Minor Key ≠ Sad?

I'm always looking for topics to cover in my general music class that are relevant to both my musical ensemble and non-ensemble kids. Regardless of whether or not a student studies an instrument outside of the general music classroom, I want them to feel that they are on equal footing with their classmates and that they can be successful. Over the years I've done history or rock and jazz units, we've built our own instruments, and I've even done a unit on music sharing and copyright policy. 

One of the most successful units I've found for equally reaching all my students is a Music and Emotion Unit. In the unit where we look at the ways music is used in media (film, television, video games, online) to help tell stories and heighten emotions.

The typical, minor chords are sad/major chords are happy, is something our students have been introduced to in elementary school, but I feel that statement definitely over simplifies the reasons why music effects emotion. There are several contemporary "upbeat" pop songs like Pharrell William's Happy, Lady Gaga's Just Dance, and LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem that are all written in a minor key.  So what makes happy music happy? What makes sad music sad?  A lot of research has been done on the topic, and the two videos below give contrasting reasons for how/why music affects emotion. Both come courtesy of a series of videos produced by PBS specifically for their online audience. The first is from the IDEA Channel, which is hosted by Mike Rugnetta.

If you've never watched an IDEA Channel video before, I must warn you, Mike is a fast talker. That being said, I think the videos have a certain appeal to the average middle schooler. They are fast paced with tons of images, and animated gifs pulled from pop culture. As my classes watched the video, I paused it several times, just to make sure my kids were keeping up, and also to explain some of the more advanced terminology Mr. Rugnetta was using. As one girl put it "I really like the video, he was funny. But I'm glad you kept stopping cause I didn't understand a thing he was saying." Hmmm... I guess being funny is more important than understandable.

IS SAD MUSIC REALLY SAD? - IDEA CHANNEL


The second video is the one from It's Okay to be Smart that Mike Rugnetta references in the first video.  It's Okay to be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, who delivers his message in a more traditional educational style than Mr. Rugnetta (those maybe not as funny). He's very clear with his explanation of why some scientists think music moves us, and it provides a nice counter argument to the IDEA Channel video.

WHY MUSIC MOVES US - IT'S OKAY TO BE SMART


I'd love to hear some of the response your students have to these videos. What do they think? Are we born to recognize the emotional aspect of music, or are we trained?

So, you don't listen to music?

I'll often give students interest surveys at the beginning of the marking period, and one of the questions I'd ask was "What kind of music do you listen to?" Most students would respond with names of bands, or genres they liked, but every once in a while I'd get a kid who would write "I don't listen to music."  Obviously, not the best way to start off a new marking period of grade general music. Of course, I'd always do my best to turn it into a good conversation starter.

Me:  So you don't listen to music?
Student: No, not really.
Me: Do you watch tv?
Student: Yeah...
Me: Play video games?
Student: Yeah...
Me: Go to movies?
Student: Uh, sure... 

...I'm sure you see where this is going. 

After a few years of these conversations with students, I got to thinking; regardless of whether or not our students are die hard music fans, they are surrounded by media that incorporates music in one form or another. So if any one subject is going to be included in a general music class, I figured why not a unit on Music and Emotion. In the unit, we take a look at how marketers and media producers use music to help tell stories, to help sell products, and to form bonds with their target audiences.

As an introduction to the unit, I show the students various movie trailers and videos. We talk about what kind of audience the people who put the video together are going for and how the musical decisions are affected by the target audience. 

One of my favorite examples of the use of music to reach specific audiences can be seen in these two variations of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland Trailer.

Alice - Trailer #1


Alice - Trailer #2


After watching the two trailers, we talk about which one was probably shown before a PIXAR movie, and which was shown before the newest Action/Adventure super hero film. Along with lighting and pacing, how did the music used help determine the target audience?

Another great intro video is this IKEA lamp commercial directed by none other than Spike Jonze.

It's obvious, Jonze knows how to use music and lighting to play with our emotions.

One of the best discussions I've ever had about the argument of nature v. nurture in determining how/why music impacts us, was after I showed this recent YouTube meme...

Why is the boy crying? Did he recently go through a break-up? Did he have a rough morning? Did he get in an argument with his mother before getting in the car with his dad? 

I usually don't give homework in general music, but after the introductory lesson for the Music and Emotion Unit, I charge the kids with paying particular attention to the music that is used in the media they watch and the games they play, and how it impacts their emotions.  

In the next blog, I'll go into detail about how the students use GarageBand to create their own soundtracks and tell their own stories.

Middle School General Music - The Dilemma

I teach at a middle school where we are fortunate to have excellent participation in, and support for, our performance ensembles. With separate 6th, 7th, and 8th grade chorus, band and orchestras, it's easy to see the progression in skill development at concerts, from the time the students enter middle school to the time they move on to the high school.

I have found it a lot more difficult, however, to measure the growth in skills from our students who participate only in the General Music program. As someone who's been teaching middle school music for over 10 years this has always been something of a conundrum. 

So, I'm constantly asking myself, "What is the point of my general music curriculum?" What life long skills am I hoping to instill in my students if they're not involved in performance? Is it necessary that they learn to read notes and rhythms if they're not progressing on an instrument? 

As I attempt to answer these questions, there are several factors specific to the General Music curriculum at our school that I have to consider: 

Middle School rotating encore (special area) schedule:
All 6th and 8th grade students take 10 weeks of general music and our 7th graders take 20 weeks. (I shouldn't say all, because many student who require AIS services will miss out altogether on General Music and other encore classes.) We're on 4 day rotating block schedule, so I get to see my general music classes every other day for 50 minute periods. This means any student who has general music in 6th grade during the 4th marking period hasn't had general music since the end of elementary school... almost a full academic year. Similarly a student who gets general music in the 1st marking period of 6th grade, may not get General Music again, till 2nd semester of 7th grade. Most of these students lose any skills they acquired in the previous general music class, so we spend a lot of time reviewing old material. 

Variety of skill levels the students have coming into General Music:  
Because our instrumental/chorus students also participate in General Music I always have students who have been practicing reading music for the last 2 to 4 years in the same class as student who have never performed in a music ensemble. (I'm aware that this is not the case in many school districts where students who participate in music ensembles do not take General Music, and I feel fortunate to have this set-up than the alternative.)

No general music alternatives for students in 9th grade:
Our district has a 9th grade academy that students go to after middle school, and other than performance ensembles, there are no music offerings. At the high school there is a "Piano in our Lives" class, a "World Music" class and some music theory classes, but if a student isn't involved in performance ensembles, the 9th grade academy pretty much acts as a stopper for music education.

I tell my students at the beginning of every marking period, that it is my goal to instill in them an appreciation and excitement for music. I haven't found the perfect way to do this, and I don't expect this blog to provide specific answers to these questions, but hopefully it'll start a dialogue. I plan on sharing some of the things I'm doing in an attempt to peak my students' musical curiosity, and hopefully hearing some ideas from other teachers on what they're doing to spark there students musical interest.