Music and Identity Project

Between the ages of 11 and 13, I was just beginning to cultivate my identity.  All my years before had been primarily shaped by my parents and community.  I was at the age where I was allowed to start making some decisions for myself.  One of the most important of these decisions was "Who am I?" It was at this age I decided to pick up a guitar and join choir at my school.  I decided that I wanted to be a musician.  

As any middle school student, I grappled with the question "What group do I fit into?"  Music is very diverse and naturally as a novice musician I decided to associate myself with other students who shared a similar taste in music.  

There was the "G" who primarily listened to Gangsta Rap and Hip hop. 

There was the "Skater" who listened to any variation of rock, mostly grunge, punk or metal.  Most importantly, a "Skater's" credibility was primarily gaged by how well they could skate.

There was the Popular Kid or "The Prep" who listened to everything "popular."  The privilege of being a "Prep" was that they were generally accepted by all the other groups with ease, excluding the "Skaters." "Skaters" would only accept a "Prep" if they could skate.

There was the "Smart Kid" who mostly liked anything happy and pleasant.

There was the "Loner" who nobody knew what they could have been listening to.

And of course, the dreaded "Poser" or dork, who couldn't fit into any group and definitely lacked the coordination to skate.  

I was terribly confused and wanted to be apart of every group.  I desperately tried to assert myself into the variety of groups and was often rejected and pushed aside only to be  accused of being a "Poser."  This never made much sense to me and I wondered how musical taste could dictate such negative social habits in school.  On a side note... I tend to believe that being called a "Poser" only spurred my motivation to be a better musician.

My oasis was choir and the music department.  The music department was made up of all different kinds of kids from all of the different groups.  It was here that I was accepted.  I learned how to connect with other students that had different tastes in music and shared the same raw love of MUSIC that I had, despite the silly idea of musical cliques that plagued my school.

This memory helped to inspire this project that I did with the students.  I notice that categorization by musical taste still goes on today.  One of the great things about our students is that everyone seems to get along regardless of musical taste. 

Is it because most of our students are all artists in some shape or form?  

I wanted students to explore the genres of the music they like and see how they compare to their peers in an environment where there is no judgment.

Our students are in a wonderful environment here where they can explore their identity and not be afraid of ridicule. 

But why is music so important to our student's identity?

Nick Jaworski writes in regards to teaching in the 21st century...

"1. The music you listen to is a choice (in some way).

Think of it this way. Elementary school students may like the latest pop idol (Justin Bieber or whatever). More likely than not, those same students will NOT like “The Bieb” in a few years. What explains this? The music has not changed, yet suddenly it’s ability to be enjoyed has?


This is an issue of identity - at some level, we choose the music that we want to be identified with. Do you think it’s a coincidence that people who listen to the same type of music often dress similarly? No. Of course, it’s not. Why do friends often like the same music? It’s because people - in one way or another - see liking (and disliking) certain types of music as an opportunity to fit in with a larger group."

Originally posted on Moving Forward with Music , "Music as Identity"

http://teachingmusic.tumblr.com/post/754039518/music-as-identity


Here is what we did for this project.

Step 1: Each student is to write down their top 10 favorite songs.

Step 2: As a class, each student is to discuss each song with each other and identify the song by one or more of the following genres.

Rock

Hip Hop

Country

Classical

Dance

Indie

Pop

Jazz

Step 3: Compile the total number of songs in each genre out of the entire class's selections.

Step 4: Make a bar graph representing the findings.

And here are the results!

3rd Period Music History

4th Period Music Science

6th Period Band

7th Period Guitar

8th Period Vocals

9th Period Music Appreciation / Percussion

Middle School Music