of this research is to estimate the functions of music in the development of the social system through exploration in certain periods of the history of Iran from the end of the Qajar period to the year 1400. In this regard, by relying on Talcott Parsons's structural functionalist sociological approach, the multiple capacities of music to improve the status of Iran's social system in social development are identified. Historical analysis method is used in this research. By purposefully searching in authentic written, audio-visual and oral sources, real evidences have been extracted from the role-playing episodes of music in various aspects of Iran's social development. The results of the research showed that music has had positive functions through playing a role in many stages of Iran's history, such as the expansion of conservatories and music schools, etc. Also, in this research, the functions of music in the United States related to the seven generations of American music by Grazian are applied, which is largely in accordance with the period of this research. As a result, we realize that compared to the developed country, in some periods it corresponds to the country of America, and in some cases, it does not correspond to this country in the development path.