Popular Music, Youth and Education - Essay Example

Popular Music, Youth and Education Introduction There is no place on earth where music is not heard. Music is in every place where there is an individual who has the ability to hear and listen. It has become a part of an individual’s growth as much as it is a part of his culture. Through music, individuals are able to extend their emotions that shape his personality and express his feelings. The music that is made is often shared to the community, which eventually leads other individuals to associate to the music and the values that it wishes to convey. With this characteristic, music becomes a part of the social heritage. It is through music where one can find his own comfort through life’s ups and downs. Amidst the various kinds of music that are developed generation through generation, as music continues to evolve, there always lies a deep understanding of how music shape the culture of the society. Music has been long recognized to be of great influence to the society. It possesses various characteristics that make it to be an integral part on the society’s history and culture. Music is prevalent in the society. Possessing such characteristic, individuals can hear and listen to music wherever they may be. Music’s affective attribution, in addition, unites people’s thoughts and emotions, therefore creating an imaginary group that is strongly bound by music. Since popular music is able to reach a wide range of audience, it has played an important role in the society. Popular music has been studied by sociologists associating the behavior of the society to the kind of music that they listen to. Since it is more widespread among the youth, popular music is believed to greatly influence them. The youth, which has more time to listen to and appreciate music in the modern society, are usually the subject of research that sociologists study. As a result, the pedagogy of popular music is developed. Integrating the study of popular music into the school curriculum has been deemed significant, particularly in studying culture. Music and Me Although I consider myself not much into music, it has played a vital role in my life growing up. Growing up in a country that is rich in tradition, music is one of the various ways in which our culture is expressed, as well as exposed. As a Muslim, I have always listened to Nasheeds – these are Islamic songs that have been influential in my religious beliefs. Even up to this day, I still listen to these songs, more so that there have been English Nasheeds that are made popular these days. Through Nasheeds, I have been able to recognize my role as a Muslim and my beliefs in Allah have been strengthened. It is also through our religion where I first recognize the different sounds and feelings that music brings to an individual. Through the chants and worships, I have become aware of the affective aspect of music such that it brings a uniquely different feeling as soon as music is played. It is at the same time through this experience when I have learned to hum and sing along with music. It is truly amazing how music is able to change moods according to the songs that are played. Music also plays a very important role in my social life growing up. Looking back, I remember how music unites a group of individuals who basically like the same kind of music. It was easy to tell which group of friends a person belongs to once he tells you the kind of songs he like. Similarly, the language that a person use in talking to his friends may be used to identify the kind of music he likes. At some point in my teens, my friends and I also used expressions taken out of the popular song in the early 90s for which only us knows the meaning of the word, according to our own interpretation. Significantly, music, as I recall, has been a way in which I am able to conquer negative emotions as a child and up to the present. This is one of the mysteries that music possesses even though I am not much into music. As long as I hum along a favorite song, my fears and nervousness are shoved away. Celebrations and other significant events are also always accompanied by music. Wedding ceremonies as well as burials have their own distinctive music accompaniments that are played in accordance to the event. The music that is played in such events is special such that they are particularly played in such occasions. Arab music, on the other hand, was rich in historical and religious traditions. This is one of the reasons why Arab music sound almost similar. The instruments that are used to play the melodies of the songs, as well as the absence of which, are highly significant. The rhythm also manifests the country’s conservative nature in accordance to the religious beliefs and teachings. As such, the development of the Arab music industry has been slow and distinctly unique as compared to the other countries. Buying a record at that time was precious and too valuable for me. Moreover, I was not the kind who gets too excited to buy my favorite singer’s album whenever I heard a new song is released. I make myself contented to listening to the radio or watching him perform on television. Since Arab music did not sound that much different from one song to another then, it was not difficult assimilating from one group to another. In school, the only aspect we studied in music was its history and the musical instruments that were used in order to produce music in the ancient times. The only time we heard music in school was when there were school events where music was considered a necessity, otherwise there was none. Recently, I listen to Rai music, an Arabic music which is comparatively similar to American rap. It is one of the most controversial popular music genres in the country such that it contains non-traditional subjects and language as well as rhythm. However, as a fan, I do believe conversely. Theoretical Analysis of Pop Music Popular music is a kind of music that is approximately three minutes in duration, either as a 45 rpm single, an extended play disc, or an LP. This kind of music is produced for commercial distribution to the publishers, radio and television stations in order to reach the masses (Tagg, 1966). Due to its commercial Tagg (1982) also differentiates popular music from other kinds such as folk and art. Unlike art music, popular music cannot be simply analysed using traditional musicology such that it is created for distribution to a large group of heterogeneous audience. Popular music is also distinct because it is stored and distributed in non-written form. However, unlike art and folk music, popular music requires a monetary economy in order to create a need to make one. In addition, in a capitalist society, popular music is subject to the laws of ‘free’ enterprise, according to which it should ideally sell as much as possible of as little as possible to as many as possible. Music has been known to function socially in various aspects. People have been using music in games and for dancing; to organize work and war; in ceremonies and rituals; to mark the moments of birth, marriage, and death; to celebrate harvest and coronation; and to articulate religious beliefs and traditional practices. On the other hand, this is not the only way in which music has become useful to the society. Contemporary research has started using music in order to treat social and medical problems such as enhancing children’s learning abilities and influencing behavior. Frith (2003) also quoted Hallam (2001) as it identifies the key points in which music influences an individual. These key points include music as a way to promote relaxation, and relieve anxiety and pain which are deemed beyond medical help. As such, music is promoted the optimization of the use of music in everyday life. Popular music has been associated with the negative aspects of the society that are prevalent among the youth. The kinds of music that each youth group is associated with each group member’s performances and achievements in school. Frith’s (qtd by Richards, 1998) study of the different groups of teenagers illustrate the relationship of the kind of music that a group enjoys to their behaviors as well as to the manners in which each individual within the group conducts himself in his studies. Richards (1998) pointed out the three groups in which Frith (qtd in Richards, 1998) identified. The first one was Alison’s group of friends who value artistic (technically complex and lyrically poetic) kinds of music; attends weekly meetings at the folk club; and at the same time own records that are carefully chosen and listened together. Their lives are those that have a sense of possibility, all preparing for colleges and universities. They are successful at school and at home and never had a problem with the authorities. This group treats music as a way for bopping, relaxing, petting, falling in love, and releasing tension. The second group consists of Craig and friends who are soon to leave school without skill or qualification since they consider school to be irrelevant. Boys are always involved in a fight while girls go for a dance at Mecca. Music is a pervasive part of their lives, in their rooms and clubs, on the jukebox, at the disco… The third group, on the other hand, lies in the middle of these two groups. This group of teenagers is David’s and Peter’s friend who belong to the elite group, committed to academic routine seeing themselves through college. They make sure they are uniquely different from the rest of the masses with the way they dress up in hippies, attitudes and tastes and drugs. Tagg (1966), similarly identified popular music to the sociology of children considering their relationships with the various members of the society surrounding them. According to him, popular music is an instrument in which young people utilize in order to conveniently manifest their emotions that are independent of their parents’. Furthermore, it is simply not a way of expressing emotional independence, but a rebellion against the comfort and shelter of their homes. Attaining emotional independence leads the young generation to be able to conform to the peer group which they wish to assimilate with. This event in a teenager’s life is significant for his social development. Teenagers’ ability to achieve independence from their parents is necessary to obtain social interdependence. They must learn how to act and conform to the social groups’ behavior patterns and mores, otherwise they will be rejection. An individual rejection, on the other hand, is always regarded and taken to be social rather than personal. Such behavior patterns are manifested particularly in the way they dress, talk, manner of spending their leisure, and taste in consumption. As a result, teenagers develop a misunderstanding among their parents for which they sought for independence from them. Parents and children’s relationship is also identified through music preferences. Similarly, gender, education and ethnicity are identified by music preferences (Roe, 1999). Popular Music and Education Recognizing the patterns of researches made on the influence popular music brings to the society, it is important that popular music study must be integrated into the education curriculum. There are various ways in which this situation is necessary. Music, as Firth (2003) has agreed to De Nora’s statement, is not simply a decorative art. It is made out of the influences of cultures and subcultures that surround its maker. Studying music requires an understanding of its ideologies. The key concepts that should be understood of popular music is that it does not exist independently. The word popular itself in the term illustrates its philosophy such that it must be liked by many. Popular music refers to the use and value of music. The ideology of popular music entails considering the entire musical field wherein classical, folk, jazz and other styles from all over the world must be considered. There must be a distinction between the popular and the classical music concerning the study of the former. In order to study popular music, it must possess a superior musical value that must emanate universality, complexity, originality and autonomy. On the other hand, there had been criticisms that popular music does not possess such qualities. Yet there are also those who argued its presence (Green, 2004). It is therefore the role of the education system to deal with these challenges in popular music that has to do with its ideologies. Popular music education can further help in creating new ideologies along with the changing economic and social conditions by encouraging children to create images, expectations and achievement orientations that they observe in their current social situation. Children will then be guided in accepting and taking up the roles that would allow them to adapt to economic and social conditions (Green, 2004). Teachers use popular music in the classroom for various reasons. Informally, they use popular music in order to increase enthusiasm among the students as well as to give an advanced prod to the topic due to the class’s familiarity with music. Popular music also builds personal connections to theories that are taught in the classroom. This way, the theories are perceived to be real because they are linked to the stories that are told by the music (Stephenson, n.d.). Tagg’s (1966) study found a significant relationship between integrating popular music in the secondary education. In a similar situation, he suggested that utilizing popular music in education saves time in explaining the theoretical points such as the elements of ternary form. Pop tunes can be used to study musical intervals. The advantages that are brought by using popular music in education are encouraging. There are, on the other hand, setbacks in using popular music in education. One of which is the poor aesthetic quality of popular music. However, this does not seem significant since the rhythmic and harmonic sophistication is not the one studied. Yet another issue that concerns the use of popular music in education would be its interdependence and ‘with-it-ness.’ (Tagg, 1966). The music that has to be studies must be liked by a majority in order to avoid others from feeling cheated or deceived. Integrating Popular Music in Education Studying popular music in school also requires an appropriate method that is different from studying classical music. Since these two kinds of music have an opposing characteristic which include instruments and the poetic structures, teachers of pop music must recognize the various ways in which it can be taught. In a study conducted by Green (1990), students and teachers offer various reactions with regards to the use of popular music in education or rather the study of popular music itself. Using popular music in the classroom may result in strong evaluation of pop such that it may ultimately be inferior that may be suitable for students who are less motivated in the subject. It helps the teachers eliminate the boredom that students feel especially in studying classical music. Several studies have proved the difference popular music made in the classroom. In teaching reading in the classroom, the use of popular music enhances motivation and abilities of the children. Similarities exist between music and reading such that they both use symbol structure that is capable of being decoded into sounds that have meanings. They are also similar such that the visual and auditory discrimination are required for both with a left-to-right orientation framework (Tucker, 2001 ctd by Eady and Wilson, 2004). Reading pop song lyrics caused the middle school children to participate well in class along with other activities that make children have fun (Cohen-Taylor, 1981 ctd by Eady and Wilson, 2004). When music was also integrated in the social studies and science, the learners’ mean score were relatively higher as compared to sessions where there was none (Brunk, 1981 ctd by Eady and Wilson, 2004). Conclusion Music, being recognized as the universal language, is utilized in various ways in the social culture. One of which music can be used is education. Studies on the use of popular music in education show that it also possesses a characteristic that is distinctly different from classical music. Popular music has developed uniquely with culture for which it has identified to the behavior of the society – its individuals and groups that comprise it. With its affective and medical characteristics, popular music is also found to have educational characteristic that aids in the learning perspectives and outcomes in the classroom. The ideologies of popular music have been relative in the study of culture that is not limited to culture alone. Gender, education, family relationship, and age are relative to the popular music. The youth’s identity is identified through the kind of music that they share among their peers. Studying music therefore studies the cultural and the social behavior of the society. Music, which is universally used to convey a message to its listeners, also speaks of the behavior and thoughts that its composer possesses. Moreover, it allows its listeners to perceive the reality that which they are not able to see yet. The ubiquitous characteristic of popular music makes it suitable for studying as well as for learning. It is necessary to study popular music in education such that its evolution says so much of its sociological capability in influencing the society. References and Works Cited: Eady, I. & Wilson, J. 2004. The Influence of Music on Core Learning. Education. 125. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LJxcv1LMttp3vv8qsfYvzSWD8z Y9lnCSG91ptGpdLvb2dQ8TZG46!-2135534099!58126583?docId=5008813844 on January 9, 2010. Frith, S. 2003. Music and Everyday Life. Clayton, M., Herbert, T., Middleton, R. (Eds.). 2003. The Cultural Study of Music, London: Taylor and Francis. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=p9kJvtC8PCUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+cultural+study+of+music&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false on December 30, 2009. Green, L. 2004. Ideology. (Eds.) Horner, B. and Swiss, T. 1999. Key Terms in Popular Music and Culture, Oxford: Blackwell. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=gY- w68zIQWQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=key+terms+in&cd=2#v=onepage&q=&f=false on December 27, 2009. Green, L. 1999. Ideology. (Eds.) Horner, B. and Swiss, T. (1999) Key Terms in Popular Music and Culture, Oxford: Blackwell. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=gY-w68zIQWQC&dq=popular+music+and+culture+horner&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=g6FLUWF53u&sig=oKw3b37qDdlnmF2gHAXqHxU2Kvk&hl=tl&ei=17lES5SQL47k7AP3-rCpBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false on December 27, 2009. Green, L. 1988. Music on Deaf Ears: Musical Meaning, Ideology and Education, Manchester: University of Manchester Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=oaznAAAAIAAJ&dq=Green,+Music+on+Deaf+Ear s:+Musical+Meaning,+Ideology+and+Education,&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=UNqbIZgGvs&sig=QDAVCgkZT1QctTEJQdjDv-3FS8c&hl=en&ei=ZKDUStLzE6KJ4ga_xqTaDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false on December 27, 2009. Hayes , D. 2004. The Affectivity of Popular Music on Youth Identity in Non-Urban Communities. Retrieved from http://www.culturalstudies.ca/proceedings04/pdfs/hayes.pdf on January 10, 2010. Stephenson, K. n.d. Popular Music in the Theory Classroom. Retrieved from http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/homepage/36106.html December 28, 2009. Richards, C. 1998. Teen Spirits: Music and Identity in Media Education, London: University College London Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=AYvcjqkvYsUC&dq=Teen+Spirits:+Music+and+Identity+in+Media+Education&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=0BsQaUHB43&sig=A5Z1Up2RR3e9HAr8J0a6XVKyqCk&hl=tl&ei=JKVJS82AGIH-6QO4nLzXCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false on December 26, 2009. on December 28, 2009. Roe, K. 1999. Music and Identity Among European Youth. Retrieved from http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/MIE/Part2_chapter03.shtml on December 30, 2009. Tagg, P. 1982. Analysing Popular Music: Theory, Method and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.tagg.org/articles/xpdfs/pm2anal.pdf on December 26, 2009. Tagg, P. 1966. Pop Music as a Possible Medium for Secondary School. Retrieved from http://www.tagg.org/articles/xpdfs/mcr1966.pdf on December 26, 2009. Read More