What types of music do you enjoy listening to? How do your tastes shape what you enjoy playing or how you teach? Why do you enjoy particular stylesof music? Read on for my thoughts!
Summer often gives us space to relax and enjoy our hobbies. I know as a professional musician, it can be difficult to find the time during the school year. I’ve had discussions with other teachers and music students regarding the fact that many musicians don’t listen to much music outside of what they are working on. Sometimes, it can be difficult not to feel oversaturated with music! For myself, summer has been a time to get back to actually listening to music which has been lots of fun. It’s also caused me to think more about why I enjoy the types of music I do and how I can incorporate that into what I perform and how I teach.
One of the greatest gifts I’ve been given as a teacher has been working with students who come from backgrounds that are completely different than my own. Many listen to/sing/play music that is completely new to me and I love learning about it from them. I recently took a graduate class all about American popular music and it was quite eye-opening to learn about the origins of much of the music that plays on the radio, in coffee shops, and so on. Trends, tastes, and cultures change overtime, but the importance of music (especially to young people) does not. Through the years, young people have used music as an avenue of social change, self expression, and so on. This hasn’t changed, and I think it’s especially important for us as educators to be aware of how essential non-classical music can be to young folks.
In academic circles, there has historically been an air of pretentiousness surrounding music deemed “less prestigious” than the likes of Mozart, Beethoven, and so on. In current years, this has been shifting especially in the collegiate realm as those in power begin to question why we select certain genres as more important than others. That is a deep hole to go down, and I will not be attempting that in this post! However, suffice it to say that popular music is garnering more attention in academic fields as we consider the social, cultural, environmental, philosophical and anthropological factors that combine to generate our own tastes in music and what we value as important.
As a teacher, I want to cater my lessons to the students who are learning from me. I’ve been thinking a great deal this summer about my own tastes, where they come from, and how they shape my musical expression. As I’ve mentioned in past posts, I think it’s essential that we teachers do a similar form of investigation into our own students. What have they been listening to this summer? What genres are their favorite to sing along to? Why do they enjoy those particular types of music? When classroom teaching, I would always take a survey of my middle school and upper elementary students on the first day of class regarding their favorite songs/artists/bands. Then, I’ve select songs from a list I’d compile of those songs to play as they came to class each day. The excitement that would build as kids realized “this is MY song” was really rewarding, and helped me to engage with them on a deeper level. Of course, we want to teach our students musical literacy and how to sing and play their instruments. But, we also want to foster a love and appreciation for music in our students. Something else I noticed when playing music that my students enjoyed was the joy they took in sharing their music with each other. As I’ve already said here, the type of music we like is an expression of who we are as people. The music we grew up listening to, songs that played at weddings, funerals, important moments in our life, the soundtrack of our teenage or adolescent years…these are powerful things. Sharing our favorite tunes with each other gives them a glimpse into who we are, and allows permission for others to do the same.
As we get ready to go back to school, I hope you have time to rest, relax, and listen to some of your favorite songs. Though music is a job for many of us, I think it’s important we still find ways to keep it fun. Happy listening!
—Charissa Garrigus, Instructor at Vibe Music Academy
