One of the major challenges for teachers in studying music popular with adolescents is that the meaning of music and the uses of music are constituted by the fact that it has little to do with “school.” Thus, as soon as you import popular music as a topic for study in a school context, you create an interesting paradox. On the one hand, students have a strong interest in studying the topic because they devote much of their time to music. On the other hand, they may resist studying something they associate with their non-school life.

A second challenge is that students usually know far more about current, popular music than you do as a teacher, who may not share the same tastes or genre interests of his or her students.

However, music certainly is a school subject, and could certainly be studied if, given students’ expertise and interest, teachers are willing to let students assume responsibility in co-teaching the a number of different topics related popular music as a media. By having students assume responsibility for teaching, you are tapping into their expertise in music and not having to pretend that you are an expert on topics in which students generally have more knowledge than yourself. It is also the case that the meaning of popular music for many students is that you as an adult may not be expected to have experience or even prefer the types of music preferred by adolescents.

Students could share or write about their own listening experiences, describing reasons for those experiences in terms of genres, tastes, preferences, quality, performance, and influences of the music industry/radio on their music experiences.

Teen Music Webquest

As with the other media, you also want students to be able to analyze and judge the quality of specific aspects of music in terms of lyrics, harmony, recording quality, and performance consistent with the norms operating for certain genres or historical periods.

Another purpose for studying music is to understand its relationship to larger historical and cultural forces and how it functions to influence historical or cultural events. For example, rock music during the 1960s played a role in defining the new adolescent counter-culture movement that challenged traditional American values.

Click here for a lesson on the function of music in society.

Webquest: Patriotism and Protest: A Webquest on the Music of the Vietnam Era

Another purpose for studying music is that is a strongly related to adolescent identity construction. Since the 1950s, popular music, particularly rock music, has served to define adolescents’ identities in terms of their using music as a tool for adopting certain styles, modes of dress, ideological stances, language use, and ways of socializing with peers. Adolescents adopt certain preferred musicians or songs as a means of defining their particular attitudes or tastes related to their identities.

Adrian North and David Hargreaves (1999) examined the relationship between music and adolescent identity and found that adolescents use musical preferences as a “badge” for defining their identities and judging their peers’ identities.

Studies 1 and 2 indicated that older and younger adolescents respectively hold normative expectations about the values and characteristics of fans of particular musical styles. Study 3 showed that 13-14 and 18-19 year olds hold normative expectations which influence their perception of the likely social consequences (e.g. having fewer friends) of being a fan of particular musical styles. The final study investigated hypotheses generated by the results of Studies 1-3. It demonstrated a positive relationship between adolescents' musical preference, self-concept, self-esteem, and normative expectations of the 'typical' fans of musical styles. This study also indicated that adolescents favour people who like the same musical style as they do, without necessarily denigrating those who do not. In conjunction, these studies provide empirical support for the notion that musical preference acts as a 'badge of identity' during adolescence which predicts several other aspects of lifestyle and attitude.

For further reading on adolescent identities and music:

Gracyk, T. (2001). I wanna be me: Rock music and the politics of identity. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

MacDonald, R., Hargreaves, D., & Miell, D. (2002). Musical identities. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mallen, K., & Pearce, S. (2003). Youth cultures : Texts, images, and identities. New York: Praeger.

McCarthy, C., Hudak, G., Miklaucic, S., & Saukko, P. (Eds.). (1999). Sound identities: Popular music and the cultural politics of education. New York: Peter Lang.

Meadows, E. (2003). Bebop to cool: Context, ideology, and musical identity. New York: Greenhaven.

Scott, D. (2003). Perspectives on ideology, identity, and musical style. New York: Oxford University Press.

Young, R. (Ed.). (2002). Music, popular culture, identities. New York: Rodopi.

Module 9: Word document

The Value of Studying Popular Music

Purposes for Studying Popular Music as Media

Development of Recorded Popular Music

Different Music Genres

Rock

Jazz

Soul/Motown

Blues

Hip Hop/Rap

Punk

Folk

Country

Cajun/Zydeco

The Music of Protest

Music Videos

Film Music

The Economics of the Popular Music Industry

Studying Radio

Teaching Activity

References