Functions of popular music in the lives of adolescents

This study determines that a specified group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfill Frith's functions of popular music; (a) to create a type of self-definition; (b) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives; (c) to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience; and (d) to provide a sense of musical ownership, according to those same adolescents' own writings and a survey on that topic. Sophomores from a high school in the Salt Lake Valley were given an assignment that included a one-page essay describing what functions their favorite song performs in their life, and a survey based on Frith's "Functions of Popular Music." The data collected from that assignment were analyzed using a deductive approach described by Mark Abrahamson to determine whether the functions that the students ascribed to their songs matched Frith's functions.

THE FUNCTIONS OF POPULAR MUSIC PN THE LIVES OF ADOLESCENTS Isaac Lamont Bickmore The University of Utah fulfillment of the Master of Music in Music Education School of Music The University of Utah May 2010 IN by A thesis submitted to the faculty of in partial fulfi llment requirements for the degree of In Copyright © Isaac Lamont Bickmore 2010 All Rights Reserved THE U N I V E R S I T Y OF UTAH GRADUATE SCHOOL SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE APPROVAL Isaac Lamont Bickmore This thesis has been read each member of the following supervisory committee and John Brackett \j J UN VERS I TY UTA H SC H OOL of a thesis submitted by bas by fo llowing by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. , Chat : Ie Llcn r J THE U N I V E R S I T Y OF UTAH GRADUATE SCHOOL APPROVAL To the Graduate Council of the University of Utah: I Isaac Lamont Bickmore and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographic style are consistent and acceptable; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the supervisory committee and is ready for submission to The Graduate School. c 2 - 10 -cZ-O/d Date Lien lair: Supervisory Committee Approved for the Major Department Robert Walzel Chair/Dean Approved for the Graduate Council Charles A: Wight Dean of The Graduate School UN VERS ITY UTA H SCHOOL FINAL READING APPROVAL 1 have read the thesis of Isaac Lamont Bickmore in its final form tbat fonnat, arc and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the supervisory committee and is ready for submission to The Graduate School. ChairlDean Approved for the Graduate Council Arwigbt This study determines that a specified group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfill Frith's functions of popular music; (a) to create a type of self-definition; (b) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives; (c) to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience; and (d) to provide a sense of musical ownership, according to those same adolescents' own writings and a survey on that topic. Sophomores from a high school in the Salt Lake Valley were given an assignment that included a one-page essay describing what functions their favorite song performs in their life, and a survey based on Frith's "Functions of Popular Music." The data collected from that assignment were analyzed using a deductive approach described by Mark Abrahamson to determine whether the functions that the students ascribed to their songs matched Frith's functions. ABSTRACT fu lfill lype memory. Cd) "Functions ofPopuiar Music." The data collected from that ass igrunent were analyzed using a deductive approach described by Mark Abrahamson to determine whether the functions that the students ascribed to their songs matched Frith's functions. DDeeddiiccaatteedd ttoo LLeesslleeyy,, WWiillll,, MMoomm,, aanndd DDaadd TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iv I INTRODUCTION 1 Justification Study 1 Purpose of the Study 2 II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 4 Summary 13 III METHOD 14 Pilot Studies 14 Procedure for Actual Study 16 IV ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Survey 22 The Essay 31 Summary 44 V SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND APPLICATIONS OF POPULAR MUSIC IN THE CLASSROOM 45 Summary 45 Discussion 49 Conclusions 54 Recommendations for Further Research 55 Applications of Popular Music in the Classroom 59 ABSTRACT. ..... .......... ..•.. ...... .•... ... .••.... ... ........... .•• .... ... .......... .. .. . IV CHAPTER ................................... .... .......... ....... .... .. Justifi cation of the Study............... ... .................. ... ............ I Purpose orthe Study....... .................................. ... ............ 2 II REVIEW OF LITERATURE...... ........ ........ .. ........ .... ...... ........ 4 Summary ....................... " .,..... .. . ••...... .. .•.... ... .• ••... ... ...•.. 13 II I METHOD............... ........ .......... .. ............... ....................... 14 Pilot Studies .. ... ........................ ... ......... , ....... .. .... .... .. .. ... 14 Procedure for Actual Study ... ... .. _. _............................ .•......... 16 IV ANALYSIS AND RESULTS............. .............. ..... .......... ......... 22 Survey............................. .. ... ..... ..................... ..... ... ...... 22 The Essay...... ..................... .. . ........ ... ....... .................. ..... 31 Sum.mary........................ ............................................... 44 V SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND APPLICATIONS OF POPULAR MUSIC IN THE CLASSROOM............................................... ......... 45 Sunlmary...................... .. ...... ... ... ......... . ........ .•......... .... ... . ..... ... ... ... ... ....... ..... ... ... ... ... ... . .. . ... .. ... ... ... ... .... Conclusions......................................... ...... ........... ....... .... Research... ..... .... ... ... ..... ....... ...... Classroom.. ............. ......... APPENDIX A ESSAY TEMPLATE B FIRST SURVEY TEMPLATE 64 C FINAL ESSAY TEMPLATE 67 SURVEY E THE FINAL SCRIPT 72 F ANALYZED ESSAY 74 REFERENCES vii APPENDIX A ESSAY TEMPLATE................. ........ ........... .. ....... ............ .... 62 TEMPLATE.... .......... .......... .......... ......... ....... ESSA Y TEMPLATE.. ...... .. ..... .... ........ .. .... .... .. ........ ..... D FINAL SURVEy............... .......... .. ........... .......... ........... .. ..... 69 FIN A L SCRIPT.. .. ..... .. .... ... ........... .. .. ...... .. .. .. ... ...... .. ...... ESSAy.. ........ . .. ........... ........ ........ .. ... ...... ........... REFERENCES... ..... .. ....... . ... ... ... ... .. ... ... .... ... ... ....... ........ ... ... ....... ....... 76 Vll CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Justification of the Study The Music Educators National Conference declared in 1969 that: "Music education must encompass all music" (Housewright, Sarig, MacCluskey, & Hughes, 1969, p.45). In the spirit of that declaration, and because I have found popular music enriching, educational, and transformative in my life, I wanted to examine the functions of popular music in the lives of adolescents. The reason that I chose to do this study with a group of adolescents is because I am a music teacher and I work with adolescents. As a music educator of adolescents, it is important to understand what my students listen to, why they listen to it, and, in the case of this study, how that music functions in their lives. Bucholtz (2002) delves into youth culture from an anthropological standpoint. She challenges the approach of treating adolescence as a life stage only in the context of preparing youth for adulthood. She presents evidence supporting the idea that adolescence does function as a culture, independent in some ways from the culture of adulthood. She discusses how popular music is one piece of evidence to support that idea. Frith (1983) writes about the sociology of youth and popular music in a primarily British context. His book is as much a discussion about youth and teenagers as it is a discussion about popular music. Rock and roll and its many branches, including hip-hop, 4S). trans formative functions adolcscents 2 rap, punk rock, grunge, metal, and many others have generally always been considered as music for teenagers. Simon Friths's study (1987) is an important piece of research about the function of popular music, including how it functions in society as a whole and in specific groups. Frith (1987) identifies, and provides supporting evidence for, four sociological functions of popular music: (a) to create a type of self-definition; (b) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives; (c) to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience; and (d) to provide a sense of musical ownership. Frith writes about youth in relation to popular music culture and in relation to how music functions in society, but he does not discuss how these functions are fulfilled in the lives of adolescents specifically in this document. The analysis of the data collected from this assignment proceeded using a deductive approach described by Mark Abrahamson (1981) to determine whether the functions that the students ascribed to their favorite songs matched Frith's (1987) functions. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the present study was to verify whether Frith's four sociological functions of popular music do in fact hold true in the lives of a specific group of adolescents. Participants wrote a one-page essay about their favorite song and then completed a survey based on Frith's four sociological functions of popular music. Some participants divulged information in their writing that implied that their favorite songs do function according to Frith's functions. The survey provides information that punk: Friths' s functions 3 demonstrates that the participants' favorite songs do function according to Frith's four functions at varying levels. Frith 's funct ions vary ing CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE There are many studies about the functions of music. These studies regarding both the sociological and psychological functions of music have been as specific as researching how music functions in the setting of the Civil Rights Movement and as general as re-answering the question "What psychological functions does music serve in everyday life?" North (1999) sets out to re-answer that question. He states: The research findings lead us to conclude that the social functions of music are manifested in three principal ways for the individual, namely in the management of self-identity, interpersonal relationships and mood. This leads us to propose a new agenda for music psychology which places the social dimension at its core, and which considers the interdisciplinary context; the effects of the 'democratization' of music; the role of theory the relationship between theory and practice; and the implications for research methodology, (p.84) Other scholars have done studies that examine the functions of music, including popular music, in many different settings. There are, for example, scholars who have examined the functions of music in the genre of film (Vitouch, 2001). The purpose of his study was to "investigate experimentally music context effects on perceivers' plot related expectation due to different types of film music" (p.70). He specifically tried not to use stereotyped stimuli. In other words, he did not use music that people would normally associate with certain feelings or actions. In Vitouch's (2001) study, 48 participants were presented with one of two music versions (original v. fake score) of the visually identical film sequence. They then wrote brief continuations of the plot, which were subsequently methodology. 5 analyzed using quantitative and qualitative content analysis, with the focus on emotional content. The results of the study indicated that "viewers'/listeners' anticipations about the further development of a sequence are systematically influenced by the underlying film music, which implicitly co-determines the psychological reality of the scene" (p.70). Lapedis (1999) studied the function and effect of popular music in cinema. In this study she examines the soundtracks of three films and how popular music functions in the particular context of each film. She argues that the "Three-minute culture of Rock and Pop" (p.368) has affected the narrative structure of mainstream cinema. Her study is important, because it discusses the functionality of popular music, and popular music song lyrics in the context of film. Rosenthal (2001) and Rose (2007) both present studies that have to do with the function of music in the context of socio-political movements such as the civil rights movement. Rose (2007) specifically discusses how music functioned in the civil rights movement. Rose bases her examination on the 10 functions of music as described by Merriam (1964). Rose concludes that Merriam's functions held true in the lives of the Freedom Singers. Rosenthal discusses how music functions within any movement. He specifically discusses the functions of popular music as "movement music" and concludes that popular music has properties that lend themselves to mobilizing people. He further concludes that in certain instances "movement music" can "help educate, recruit, and/or mobilize those not already committed to struggle" (p.l 1). Pieslak (2009) examines the function of popular music, particularly rap and metal, in the lives of soldiers in the Iraq war. Many personal accounts are given of how music is used by soldiers in different ways. Pieslak describes in detail how music plays a part in viewers' /200 I) ll). 6 the every-day life of a soldier. He describes the use of technology as a factor in how music plays a bigger role now in the life of a soldier than it has in previous wars. Pieslak's (2009) work is a descriptive account rather than a study but the information in his work is valuable to this study because of the personal accounts of soldiers that describe how music functions in their lives. Many of the soldiers' accounts imply that Frith's four sociological functions hold true in their lives. Cooper (1996) examines the sociological functions of popular love songs whose themes were epistolary in nature, or relating to or denoting the writing of letters, during a time of forced separation for many couples, the Second World War. Cooper concludes that the epistolary form became a standard form for popular music in this era and that it was calculatedly marketed to a willing population who wanted songs that sounded like letters from home. People adopted the songs for themselves and used lyrics from them for their own letters to loved ones. These songs helped to enhance many couples' long distance relationships. McLeod (2006) writes about how "gay anthems" by well-known homosexual artists function in the context of sporting events. McLeod concludes that "gay anthems" "have thus been successfully co-opted to serve traditional heterosexual masculine leisure" (p.543) He also concludes that rock music can function in ways that it was not intended to function. Popular music songs can be and have been adopted by groups or individuals for reasons other than the reasons that artists had for writing the song. One famous example of this is Charles Manson's use of the Beatles song Helter Skelter. Manson claimed that this song and other songs from the White Album were part of an apocalyptic prophecy. Paul McCartney has said that the song was written in response to a review of Frith's four sociological functions hold true in their lives. 7 the Who's song I Can See for Miles and is an attempt to out-do that song in loudness specifically using tape echo. The Beatles never claimed to write any prophecies, apocalyptic or otherwise. Scholars have examined the relationship of words and music and the function that words add to the music in which they are placed. Fornas (2003) examines the relationship of words and music in the realm of popular music in particular. He examines nonsense lyrics, grunts, aural poetry, spoken lyrics, and vocalization. He discusses how words can take on different functions when they are sung or presented in the context of music. He also discusses how words are particularly important to the function of popular music. He mentions that when people listen to popular music they do not divorce the lyrics from the music but they hear it as a whole. Because the present study deals with the functions of popular music in the lives of adolescents, a review of some of the important literature that presents research about adolescence was needed. Adolescence has been studied by many anthropologists as nothing but a transitional stage between youth and adulthood, saying nothing about the contributions of adolescence to culture and how adolescence functions in many ways outside of the framework of adulthood. Bucholtz (2002) delves into youth culture from an anthropological standpoint. She challenges the approach of treating adolescence as a life stage only in the context of preparing youth for adulthood. She presents evidence supporting the idea that adolescence does function as a culture independent in some ways from the culture of adulthood. She discusses how popular music is one piece of evidence to support that idea. also discusses how words are particularly important to the function of popular music. He mentions that when people listen to popular music they do not divorce the lyrics from the music but they hear it as a whole. 8 There are several studies about musical taste. Johnstone and Katz (1957) examine musical taste among teenaged girls. The study deals with preference in popular music within the context of group identity and geographic location in South Side Chicago. The fieldwork was conducted during the winter and spring of 1954-55 using questionnaires completed by eight clubs of teenage girls. The questions covered the following: (a) relative interest in various types of music; (b) preferences in songs in the then-current 'Hit Parade;' (c) preferences in disk jockeys; (d) preferences in particular kinds of popular songs; (e) sociometric choices of best friends; and (f) dating. This study is important, because it outlines the functions of popular music in the lives of adolescent girls by finding out their preferences through studying their relationships to place and to other people. Johnstone and Katz's study is similar to the present study, because it involves using participants' writing about songs that they prefer, or songs that they consider to be their favorite songs. The fact that the songs that the participants of Johnstone and Katz's study chose reflect place and peer group speaks to the validity of Frith's functions, particularly the second which is "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives" and the first which is "to create a type of self-definition." Bradley (2005) presents a series of a teenage girl's journal entries from the year that Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. She writes about how she would not come to school if not for her choir class. She discusses the subversive teaching tactics of her choir teacher who teaches using patriotic Russian hymns and civil rights folk songs. She also writes about the function of choral music in her teenaged life. She tells about how the music she learns in class and the discussion about that music help her (a) to create a type completed by eight clubs of teenage girls. The questions covered the following: (a) relative interest in various types of music; (b) preferences in songs in the then-currcnt 'Hit Parade;' (c) preferences in disk jockeys; (d) preferences in particular kinds of popular songs; (e) sociometric choices of best friends; and (I) dating. This study is important, because it outlines the functions of popular music in the lives of adolescent girls by finding out their preferences through studying their relationships to place and to other people. Johnstone and Katz's study is similar to the present study, because it involves using participants' writing about songs that they prefer, or songs that they consider to be their favorite songs. The fact that the songs that the participants of Johnstone and Katz's study chose reflect place and peer group speaks to the validity of Frith's functions, particularly the second which is "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives" and the first which is "to create a type of self-definition." 9 of self-definition; (b) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives; (c) to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience; and (d) to provide a sense of musical ownership, which are Frith's (1987) functions of popular music. Although she does not write directly about these functions, she uses language that implies that the music in her life fulfills these functions. Campbell, Connell, and Beegle (2007) "aimed to determine the significance of music and music education to middle and high school adolescents, including those enrolled and not enrolled in school music programs" (p.220). The main method for this study was analysis of essays, statements, and reflections in response to a national essay contest. Analysis was undertaken using an inductive approach to analyze content through the triangulation of interpretations by the investigators. They were able to identify five principal themes through this process within the expressed meanings of music by adolescents: (a) identity formation in and through music; (b) emotional benefits; (c) music's life benefits, including character-building and life skills; (d) social benefits; and (e) positive and negative impressions of school music programs and their teachers. This study is important because the authors provide an example of content analysis of the writings of adolescents. It is also important because they write about how music functions in the lives of adolescents. Frith (1983) writes about the sociology of youth and popular music in a primarily British context. He discusses the way different musics seem to attract different groups. Teenager and youth culture are two terms that are key to Frith's discussion about the sociology of youth and popular music. "These different terms partly reflect different fulfills these functions. different 10 historical moments, partly different concerns, and they often overlap" (p. 181). Frith explains that the term "teenager" is a 1950s concept, and that "youth" and "youth culture" are terms from the 1960s. The term "teenager" refers mostly to the working-class young, the way that Frith uses it, and that the term "youth" suggests the insignificance of class distinctions at this age, but is usually and implicitly applied to the middle-class young as it is used in his work. Frith examines both of these terms, teenager and youth, in the context of popular music particularly in the period from 1950 to 1970. Other topics he discusses are youth and production, youth and music, the use of music, music and class, the sociology of taste, subcultures, and girls and youth culture. All of these topics are discussed in a section of Frith's book called "Rock Consumption." Frith consistently focuses on the ways in which popular music functions in the lives of youth in this book. However, he does not outline or identify a set of sociological functions of popular music in this work. Frith (1987) identifies four sociological functions of popular music: (a) to create a type of self-definition; (b) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives; (c) to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience; and (d) to provide a sense of musical ownership. Frith (1987) discusses in detail how each of these functions might work in the lives of real people. He gives examples of what he means in each case. Frith writes about his first function, or, to create a type of self-definition; "The pleasure that pop music produces is a pleasure of identification - with the music we like, with the performers of that music, with the other people who like it" (p. 140). Frith also mentions that "the production of identity is also a production of nonidentity - it is a process of inclusion and exclusion" young as it is used in his work. Frith examines both of these terms, teenager and youth, in the context of popular music particularly in the period from 1950 to 1970. Other topics he discusses are youth and production, youth and music, the use of music, music and class, the sociology of taste, subcultures, and girls and youth culture. All of these topics are discussed in a section of Frith's book called "Rock Consumption." Frith consistently focuses on the ways in which popular music functions in the lives of youth in this book. However, he does not outline or identify a set of sociological functions of popular music in this work. ofself-dcfinition; 11 (p. 140). Frith explains his second function, or, to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives. Love songs are a way of giving emotional intensity to the sorts of intimate things we say to each other (and to ourselves) in words that are, in themselves, quite flat. It is a peculiarity of everyday language that our most fraught and revealing declarations of feeling have to use phrases - T love/hate you', 'Help me!', 'I'm angry/scared' - which are boring and banal; and so our culture has a supply of a million pop songs, which say these things for us in numerous interesting and involving ways. These songs do not replace our conversations - pop singers do not do our courting for us - but they make our feelings seem richer and more convincing than we can make them appear in our own words, even to ourselves, (p. 141) Frith clarifies his third function. The third function of popular music is to shape popular memory, to organize our sense of time. Clearly one of the effects of all music, not just pop, is to intensify our experience of the present. One measure of good music, to put it another way, is, precisely, its 'presence', its ability to 'stop' time, to make us feel we are living within the moment, with no memory or anxiety about what has come before, what will come after, (p. 140) Frith also explains that this function has much to do with youth and how music does more than just "trigger associated memories, but, rather, that music in itself provides our most vivid experience of time passing." Frith gives an explanation of how youth is experienced. "Youth is experienced, that is, as an intense presence, through an impatience for time to pass and a regret that it is doing so, in a series of speeding, physically insistent moments that have nostalgia coded into them." (p. 140) Frith explains that he learned of his fourth function through his work as a rock critic. He describes that through receiving abusive mail from fans of popular musicians of whom he has given unfavorable reviews, he realized that people did not just like the groups they listened to, they owned them. They did not own them in the sense that they 'I which ourselves. 14l) function. after. 12 had purchased the album but as Frith explains; "it is not just the record that people think they own: we feel that we also possess the song itself, the particular performance, and its performer. In 'possessing' music, we make it part of our own identity and build it into our sense of ourselves" (p. 142). The purpose of this study was to examine whether a certain group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfill Frith's functions of popular music according to those same adolescents' own writings and a survey on that topic. So many adolescents listen to popular music. Many scholars such as Frith (1987) believe that popular music is worthy of study. Additionally, the Music Educators National Conference declared in 1969 that: "Music education must encompass all music" (Housewright, Sarig, MacCluskey, & Hughes, 1969, p.45). Because of these facts it seems important that educators know about how popular music functions in the lives of their students. Although most of the reviewed literature has been instrumental in devising the method of research in the present study, the work of Abrahamson served exclusively as a guide for the methodology therein. Abrahamson (1983) states, "If we begin with a theory that we wish to test empirically, we will proceed in a deductive manner-from the more general or abstract to the more specific or concrete"(p.l46). He describes the difference between induction and deduction and gives examples of both. The framework that he lays out is the basis for the way the meaning is drawn from the data in this study using the deductive approach. Figure 1 describes the process in which one can either deduce or induce value from a given set of data. MacCluskcy, pAS). manner-146). difference Propositions from a Theory i Operational Definitions of Concepts i Assignment of Values to Individual Cases ( | Deductive Path, f = Inductive Path) Abrahamoff (1983) Figure 1. Chains of Thought Summary Research has been done regarding the functions of popular music as well as the functions of music in general (Frith, 1983; Frith, 1987; North, 1999). Others have music functions settings 1983; 2001; Vitouch, 2001). Research has been done regarding the culture of youth (Bucholtz, 2002). al., literature al., & Frith's specific j t Definition s j t j t ~ I. 13 Resea rch has been done regarding the funct ions of popular music as well as the funct ions of music in general (Fri th, 1983; Frith, \987; North, 1999). Others have researched how mllsic functio ns in specific se ttings (Campbell, Connell, & Beegle, 2007; Cooper, 1996; Frith, 1983 ; Lapedis, 1999; Pieslak, 2009; Rose, 2007; Rosenthal, 200 1; VitOllch, 200 1). Research has been done regarding the culture of youth (Bucholtz, 2002). Others have examined popular music as a part of the culture of youth (Campbell, et a I., 2007; Frith, 1983; Johnstone & Katz, 1957). Though the relevant li terature examines both the sociological functions of popular music (Frith, 1987) and youth culture (Bucholtz, 2002), even how popular music is an element of youth culture (Campbell, et aI., 2007; Frith, 1983; Johnstone & Katz, 1957), the present study examines Frith 's functions of popular music in the lives of a specifi c group of adolescents. CHAPTER METHOD Pilot Studies Two pilot studies provided important information for the present study. The first pilot study occurred in the fall of 2007. All students enrolled in a choral class at a high school in the Salt Lake Valley completed an essay about why their favorite song is their favorite. Using a qualitative analysis process, Abrahamson (1983), I compared the students' writings and Frith's (1987) functions. The qualitative analysis consisted of reading the essays and circling and underlining key words and phrases that matched III Two pilot studies provided important information for the present study. The first pilot study occurred in the fall of 2007. All students emolled in a choral class at a high school in the Salt Lake Valley completed an essay about why their favorite song is their favorite. Using a qualitative analysis process, Abrahamson (1983), I compared the students' writings and Frith's (1987) functions. The qualitative analysis consisted of reading the essays and circling and underlining key words and phrases that matched Frith's functions. This approach produced data that did not answer the question of the study: Do a certain group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfill Frith's functions of popular music? Because the only data consisted of essays that answered the question, "Why is your favorite song your favorite song?" This approach produced no concrete evidence as to how the songs actually functioned in the lives of the participants. The essay part of this pilot study would have been very useful if it had been coupled with more conclusive data that answered the question posed above. An added survey in the second pilot study provided more conclusive data. The participating teacher for the second pilot study received the following explanation about the expectations for the participants: that the students would be writing a one page handwritten essay and a survey about their favorite song. (An exact example 15 of the essay template received by the participants is found in Appendix A. The survey can be found in Appendix B.) I did not catch a few mistakes before the pilot study went forward. For example, the second to last sentence's first word is misspelled; "pleas" should be please. After I passed out the essay template contained in Appendix A, I read the following instructions: I am a music teacher at Nibley Park K-8 School and a Masters Student in Music Education at the University of Utah. I would like to know about the music that you listen to. Please use this paper to tell me why your favorite song is your favorite song. List as many reasons as you can think offor why that song is your favorite more than any other song. You can tell me; when you listen to it, why you listen to it, how you listen to it, with whom you listen to it, how it makes you feel when you listen to it or anything else you want to tell me about it. Make sure to tell me the title of your favorite song and who performs it. You can use the back you need to. You will have 15 minutes to write. I will give you 2 minutes to think about what your favorite song is and why. I will tell you when your fifteen minutes starts and when you have five minutes left. If you have any questions, raise your hand, and I will come and answer them. Your two minutes thinking time begins now. I observed the students during the 15 minutes of writing time. During the 2 minutes thinking time, I watched the clock and waited for the 2 minutes to end. I casually observed the students during this time as well. I noted that the majority of the participants used the thinking time that they had been given. It seemed that way to me, because none of the participants was talking. I noticed that one student was not writing, but when I looked at him he started. With approximately 8 minutes left, I gave the students a verbal direction to keep writing and reiterated the directions. One participant came in to the room 2 minutes after the study had begun and was given the essay template. Another participant left during the study, and I found out later that she had completed her template fo llowing 1 1 you yourfavorite of for yourfavorite youfeel you it. if 1 about 1 five 1 16 out in the hall. The classroom teacher gave the verbal cue, "Those of you who are truly done can work on the other assignment that I gave you. But you should really try to drain your brains on to that paper." One participant asked if she could hear the essays. I said that she might be able to hear them later. The same participant asked what number four meant on the survey. An exact example of the survey given to the participants can be seen in Appendix B. This pilot study alerted me to several things that needed to change for the actual study. Aside from basic editing in the templates, changes need to be made in the way the study is administered. For example, the script needed several changes. A copy of the finalized script can be found in Appendix E. I also realized that I needed to mention to the participating teacher that the essays would not be returned to the class. Procedure for Actual Study Contacting the Teacher After the second pilot study, I took great care to communicate clearly with the cooperating teacher. In the actual study, the teacher understood that the students' complete participation was needed and that no other assignments should be worked on during the approximately 20 minutes during the administration of the study. These talking points helped prevent miscommunication with the participating teacher. 1. Topic of study. 2. What the students were going to need. a. Pencil or pen. 3. What was going to happen, exactly? a. The script was read to the teacher. Teacher l. 17 b. "Just so you know exactly what I will be doing with your students, can I read you a short script of what will go on?" 4. An explanation that during the twenty minutes or so, the students should not be doing any other work. 5. An explanation that the students will not get the papers back, so if the participating teacher wanted the students to get credit for these papers, she would have to make an accounting of who participated during the study. 6. An expression of thanks. Participant Writing All participant writing that is quoted in this document will be italicized and indented. There are some spelling, and grammatical, errors in the participant samples, but I have left them intact to demonstrate the unique styles of writing of the individual participants. Essay Content Analysis Mark Abrahamson (1983) describes a deductive approach: "If we begin with a theory that we wish to test empirically, we will proceed in a deductive manner-from the more general or abstract to the more specific or concrete" (p. 146). In the present study, I sought to test empirically whether a certain group of adolescents' favorite songs do in fact fulfill to some extent these four sociological functions of popular music identified by Frith (1987) in their lives: (a) To create a type of self-definition; (b) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives; (c) to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience; and (d) Writing Analysis manner-to provide a sense of musical ownership. Frith defined these functions in such a way that they are not specific to any genre of popular music or any particular type of person and are therefore more general or abstract. Because the purpose of this study is to determine whether certain adolescents' favorite songs fulfill the four sociological functions of popular music, the goal of the content analysis of the essays was to find more specific or concrete examples of exactly how the participants' favorite songs function in their lives. To find these concrete examples, I labeled key words and phrases that implied specific functions and then matched those concrete and specific examples to the more general and abstract functions described by Frith. (See Appendix F for an example of an analyzed essay.) For instance, Frith's first function is to create a type of self-definition. Language that might imply that a song creates a type of self-definition could include phrases similar to the following phrases taken from a participant writing from the study: "7 like this song because it describes me" or "The lyrics describe him helping others and that's what I try to do" Function two is to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives. Although this function is complicated, students could tell a story that implies this function such as is found in Bradley's (2005) article. She describes an entry from an adolescent's journal describing how learning a Russian patriotic song helps her manage her feelings about her father and her heritage. I knew it! Charlie told us today that some people were worried because we were singing March Over Meadows in mixed chorus - they were afraid he was trying to turn us all into communists. We talked a lot in class this morning instead of singing. We talked about why it might be okay to sing March over Meadows, and whether or not singing it meant we believed the Bolsheviks were "right" or if we were just singing about something that really happened in history. I think Charlie was trying to make sure we could explain it to our parents if they asked us about the song. I don't think my mother or father 18 popular music, the goal of the content analysis of the essays was to find more specific or concrete examples of exactly how the participants' favorite songs function in their lives. To find these concrete examples, I labeled key words and phrases that implied specific functions and then matched those concrete and specific examples to the more general and abstract functions described by Frith. (See Appendix F for an example of an analyzed essay.) For instance, Frith's first function is to create a type of self-definition. Language that might imply that a song creates a type of self-definition could include phrases similar to the following phrases taken [rom a participant writing from the study: "/ like this son?, because it describes me," or "The lyrics describe him helping others and that's what / try to do." would worry about it too much. My dad came to the United States in 1929 when he was 19 years old, and I can tell from things he has said that he felt very confused during World War II. He hated Hitler and the Nazis, I know, but he still loved Germany. He hated that so many places that he remembered from his childhood were destroyed by the Allies. He doesn't have very much family left in Germany - a lot of them died during the war. He still gets angry watching movies about the war and the way the Germans are always the bad guys. Somehow, singing March Over Meadows helped me to see how confusing it must be for people like my dad. I hope we get to do this song on our next concert, but I bet we don't. . . .(p.3) This story implies that the song helped her to manage the relationship with her father, or her private life, and the way she feels about the place and time she was living in. One participant from the second pilot study wrote, " ... it really relates to how you feel like you feel broken inside. No one understands, lots of people say, you know, their fine, their holding on and everything is ok You are still holding on and I know how that feels. " Another student from the actual study wrote, "Sometimes when him and I are fighting I will just lay down, turn my ipod on and listen to the song makes me feel a lot more happy!" Another participant wrote, "Whenever I am mad at that someone, I listen to the song & it just switches my attitude around. It's weird how a song can do that. " These are examples that show how a participant might imply this particular function. The third function is to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience. For instance, a participant from the pilot study wrote; "My remembrance of this song are mostly with my friends, driving somewhere, going to the movies, " implying that it organizes his or her sense of time. Another participant wrote; "I listen to this song before a soccer game and ... (one theirfine, ok. happy!" driving J 19 20 some days when I get up in the morning. I listen to it because it gets me pumped up for a game or just for the day, " implying that it intensifies a given experience. Function four is to provide a sense of musical ownership. A participant wrote; "This song is mine and my boyfriend's song. " Another participant wrote "Something about having everyone know a song kind of bugs me. I feel like it doesn't really belong to me personally when everyone knows it, " thereby implying that knowing about a song before other people provides a sense of ownership to the song. Some participants used language that implied a function that seemed to not fit into any of Frith's functions. The idea of escapism came up numerous times, as in this essay where a participant wrote, This song makes me feel pretty powerful, It's kinda like my escape. But I think pretty much all teens look at any music that way. Music is our escape it takes us away from our drama-filled lives & gives us a chance to be part of something amazing. The Survey The analysis of the data involved a comparison of each essay with its corresponding survey, which included direct questions using language from Frith's functions, such as the following: "This song helps me define myself," followed by five options, strongly agree, mildly agree, not sure, mildly disagree or strongly agree. Language used in the pilot study did not directly imply Frith's functions. To improve the survey for the actual study, I chose language that more closely resembled the meaning of Frith's functions. Each element of Frith's functions was represented by at least one question. Function three has multiple elements, and so boyjdend's ·way. escape filled amazing. Survey 21 each element in that function was represented by its own separate question on the survey. Through finding key phrases that implied sociological function in participant writing and comparing those phrases with corresponding surveys that use language from Frith's functions I was able to determine whether the participants' favorite songs fulfilled Frith's functions. Participants The participants for this study were sophomores (tenth graders) from a public high school in Salt Lake County enrolled in three sophomore English classes. The total number of participants was 75. Some students in the classes were not able to participate in the study, because they did not return signed parent permission forms. fulfi lled Frith 's thi s th ree CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Survey The purpose of this study was to examine whether a group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfill Frith's functions of popular music according to those same adolescents' own writings and a survey on that topic. The survey was an instrument to determine whether the participant's favorite songs fulfilled Frith's functions in their writings. The means of all the answers of the individual questions and the standard deviations for each of the answers for questions 1 through 8 are coded as numeric values from 1-5. The means of all the answers for each question and standard deviations for each question can be found in Table 1. Table 2 shows the frequency of responses for questions one through eight, The purpose of this study was to examine whether a group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfill Frith's functions of popular music according to those same adolescents' own writings and a survey on that topic. The survey was an instrument to determine whether the participant's favorite songs fulfilled Frith's functions in their writings. The means of all the answers of the individual questions and the standard deviations for each of the answers to the individual questions are presented in this chapter. The multiple choice answers for questions 1 through 8 are coded as numeric values from 1-5. The means of all the answers for each question and standard deviations for each question can be found in Table 1. Table 2 shows the frequency of responses for questions one through eight, which use a five-point Likert-type scale for the multiple choice answers, (a) Strongly Agree (b) Mildly Agree (c) Not Sure (d) Mildly Disagree (e) Strongly Disagree. Table 3 shows the frequency of responses for questions 9a through 9f, which are questions that asked the participants to rate a statement on a scale from one to six, one meaning that the statement describes very well how they feel about their favorite song and six meaning that the statement does not describe at all how they feel about their favorite song. This survey's design yielded concrete information about how these participants' favorite songs function in their lives; it also revealed whether the functions they implied Table 1 Means and standard deviation for all questions grouped by function. Function Questions Mean S.D. Function 1 1. Self Definition 9a. Function 2 2. 2.46 Private vs. Public emotion 9b. Function 3a Popular memory 9c. 3.96 1.79 Function 3b 5. 2.26 1.23 9d. 3.80 1.57 Organize time Function 3c 7. 1.68 Intensify 9e. Function 4 3. 3.16 1.50 Musical Ownership 8. 2.40 1.30 9f. I deviarion grouped function. Funct ion 1 I. 2.42 0.93 Sci r 3.32 1.46 1.14 Private vs. 4. 2.70 1.36 3.38 1.67 6. 3.23 1.74 Popular memory ge. 3.96 1.79 Function 3b 5. 2.26 1.23 9d. 3.80 1.57 0.97 9<. 2.99 1.80 Funct ion 4 3. 16 9r. 3.20 1.77 23 Table 2 Frequency of Responses For Likert-type Questions Participant Responses Survey Strongly Mildly Not Mildly Strongly Questions Agree Agree Sure Disagree Disagree 1. This song helps me define myself. 2. This song helps me understand my own feelings. 3. This is my/our song. 4. I use this song to work 11 through personal relationships. 5. This song reminds me of 6 a specific time in my life. 6. I associate this song with a certain historical event, time period or era. 7. This song makes doing a 8 certain activity easier, more fun, or better. 8.1 feel like I own this song. 20 28 Note: The questions listed in this table are abbreviated versions of the questions on the survey. 24 type Questions Survey Mild ly Agree 10 33 24 4 3 13 33 15 20 28 13 15 16 7 23 J usc to 17 20 16 10 II re lationships. 23 28 10 7 li fe. assoc iate 14 12 20 10 18 7. This song makes doing a 42 20 2 2 ce rtain activ ity casier, more fun, or beller. 8. I fee l like I own this song. 10 8 8 NOIe: qucslions versiOIlS survey. Table 3 Participant Ratings Survey No Questions 1 6 Rating (Best (Does Not Describe) 9a. This song helps 7 6 me define myself. 9b. This song helps me work through my private 11 1 4 1 9 8 and public emotional lives. 9c. This song reminds me 9 11 9 eras. 9d. This song organizes 5 1 3 1 5 1 1 1 5 my sense of time. 9e. The song makes a given 1 6 1 0 1 2 2 13 experience more intense. 9f. I feel like this song 11 11 1 belongs to me. Note: The questions listed here are abbreviated versions of the questions on the survey. Frequency of Responses For Questions 9a Through 9f 25 9/ 2 3 4 5 Describes) 19 15 15 12 0 pri vate II 14 19 8 10 12 0 li ves. mc 10 II 12 23 0 of historical events or cras. 13 15 I I 15 13 2 ge. 21 16 10 12 2 0 18 12 II 13 8 I I ate Ihe survey. 26 in their writing matched functions they chose in the survey. The survey was based on Frith's sociological functions of popular music: (a) To create a type of self-definition; (b) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives; (c) to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience; and (d) to provide a sense of musical ownership. One of the issues that I had to deal with was that the third function or (c) has three sub-functions in it. In Table 1 it is represented as three separate functions instead of just one. The third part of Frith's third function received the highest mean score. Function 1 Survey items regarding Frith's first function were questions 1 and 9a. Frith's first function is "to create a type of self-definition." Question 1 was worded like this: "This song helps me define myself." Question 9a was worded exactly the same way. The difference is in the multiple-choice options. Question 1 was a Likert-type scale with five options: (a) Strongly Agree (b) Mildly Agree (c) Not Sure (d) Mildly Disagree (e) Strongly Disagree. For question 9a, students could answer using a number from one to six, one being the option that best describes how this song functions in their life and six being the option that means the statement does not describe at all how this song functions in their life. The mean answer for Question 1 was 2.42. (See Table 1.) Ten participants chose (a) Strongly Agree, 33 participants chose (b) Mildly Agree, 24 participants chose (c) Not Sure, 4 participants chose (d) Mildly Disagree, and 3 participants chose (e) Strongly Disagree. (See Table 2.) Fifty-seven percent (w=43) of the participants agreed either strongly or mildly that their favorite song helped them define themselves. The mean answer for question 9a or "This song helps me define myself," was 3.32. (See I n=27 Table 1.) Seven participants circled 1 (implying that the statement best described how they feel about their favorite song), 19 participants circled 2, 15 participants circled 3, 15 Function 2 Questions 2, 4 and 9b included language that resembles Frith's second function "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives." Question 2 was worded: "This song helps me think about who I am on the inside versus what I let other people see." The mean answer for this question was 2.46. (See Table 1.) Thirteen participants chose (a) Strongly Agree, 33 participants chose (b) Mildly Agree, 15 participants chose (c) Not sure, 7 participants chose (d) Mildly Disagree, and 6 participants chose (e) Strongly Disagree. (See Table 2.) Sixty-one percent of the participants (n=46) agreed either strongly or mildly that their favorite song helps them think about who they are on the inside versus what they let other people see. Question 4 read: "I use this song to help me understand and work through my relationships with my friends, family and other people." The mean answer for this question was 2.70. (See Table 1.) Seventeen participants chose (a) Strongly Agree, 20 participants chose (b) Mildly Agree, 16 participants chose (c) Not sure, 10 participants chose (d). Mildly Disagree, and 11 participants chose (e) Strongly Disagree. (See Table 2.) Forty-nine percent (n=31) of the participants agreed either strongly or mildly that they use their favorite song to help them understand and work through their relationships with their friends, family, and other people. participants circled 4, 12 participants circled 5, and 6 participants circled 6 (implying that the statement did not describe at all how they felt about their favorite song). (See Table 3.) r I.) l.) (n=37) 28 Question 9b was worded: "This song helps me to manage the relationships between my private and public emotional lives." The mean answer for this question was 3.38. (See Table 1.) Eleven participants circled 1,14 participants circled 2, 19 participants circled 3, 8 participants circled 4, 10 participants circled 5, and 12 participants circled 6. (See Table 3.) Function 3a Questions 6 and 9c related to the first part of Frith's third function, function 3a or "to shape popular memory." Question 6 was worded like this: "I associate this song with a certain, historical event, time period or era." The mean answer for this question was 3.23. (See Table 1.) Fourteen participants chose (a) Strongly Agree, 12 participants chose (b) Mildly Agree, 20 participants chose ( c) Not sure, 10 participants chose (d) Mildly Disagree, and 18 participants chose (e) Strongly Disagree. (See Table 2.) Thirty-four percent of the participants (n=26) agreed either strongly or mildly that they associate their favorite song with a certain, historical event, time period or era. Question 9c read: "This song reminds me of specific periods in history or historical events." The mean choice was 3.96. (See Table 1.) Nine participants circled 1, 10 participants circled 2, 11 participants circled 3,12 participants circled 4, 9 participants circled 5, and 23 participants circled 6. (See Table 3.) Function 3 b Questions 5 and 9d used language that resembles the second part of Frith's third function, function 3b or "to organize one's sense of time." Question 5 appeared this way on the survey: "This song reminds me of a specific time in my life or event." The mean 1, 14 3,8 3, 12 3b 29 answer to this question was 2.26. (See Table 1.) Twenty-three participants chose (a) Strongly Agree, 28 participants chose (b) Mildly Agree, 10 participants chose (c) Not sure, 7 participants chose (d) Mildly Disagree, and 6 participants chose (e) Strongly Disagree. (See Table 2.) Sixty-eight percent of the participants agreed either strongly or mildly that their favorite song reminds them of a specific time in their life or event. Question 9d appeared like this in the survey: "This song organizes my sense of time." The mean answer for this question was 3.79. (See Table 1.) Five participants circled 1,13 participants circled 2, 15 participants circled 3,11 participants circled 4, 15 participants circled 5, 13 participants circled 6, and 2 participants circled nothing. Function 3c Question 7 read as follows: "This song makes doing a certain activity easier, more fun, or better." A Likert-type scale for the multiple-choice options followed: (a) Strongly Agree, (b) Mildly Agree, (c) Not Sure, (d) Mildly Disagree, and (e) Strongly Disagree. Out of 75 total participants, 42 chose (a), 20 participants chose (b), 8 participants chose (c), 2 participants chose (d) and 2 participants chose (e). (See Table 2.) Eighty-two percent of the participants (n=62) agreed, either strongly or mildly that their favorite song made doing a certain activity easier, more fun, or better. Question 9e is the other question that used language that resembles function 3c, and it did not get the same type of results as question 7. Question 9e read as follows: "This song makes a given experience more intense." It was followed by numbers 1 through 6, the number 1 indicating that the statement describes very well how their song functions in their life, and 6 indicating that the statement does not describe at all how their song functions in their life. Out of 75 participants, 21 chose 1,16 participants chose 1, 13 3, 11 ge ge 1, 16 30 2, 10 participants chose 3, 12 participants chose 4, 2 participants chose 5, and 13 chose 6. Only 49 % («=37) of the participants circled options 1 or 2. The language in Question 7 was not exactly like Frith's language for function 3c, which states, "to intensify a given experience" in order to clarify for the participants so that the function was more understandable to them. The word 'intensify' could possibly be misunderstood by sophomores in high school to mean something other than what Frith meant. Had question 9e more closely resembled question 7, the participants may have answered the same way on both questions. Perhaps the meanings are the same but students simply didn't understand question 9e. There was at least one question on the survey to represent each of Frith's functions and that included the exact language that he used. Despite these flaws, the data indicated that the majority of participants in this studied viewed their favorite songs as making "doing a certain activity easier, more fun, or better." Function 4 Questions 3,8, and 9f included language that resembles Frith's fourth function or "to provide a sense of musical ownership." Question 3 read as follows: "My friends, (girlfriend, boyfriend, other friend, sister, brother or anyone else) and I consider this to be our song." The mean answer to this question was 3.16. (See Table 1.) Thirteen participants chose (a) Strongly Agree, 15 participants chose (b) Mildly Agree, 16 participants chose (c) Not sure, 7 participants chose (d) Mildly Disagree, and 23 participants chose (e) Strongly Disagree. (See Table 2.) Thirty-seven percent (rc=28) of 2,10 n=ge answered the same way on both questions. Perhaps the meanings are the same but students simply didn't understand question ge. There was at least one question on the survey to represent each of Frith's functions and that included the exact language that he used. t1aws, [un, 3, 8, 9fincluded 3 .16. n=31 the participants agreed either strongly or mildly that they and their respective friend consider their favorite song to be their song. Question 8 read as follows: "I feel like I own this song." The mean answer for this song was 2.40. (See Table 1.) Twenty participants chose (a) Strongly Agree, 28 participants chose (b) Mildly Agree, 10 participants chose (c) Not Sure, 8 participants chose (d) Mildly Disagree, and 8 participants chose (e) Strongly Disagree. (See Table 2.) Sixty-four percent (^=48) of the participants agreed either strongly or mildly that they feel like they own their favorite song. Question 9f stated: "I feel like this song belongs to me." The mean answer for this question was 3.19. (See Table 1.) Eighteen participants circled 1,12 participants circled 2, 11 participants circled 3, 13 participants circled 4, 8 participants circled 5,11 participants circled 6 and 1 participant circled nothing. (See Table 3.) The Essay Participant Writing All participant writing quoted in this document will be italicized and indented. Although there are some spelling, and grammatical, errors in the participant samples, I have left most of them exactly the way they were written to demonstrate the unique styles of writing of the individual participants. Also, each of the participants' writing samples was given a number that classified them into groups such as class period and samples that were particularly interesting. Throughout the next two chapters, the participants will be referred to by their writing sample's number. 1 (n=48) feel like they own their favorite song. 1, 12 5, 11 Writing 1 referred to by their writing sample's number. 32 Essay Content Because all of the participants wrote about songs that have lyrics, it is important to mention that lyrics play a part in how popular music functions sociologically. Fornas (2003) examines nonsense lyrics, grunts, aural poetry, spoken lyrics, and vocalization. He discusses how words can take on different functions when they are sung or presented in the context of music. He also discusses how words are particularly important to the function of popular music. He mentions that when people listen to popular music they do not divorce the lyrics from the music but they hear it as a whole. The participants demonstrate through their writing samples that the previous statements are true. Often the participants described how songs function in their lives in very personal ways. Popular music songs can be and have been adopted by groups or individuals for reasons other than the reasons that artists had for writing the song (McLeod, 2006). Essay Analysis The purpose of the essays was to collect adolescent writing about popular music that would provide concrete examples of how popular music functions in their lives. The prompt on the essay template states: Please use this paper to tell me why your favorite song is your favorite song. Please describe as many reasons as you can about why this song is your favorite. You can also tell me: when you listen to it, why you listen to it, how you listen to it, with whom you listen to it, how it makes you feel when you listen to it, or anything else you want to tell me about this song. To avoid confusion, I was purposeful about writing the essay prompt in such a way that did not specifically ask them to write about how their favorite song functions in their life. The goal was to get them to write about function without being told specifically to do so. The writing prompt was successful in achieving that goal, as the results of the essay analysis will show. Had I merely encouraged them to write about how their favorite Content playa than the reasons that artists had for writing the song (McLeod, 2006). Analysis 33 song functions in their life, I would not have collected as much useful information as I did. The prompt reminded the participants to write when, why, how, and with whom. None of these things specifically imply function when described, but because the participants were trying to write an essay, many of them began to tell stories and imply function as they answered the questions listed above. Not all of the essays answered all of the prompts' questions. Not all of the participants implied function in their writing, but many did. Twenty-four out of 75 essays included "no decisive language about function." This may suggest a flaw in the method of data collection. It may be that, as suggested before, a prompt with a more straightforward question about function would have been better. If this was a flaw it was at least partially corrected by the survey. The survey was useful in showing that indeed their favorite songs do function sociologically in their lives on at least some level - or the opposite, that they do not. Function 1 Four out of 75 essays included language that implied function 1. Of those four, 2 participants also used language that implied some element of function 3. The first of those four essays was about a song called "Ever Dream" by Nightwish. Participant R8 wrote; "7 like this song because it describes me." The rest of the essay described the music of participant R8's favorite song in a technical way, including examples of time signatures and complicated baselines as other reasons for liking this song. The goal of the content analysis of the essays was to find more specific or concrete examples of exactly how the participants' favorite songs function in their lives through a search for key words and phrases that implied specific functions. I then matched those concrete and specific examples to the more general and abstract functions described by Frith. R8 didn't imply function as they answered the questions listed above. Not all of the essays answered all of the prompts' questions. Not all of the participants implied function in their writing, but many did. Twenty-four out of 75 essays included "no decisive language about function." This may suggest a flaw in the method of data collection. It may be that, as suggested before, a prompt with a more straightforward question about function would have been better. If this was a flaw it was at least partially corrected by the survey. The survey was useful in showing that indeed their favorite songs do function sociologically in their lives on at least some level -- or the opposite, that they do not. I of75 thosc J examples to the more general and abstract functions described by Frith. R8 didn't imply 34 function at all. R8 simply said how it functions in his life and that that is why he likes that song. It just so happened to match the language of Frith's first function or "to create a type of self definition." R8 strongly agreed with this statement: "This song helps me define myself." R8 also strongly agreed with this statement: "I use this song to help me understand and work through my relationships with my friends, family and other people," which is a statement that reflects Frith's second function or "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives." R8 also strongly agreed with this statement: "I feel like I own this song," which is a statement that reflects Frith's fourth function or "to provide a sense of musical ownership." In addition to strongly agreeing with those other statements, R8 also mildly agreed with question number seven which is based on an element of Frith's third function or function 3c, "to intensify a given experience," and gave scores of two or better to the following statements; "This song organizes my sense of time," "I feel like this song belongs to me," and "This song helps me define myself." It is clear that R8's song functions in more than one way in his life. Used jointly, the essay and the survey, as tools, provide data that supports the conclusion that at least some of Frith's functions hold true in the life of this participant. Participant R32 wrote about the song "You Make My Dreams Come True" by Hall and Oates; "7 admit I don't honestly like today's music and the latest hits. I'm more of an old-time music lover. This song was made some time in the 80's I believe. " R32 used language that reflected Frith's first function or "to create a type of self definition." R32 defined herself by what type of music she listens to. R32's survey answers showed a distinct contradiction to her self-defining statement. R32 mildly disagreed with this RS RS define myself." RS also strongly agreed with this statement: "I use this song to help me understand and work through my relationships with my friends, family and other people," which is a statement that reflects Frith's second function or "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives." RS also strongly agreed with this statement: "I feel like 1 own this song," which is a statement that ref1ects Frith's fourth function or "to provide a sense of musical ownership." In addition to strongly agreeing with those other statements, RS also mildly agreed with question number seven which is based on an element of Frith's third function or function 3c, "to intensify a given experience," and gave scores of two or better to the following statements; "This song organizes my sense of time," "1 feel like this song belongs to me," and "This song helps me define myself." It is clear that RS's song functions in more than one way in his life. Used jointly, the essay and the survey, as tools, provide data that supports the conclusion that at least some of Frith's functions hold true in the life of this participant. "/ / / 'm 80 's / 35 statement; "This song helps me define myself." R32 also gave a rating of four to the same statement on question 9a. It may be that this song did not actually provide a type of self-definition for R32. It may be that she defines herself as an "old-time music lover" with or without this song. However I concluded that the song did provide a type of self-definition, because R32 defined herself as an old-time music lover and she used this song as an example of old-time music. The only statement with which R32 strongly agreed was "This song makes doing a certain activity easier, more fun, or better." R32 mildly agreed with both of the statements that use language resembling Frith's second function or "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives." Participant R19 wrote about the song "Follow Me" by Unkle Kracker. It is my favorite song because it describes me. It talks to others saying follow me for different reasons. It seems to me that the lyrics describe him helping others and that is what I try to do. This statement contains language that reflected Frith's first function or "to create a type of self-definition," because R19 said that the song describes him and because it seemed that R19 was saying that he defines himself as a person who helps others like the singer does. R19 strongly agreed with this statement: "This song helps me define myself." He rated the same statement with a number one for question 9a, meaning that the statement best described how he felt about their song. R19's song fulfilled Frith's first function. R19 also strongly agreed with these statements: "This song helps me think about who I am on the inside versus what I let other people see," and "I use this song to help me understand and work through my relationships with my friends family and other people," 1 RI9 sayingfoUow others J RI9 RI9 RI9 RI9'RI9 1 36 both of which are statements that reflect Frith's second function or "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives." R19 also strongly agreed with the statement that reflects an element of Frith's third function or "to intensify a given experience." Some songs are more sociologically functional than others. "Follow me" by Unkle Kraker was very functional in the R19's life according to his own writing and his survey. Participant R26's favorite song is entitled "East Coast/West Coast Killas" by Gangstarr or Group Therapy. R26's writing sample was full of language that reflects Frith's first function or "to create a type of self-definition." This essay reads like an identity description. The second half in particular serves that purpose. I recently found this song in a snowboarding video. I am pretty much obsessed with snowboarding. When I ride I usually wear gangster baggy snowboard clothes because I like the style. When I watch videos I usually watch the team called technine. They are a gangster snowboard group and I like to wear their brand and represent technine. I think the reason I like this song is because it flows with the snowboarding and the video parts. And I also like to listen to it when I board. I like gangster rap because I like the beats, and how the songs go. It reminds me somewhat of myself because I usually wear big shirts and baggy pants and gangster necklaces. I like it because I can relate to it, and I'm not just some poser that wears baggy clothes just because for no reason. I listen to the music, wear it and hang out with kids that like it. I'm not afraid to wear baggy clothes and have someone say something about it, I usually don't listen to that person and keep going on with my life or I say something back to them that makes them feel stupid for saying something to me about it. I listen to a lot of other stuff, but rap would probably be my number one choice over anything else. R26 did not just define himself through this song and the style of music that he listens to, but also through clothing and activities. R26 made a point of differentiating himself from "posers " who wear baggy clothes "just because for no reason " and seemed to be quite passionate about his identity when he described facing and dealing with ridicule about the identity that he has chosen. Frith wrote: "The pleasure that pop music recentlyfound obsessed snowhoard team flows baggy pants and gangster necklaces. I like it because I can relate to it, and I 'm not just some poser that wears baggy clothes just because for no reason. IUsten to the music, wear it and hang out with kids that like it. I'm not afraid to wear baggy clothes and have someone say something about it, I usually don't listen to that person and keep going on with my life or I say something back to them that makes them feel stupid for saying something to me about it. I listen to a lot of other stuff, but rap would probably be my number one choice over anything else. sty Ie differentiating posers" reason" 37 produces is a pleasure of identification - with the music we like, with the performers of that music, with the other people who like it" (p. 140). Frith states that "the production of identity is also a production of non-identity - it is a process of inclusion and exclusion" (p. 140). These ideas play themselves out in the R26's writing sample above. R26 also used language that reflects an element of Frith's third function or "to intensify a given experience." R26 described how the song makes the snowboarding video better because it "flows " with the images. He also wrote that he listens to it when he snowboards. R26 strongly agreed with the statement found in question 1 of the survey or "This song helps me define myself." He rated the same statement that is also found in question 9a with a 2 on scale from 1 to 6. He also strongly agreed with this statement; "This song makes doing a certain activity easier, more fun, or better." Function 2 Sixteen participants used language that implied functionality that reflected Frith's second function or "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives." Of those 16 essays 4 of them used language that implied another function other than Frith's second. Participant R7 wrote this about "I'd Lie" by Taylor Swift. It makes me feel like laughing because the lyrics really tell how it is. Like I said before, it reminds me of someone. Whenever I'm mad at that someone, I listen to the song & it just switches my attitude around. It's weird how a song can do that. The switch of attitude that R7 wrote about implies a way of managing the relationship between her private and public emotional lives. Frith wrote this about his second function: (p.140). These ideas play themselves out in the R26's writing sample above. flows" surveyor R 7 1 so meone . 1 we ird R 7 38 It is a peculiarity of everyday language that our most fraught and revealing declarations of feeling have to use phrases - T love/hate you', 'Help me!', 'I'm angry/scared' - which are boring and banal; and so our culture has a supply of a million pop songs, which say these things for us in numerous interesting and involving ways. These songs do not replace our conversations - pop singers do not do our courting for us - but they make our feelings seem richer and more convincing than we can make them appear in our own words, even to ourselves. (p.141) R7 stated that she uses the song to calm herself down when she is mad at a certain someone. R7 also wrote that the lyrics "really tell how it is. " It may be that this song allows R7 to understand that certain someone in way that she couldn't have done with out the song. R7 ended her essay by saying; "I love all of Taylor Swift's lyrics to all her songs but I really connect with this one. " The questions on the survey regarding this function were questions 2, 4, and 9b. Participant R7 mildly agreed with this statement: "This song helps me think about who I am on the inside versus what I let other people see." That statement is a revision of Frith's language that describes the second function. Frith's original language is "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives." R7 was "Not Sure" about the statement, "I use this song to help me understand and work through my relationships with my friends, family and other people." This statement was also a revision of Frith's original language. Question 9b or, "This song helps me to manage the relationship between my private and public emotional lives," more closely resembles Frith's language, and R7 rated it a 2 on a scale from 1 to 6. Participant RIO wrote this about the song "My Immortal" by Evanescence: This song means a lot to me when 11st listened to it, it just overwhelmed me with emotion and power. I was going through a break-up & listened to it again, and it reminded me of myself in a way, how I was hurting & thinking about how much I cared about that person & how much I did for them. After I listened to it I was '1 lovelhate 141 ) R 7 R 7 "/ / see:' R 7 R 7 / /SI / up / / / / / 39 actually happier, no idea why but the song has always made me happier every time I listened to it. RIO obviously uses this song to manage the relationship between her private and public emotional lives. RIO writes about how the song reminded her of her feelings about the person she broke-up with, and at the same time made her feel better about the break­up. RIO mildly agreed with this statement: "This song helps me think about who I am on the inside versus what I let other people see." She strongly agreed with the statement, "I use this song to help me understand and work through my relationships with my friends, family and other people." RIO rated this statement a 1 on scale from 1 to 6: "This song helps me to manage the relationship between my private and public emotional lives." Participant R14 wrote about the song "Ordinary Girl" by Rebelution. "/ think about this song in a way that the girl is my boyfriend, instead of the no ordinary girl. It helps me appreciate & realize how much I love him. " R14 actually projected her significant other onto the character from the song to help them appreciate that person more. R14 only mildly agreed with the two statements on the survey regarding Frith's second function but she rated the statement that closely resembles Frith's language with a 1 on a scale from 1 to 6, or she felt like that statement described very well how her favorite song functions in her life. R24 wrote about the song "Changes" by 2pac. This song makes me think of how people think only because your family came from bad places that your going to be the one in jail. This song is talking about how we should change the way we think, talk, act and even eat. I come from New York and I'm Latin and most people look at me and think she '11 be the one who will steal from me and drop out of school, have a baby at a young age, but that every J break-up. 1 1 sec." I R 14 "1 J R 14 yourfamity about 1 she'll be the one who 40 song makes me think that people do really need to change. I'm in high school and 2pac has made me look in life that I don't need to change and that we should love each other no matter of what or where we come from that we are all the same. R24 wrote about how she feels like people perceive her as a bad person or a person who will not succeed. R24's writing showed that this song helps her manage those emotions and understand her place in the world. The most notable part of the essay is when R24 proclaims that 2pac has made her look at life and see that it is ok to be yourself and that you shouldn't have to change for anybody and at the same time we should accept others. So often we dismiss whole genres of music and even types of people. One might say, "I hate rap" or "I hate country music." It is important to note that positive powerful life shaping moments happen with gangster rap as a soundtrack, even as an aid in the process. R24 mildly agreed with both question 2 and question 4 and gave the statement on question 9b a rating of 1 on a scale from 1 to 6, implying that the statement described very well how her favorite song functions in her life. This next writing sample is quite possibly the best example of writing that reflects Frith's second function. It also contains language that implies an element of Frith's third function or "to organize one's sense of time." In this essay about the song "Perfect" by Simple Plan, R29 wrote: When I turn on this song, I do it because it is my truth, it is how I feel towards my Dad. I like it even more because it shows me that there are people that feel the same way as I do, I don't express it much but I do feel that way, I'm still trying to hold on to the fact that I'm not perfect & never will be, I'm sorry dad but I'm not, & in this song, it explains that feeling, it explains how I feel & that is why it is my favorite. f same. 1 1 f f ffeel f f f f f'm f'm f'm thatfeeling, ffeel favorite. 41 The previous statements show that R29 used this song as a way to communicate her feelings. She even addressed her father through the essay. R29 wrote two times that the song states exactly how she feels. Function 3 R29 also used language that reflects the second element of Frith's third function or "to organize one's sense of time." R29 told the story of how she has been separated from her family and how this song reminds her of the period of time that she was with her family. The question on the survey regarding this particular element of Frith's third function was question 6 or "I associate this song with a certain, historical event, time period or era. R29 strongly agreed with that statement. Frith (1987) describes his third function or "to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience." The third function of popular music is to shape popular memory, to organize our sense of time. Clearly one of the effects of all music, not just pop, is to intensify our experience of the present. One measure of good music, to put it another way, is, precisely, its 'presence', its ability to 'stop' time, to make us feel we are living within the moment, with no memory or anxiety about what has come before, what will come after (p. 140). Frith also explains that this function has a lot to do with youth and how music does more than just "trigger associated memories, but, rather, that music in itself provides our most vivid experience of time passing." In his explanation of this function Frith gives an explanation of how youth is experienced. Youth is experienced, that is, as an intense presence, through an impatience for time to pass and a regret that it is doing so, in a series of speeding, physically insistent moments that have nostalgia coded into them. 42 Frith's third function is largely about time and how popular music functions as a marker in it or enhancer of a certain period. When someone says, "this song gets me pumped up for my basketball game," they are saying that the song intensifies that given experience or period of time. Many participants wrote things similar to the previous statement. Others wrote stories about how their favorite song reminds them of a specific period in their life, suggesting that the song organizes their sense of time in a way. There were no essays containing language that reflected the first element of Frith's third function or "to shape popular memory." This may be because the participants are experiencing now the memories that they will remember collectively later as popular memories. For instance, the song "Stayin' Alive" by The BeeGees reminds almost everyone of the seventies and, more specifically, of the disco era. The participants' favorite songs for the most part are songs that have been written in the last few years, and it is unclear which of these songs will define the last decade for them. Most of the essays containing language that reflects Frith's third function had language that reflected the third element of that function or "to intensify a given experience." This fact matches Frith's thoughts about youth and his third function. So much of what teenagers do has a sense of immediacy to it. The dance, the game, the girl, the boy, or whatever crisis or event is most important to them. The writing samples in this study give one the sense that the participants' favorite songs intensify the sense of immediacy in their activities and worries, and provides a soundtrack to everything from snowboarding to doing homework, in the same way music might function in a film (Lapedis, 1999; Vitouch, 2001). R5 wrote, This song is my favorite song for many reasons. Reason one, it gets me pumped up. Reason two, it makes things more fun and intense, especially the boring ones. statement. Others wrote stories about how their favorite song reminds them of a specific period in their life, suggesting that the song organizes their sense of time in a way. There were no essays containing language that reflected the first element of Frith's third function or "to shape popular memory." This may be because the participants are experiencing now the memories that they will remember collectively later as popular memories. For instance, the song "Stayin' Alive" by The BeeGees reminds almost everyone of the seventies and, more specifically, of the disco era. The participants' favorite songs for the most part are songs that have been written in the last few years, and it is unclear which of these songs will define the last decade for thcm. Most of the essays containing language that reflects Frith's third function had language that reflected the third element of that function or "to intensify a given experience." This fact matches Frith's thoughts about youth and his third function. So much of what teenagers do has a sense of immediacy to it. The dance, the game, the girl, the boy, or whatever crisis or event is most important to them. The writing samples in this study give one the sense that the participants' favorite songs intensify the sense of immediacy in their activities and worries, and provides a soundtrack to everything from snowboarding to doing homework, in the same way music might function in a film (Lapedis, 1999; Vitouch, 200 I). pumped 43 Reason three, I feel like I relate to it. The beat gets me pumped and into what ever I'm doing, no matter how boring. There are many more examples with language just like this. The statement on the survey with which participants strongly agreed the most was "This song makes doing a certain activity easier, more fun or better." Eighty-five percent of the participants agreed with that statement. Function 4 Frith's fourth function is "to provide a sense of musical ownership." He wrote this about it. It is not just the record that people think they own: we feel that we also possess the song itself, the particular performance, and its performer. 'possessing' music, we make it part of our own identity and build it into our sense of ourselves, (p. 142) Compare that with what Rl wrote about "Blackbird" by the Beatles. It's not one of the well known Beatles songs like Hey Jude or Let it be, which, I guess is why I like it so much. Something about having everyone know a song kind of bugs me. I feel like it doesn't really belong to me personally when everyone knows it. Frith's unique description of musical ownership is represented in the writing of the participants of this study in many ways, but the example above perhaps most keenly represents the idea that "we make it part of our own identity and build it into our sense of ourselves" (p. 142). Only 4 out of 75 essays used language that reflected Frith's fourth function and only 2 of those used words about a song being "ours" or "mine." boring. In ourselves. Beatle.~' o.lbugs everyone Summary this study, the participants' favorite songs fulfilled Frith's four functions according to their own writings about their favorite songs and a survey on that topic. The participants' favorite songs fulfilled certain of Frith's functions better than others. The survey was helpful in finding that all of these participants' favorite songs fulfilled at least one sociological function on some level. Some participants' writing samples provided no information about function but the survey did provide information about how the song functions in their lives. The most valuable information I gained was through the use of both the sample writing and the survey when they matched. Some samples did not match the survey and some surveys did not match the writing samples. When they both matched the data became more conclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a certain group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfill Frith's functions of popular music according to those same adolescents' own writings and a survey on that topic. This certain group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfilled Frith's functions of popular music according to their writings and a survey on that topic. 44 In functions functions in their lives. The most valuable information I gained was through the use of both the sample writing and the survey when they matched. Some samples did not match the survey and some surveys did not match the writing samples. When they both matched the data became more conclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a certain group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfill Frith's functions of popular music according to those same adolescents' own writings and a survey on that topic. This certain group of adolescents' favorite songs fulfilled Frith's functions of popular music according to their writings and a survey on that topic. CHAPTER V SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND APPLICATIONS OF POPULAR MUSIC IN THE CLASSROOM Summary The purpose of this study was to determine whether a specified group of adolescents' favorite songs would fulfill Frith's functions of popular music; (a) to create a type of self-definition; (b) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives; (c) to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience; and (d) to provide a sense of musical ownership, according to those same adolescents' own writings and a survey on that topic. The study took place at a high school in the Salt Lake Valley. Seventy-five sophomores from three English classes wrote a one-page essay about why their favorite song is their favorite song and completed a survey about how their favorite song functions in their life. Data collection occurred in one day. Data analysis proceeded using the deductive approach described by Abrahamson (1983): "If we begin with a theory that we wish to test empirically, we will proceed in a deductive manner-from the more general or abstract to the more specific or concrete" (p. 146). I began this study with a theory that I then tested empirically. That theory was that a certain group of adolescents' favorite songs would in fact fulfill to some extent the four sociological functions of popular music identified by Frith (1987). manner-Frith defines his functions in such a way that they are not specific to any genre of popular music or any particular type of person, and are therefore more general or abstract. Because the current study's purpose was to determine whether certain adolescents' favorite songs fulfill the four sociological functions of popular music, the goal of the content analysis of the essays was to find more specific or concrete examples of exactly how the participants' favorite songs function in their lives. Through a search for key words and phrases that implied specific functions, I then matched those concrete and specific examples to the more general and abstract functions. The participants' writing samples provided concrete examples of their favorite songs functioning in their lives in ways that match Frith's functions. Some of the examples given by study participants did not seem to fit at first, but upon closer inspection did fit into Frith's descriptions of his functions. For instance, several participants wrote about their favorite song being a way to escape, either directly or indirectly. When read with Frith's definition of his third function, "to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensity a given experience," the function of providing an escape corresponded well with Frith's third function. Frith says this about his third function, Clearly one of the effects of all music, not just pop, is to intensify our experience of the present. One measure of good music, to put it another way, is, precisely, its 'presence', its ability to 'stop' time, to make us feel we are living within the moment, with no memory or anxiety about what has come before, what will come after, (p. 140) The idea that Frith presents here, of music allowing us to live in the moment, "with no memory or anxiety about what has come before, what will come after," implies a type of escape. Though Frith does not specifically mention an escape function, he 46 how the participants' favorite songs function in their lives. Through a search for key words and phrases that implied specific functions, I then matched those concrete and specific examples to the more general and abstract functions. The participants' writing samples provided concrete examples of their favorite songs functioning in their lives in ways that match Frith's functions. intensify after. typc defines a type of escape into the function, "to intensify a given experience," which is the third element of Frith's third function. Not all the participants used language that implied function directly or indirectly; therefore, the survey was a useful instrument because it provided concrete evidence of popular music functioning in the lives of the participants when there was no evidence in the writing samples. When there was evidence in a writing sample, the participant's survey helped to make that evidence more concrete. Even with writing samples that directly or indirectly implied sociological function, the survey proved to be useful in clarifying just how well the participants felt their favorite songs functioned according to Frith's four functions. Some participants directly implied one or more of Frith's functions and strongly agreed with statements that either described that same function or used Frith's exact language for that function. Other participants used language that seemed to imply that their favorite song functioned according to one or more of Frith's functions but then disagreed strongly with, or were not sure about, the statement or statements on the survey that described that function. There is an explanation for this phenomenon. Obviously, Frtih's functions were not written with this study in mind. I used Frith's language on the survey to determine whether the participants felt that their songs functioned in the way that Frith describes popular music functioning for society as a whole. Just because some students did not agree with a certain statement that used language that reflected Frith's functions does not mean that their favorite song does not function in that way. It could mean that the participant did not understand the statement and therefore was not able to answer whether 47 cvidence survey helped to make that evidence more concrete. Even with writing samples that directly or indirectly implied sociological function, the survey proved to be useful in clarifying just how well the participants felt their favorite songs functioned according to Frith's four functions. Some participants directly implied one or more of Frith's functions and strongly agreed with statements that either described that same function or used Frith's exact language for that function. Other participants used language that seemed to imply that their favorite song functioned according to one or more of Frith's functions but then disagreed strongly with, or were not sure about, the statement or statements on the survey that described that function. 48 the song actually functioned that way. It could also mean that their song just did not function that way. Because the participants were sophomores in high school, I attempted to use language that would be understandable to them, but the survey may still have been difficult for the participants to understand. Every element of Frith's four functions is represented by at least two questions each on the survey. In at least one of each of those questions I used language that was as close to Frith's language as possible, and the rest of the questions were translations of Frith's language. There is no way of knowing now which of these questions were answered more accurately. It was important to me that Frith's meaning came across clearly in the survey. That, however, was not easily done. For instance, Frith's second function is "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives." This function appears in a couple of different ways in the survey. Question two reads, "This song helps me think about who I am on the inside versus what I let other people see." In comparison, the two statements seem to be unrelated in some ways and related in others. The second statement seems to deal with identity and the first statement seems to deal with emotions. Emotions are a part of identity; therefore, the translation serves the purpose of conveying Frith's meaning. Question four was, "I use this song to help me understand and work through my relationships with my friends, family and other people." This statement was a closer translation of Frith's language: Love songs are a way of giving emotional intensity to the sorts of intimate things we say to each other (and to ourselves) in words that are, in themselves, quite flat. It is a peculiarity of everyday language that our most fraught and revealing declarations of feeling have to use phrases - T love/hate you', 'Help me!', 'I'm angry/scared' - which are boring and banal; and so our culture has a supply of a million pop songs, which say represented by at least two questions each on the survey. In at least one of each of those questions I used language that was as close to Frith's language as possible, and the rest of the questions were translations of Frith's language. There is no way of knowing now which of these questions were answered more accurately. It was important to me that Frith's meaning came across clearly in the survey. That, however, was not easily done. F or instance, Frith's second function is "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives." This function appears in a couple of different ways in the survey. Question two reads, "This song helps me think about who I am on the inside versus what I let other people see." In comparison, the two statements seem to be unrelated in some ways and related in others. The second statement seems to deal with identity and the first statement seems to deal with emotions. Emotions are a part of identity; therefore, the translation serves the purpose of conveying Frith's meaning. 'I banal; and so our culture has a supply of a million pop songs, which say 49 these things for us in numerous interesting and involving ways. These songs do not replace our conversations - pop singers do not do our courting for us - but they make our feelings seem richer and more convincing than we can make them appear in our own words, even to ourselves. (1987, p. 141) Some participants wrote about using their favorite song to work through their feelings for others. A translation, "I use this song to help me understand and work through my relationships with my friends, family and other people," of Frith's second function, "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives," resembles Frith's description of how this function plays itself out in society. Some participants wrote things like, "When I turn on this song, I do it because it is my truth, it is how I feel towards my Dad. " It is how they feel toward their dad. Not just close to how they feel toward their dad, but exactly how they feel toward their dad. Pop singers do not do our rebellion for us, to paraphrase Frith, "but they do make our feelings seem richer and more convincing than we can make them appear in our words, even to ourselves" (1987 p. 141). Table 1 shows which questions from the survey dealt with each of Frith's functions. The final essay template can be seen on Appendix C. The final survey can be seen on Appendix D. Discussion When thinking about how music functions in the lives of adolescents, particularly in the context of this study, one might envision students browsing through their iTunes library, saying to themselves, "Which of these songs will help me manage my private and public emotional lives? Ah yes, 'Change' by 2pac should do nicely." Of course, that is not how it happens. But is that vision that far from the truth? Do teenagers actively seek out songs to function in certain ways? It seems logical that they would. Take Frith's first 1 "When I turn on this song, I do it because it is my truth, it is how I feel towards my Dad. " is Pop singers do not do our rebellion for us, to paraphrase Frith, "but they do make our feelings scem richer and more convincing than we can make thcm appear in our words, 141). qucstions thc final survey can be seen on Appendix D. 50 function, or "to create a type of self-definition." For example, teenagers will not look for songs to download, saying to themselves "which of these helps me create a type of self-definition?" They might look for the song that their favorite snowboarding team "boards" to. They might look for music that their friends listen to. The musical tastes of individuals can often be surprising. A person who does not look like a country music fan may reveal that he loves Tim McGraw. A parent may reveal that she listens to 2pac. In either case, the surprise arises from the perception that only cowboys listen to cowboy music, and only "gangstas" listen to gangsta rap. Popular music has been linked to identity in the collective psyche. It seems true that the younger a person is, the truer that is. That is to say that one is more likely to choose music that matches a style of dress, the tastes of one's companions, and one's spare time activities. Of course, one cannot simply generalize all teenagers, but it seems easy enough to imagine a teenager seeking out music that will help him/her identify with a group, style, or idea. Perhaps it is more important in youth to identify one's self with a certain style of music for sociological reasons, to fit in, or ally oneself with a certain idea or overall style. Johnstone and Katz (1957) wrote that, "Musical tastes and preferences for particular songs and for particular disk jockeys are found to be anchored in relatively small groups of friends, suggesting that personal relations play an important role in musical fads and fashions" (p.563). In other words the teenagers in their study sought out music that helped them identify better with a certain group of friends or created a type of self-definition for them. Imagine a teenager consciously seeking out a song that fulfills Frith's second function or "to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and self­definition?" self­definition 51 public emotional lives." It is difficult to imagine anyone actively looking for a song that fulfills this function, and yet there are many songs that do fulfill this very function in our lives. Is it a coincidence that so many songs help people understand how they feel about the people in their lives? It is not difficult to see that an artist or songwriter would write songs that reflect a common experience. Frith wrote, "It is a peculiarity of everyday language that our most fraught and revealing declarations of feeling have to use phrases - 'I love/hate you', 'Help me!', 'I'm angry/scared' - which are boring and banal; and so our culture has a supply of a million pop songs, which say these things for us in numerous interesting and involving ways." It is not a coincidence that art imitates life, and life imitates art. Cooper (1996) illustrates an example of this. He presents a study about popular love songs during World War II that were calculatedly written to sound like letters. He writes about how, from 1941 to 1945, love songs, using what he calls the I/You song structure, functioned as an actual form of correspondence for many couples that were separated because of the war. Radio broadcasts of love songs continuously reinforced the validity and vitality of temporarily divided relationships. As letters crisscrossed the Atlantic and the Pacific bearing understandable sentiments of fear, anguish, boredom, loneliness and pain, music of the early '40s afforded a persistent pattern of lyrical support between soldier and sweetheart, husband and wife, brother and sister, son and mother. The root of this psychological support system was the traditional love ballad, (p. 15) He goes on to cite specific examples such as "I'll Be Home For Christmas" by Bing Crosby. Cooper (1996) notes that many songs of this nature that popped up during that time. While striving desperately to produce all-encompassing patriotic tunes, corporate recording moguls finally recognized that traditional love songs were emerging as language that our most fraught and revealing declarations of feeling have to use phrases - 'I love/hate you', 'Help me!', 'I'm angry/scared' - which are boring and banal; and so our culture has a supply of a million pop songs, which say these things for us in numerous interesting and involving ways." It is not a coincidence that art imitates life, and life imitates art. ballad. 52 the binding force between soldiers and their home front supporters. Military themes constituted the musical backdrop for romantically reinforcing songs that translated thoughts and feelings over airwaves more quickly and more efficiently than the postal service, (p.23) Cooper (1996) presents evidence of popular music fulfilling Frith's second function during World War II in the form of correspondence between people separated by oceans. He even goes as far as to write that it helped end the war. "In the end, the battle for hearts was won with lyrical pens rather than military swords. Coming home from the war was a goal made more appealing not by patriotism but by love" (p.27). Cooper also makes a very important point about the artists responsible for these epistolary type songs. He mentions that their careers were built on this format and that they continued to capitalize on it for decades after. One might argue that the I/You song structure discussed by Cooper has been a successful format ever since for roughly the same reasons it was successful in the forties. How many songs are there that have the words I or You or both I and You in the title? It seems reasonable to say that successful songs that follow the I/You format probably help people manage the relationship between their private and public emotional lives. Researchers examine the functions of music in specific settings (Pieslak, 2009; Rose, 2007; Rosenthal, 2001). Pieslak (2009) examines the functionality of popular music in the lives of soldiers in the Iraq war in his book Sound Targets: American Soldiers and Music in the Iraq War. There are many personal accounts of how music functioned in an everyday way for the soldiers. Here is one account given by a soldier from Operation Desert Storm: As my track passed through the breach, I had AC/DC 'Are you ready' and 'Thunderstruck' playing over the track intercom system. Kinda made for a good atmosphere/feeling for all of us with headphones on. Officers inside the track efficiently service. He mentions that their careers were built on this format and that they continued to capitalize on it for decades after. One might argue that the I1You song structure discussed by Cooper has been a successful format ever since for roughly the same reasons it was successful in the forties. How many songs are there that have the words I or You or both I and You in the title? seems reasonable to say that successful songs that follow the I/You format probably help people manage the relationship between their private and public emotional lives. 53 didn't mind cuz it wasn't cluttering up the unit comms. . . . Much of the music I listened to at the time was to get myself wound up . . . amped up so that I was ready for anything at that point. Being on an adrenalin rush felt good and having some AC/DC or some Megadeth accompanying it was even better.(pg.47) This account uses language that implies the third element of Frith's third function or "to intensify a given experience." Here is another example of soldiers that used popular music in a similar way: My husband was there with the Fourth ID (Infantry Division), which was one rotation prior to mine. They were in the shit a whole lot more than I was. They would go out and before they would go out, he said he remembers listening to a song [Lil' John's "I Don't Give a F***"]. They would listen to it over and over and over again, and they called it their "getting crunked" song. "Getting crunked" is just getting right with whatever you have to do, and getting in the right mindset. They would play it, and it had a refrain in it. . . and they would just chant that over and over and over again until they were pretty much screaming it. I understand because it takes a lot to get amped up to go out there because you can go out and you don't know what's going [to] happen. You have to be really kind of hyped up and ready for anything. It was just this loud, crude refrain that they could just repeat over and over and over again until they were ready to go out. (p.53) In other similar accounts, Pieslak (2009) discusses the common themes in the most popular songs among soldiers in the Iraq war, including death and killing. He also discusses how advances in music technology have allowed soldiers to use music in new ways. Soldiers were able to link mp3 players to their military vehicles and in turn into the communication systems in their combat helmets, allowing them to listen to whatever music they wanted to while they were on patrol or on a mission. Advances in musical technology and technology in general have changed the ways that music functions in all of our lives. Many teenagers have access to not just music anytime they want but music video anytime they want. A few of the participants in this study wrote about how a music video allowed them to understand the meaning of their song, or made them like their song more. It is conceivable that music videos can comms .... ... clement 10 mind set. it ... 54 function in some of the same ways that popular music functions. For instance, many people watch music videos on mobile devices while traveling on trains, planes or buses, and presumably, many of them would agree that watching that video makes their experience more intense or more enjoyable. In writing samples in this study that described the video of a favorite song, participants seemed to imply that the video supported the meaning of the song. Depending on how the music functions in the life of the particular listener or viewer, video could enhance the functionality of a particular song. Frith described his fourth function by writing that a person does not just "own" the music physically, but a person "owns" certain performers and performances. People are upset by others who do not agree with them about the validity of a certain album or song in the overall scheme of popular music. Frith describes encountering anger about how he treated someone's favorite singer in a review he gave as a rock critic. People would tell him that they were personally offended by the bad review of their favorite artists. Conclusions Many of the participants in this study demonstrated in their essays and surveys that their favorite songs function in the ways that Frith identifies as the four sociological functions of popular music: (a) to create a type of self-definition; (b) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one's private and public emotional lives; (c) to shape popular memory, organize one's sense of time, and intensify a given experience; and (d) to provide a sense of musical ownership. Through the analysis of the writing samples coupled with the surveys I have concluded that the participants' favorite songs fulfill one and presumably, many of them would agree that watching that video makes their experience more intense or more enjoyable. In writing samples in this study that described the video of a favorite song, participants seemed to imply that the video supported the meaning of the song. Depending on how the music functions in the life of the particular listener or viewer, video could enhance the functionality of a particular song. coupled with the surveys I have concluded that the participants' favorite songs fulfill one or more of Frith's four functions of popular music to some extent in the lives of the participants. Recommendations For Further Research As is the case with almost all research, this study has generated ideas for more research. The process of reading and analyzing essays about popular music stimulated many questions about the nature of popular music and its functions. Recommendations for further research include (a) research about the sociological functions of popular music, (b) research about the nature of popular music, and (c) research about the use of popular music in education. The Sociological Functions of Popular Music The current study could be replicated with any number of populations. Some examples of the types of populations that would work are (a) junior high or middle school students, (b) college students, (c) music education majors, (d) high school choir students, (e) students who are learning English as a second language, (f) adults, (g) seniors, (h) at risk youth, (i) elementary students (though obvious changes would need to be made), (j) professional musicians, and (k) teachers. Researchers might try to determine the difference between popular music that is used intentionally for a certain purpose, or music that is intentionally functional, and popular music that functions unintentionally in people's lives. What types of music are more likely to fulfill each of Frith's functions? When does a song stop being functional sociologically? Music 55 56 A study could be done about the third element of Frith's third function or "to intensify a given experience." Using the same recommendations for types of populations mentioned previously, a study could be created that collected data through a survey about what kind of music best fulfills the third element of Frith's third function. The same study might be replicated with all of Frith's functions. Researchers could measure how functional a specific song is for certain populations. Case studies might examine any number of types of people and how music functions in their everyday life. Participants could be given a music function journal in which they would record how music functions in their life on a daily basis. Researchers could examine the functionality of music videos. The Nature of Popular Music Because popular music is always changing, there are new types of music and new ways of listening. Researchers might examine the phenomenon of "listening" to music on YouTube. How is music labeled into genre categories? Using some of the writing samples from this study, further research could be done that examines the transcendent qualities of popular music. One could do a case study that examines how popular music can be used to enlighten and heal. Are there common musical elements in songs that become "hits?" How much does music actually change across genres? The Use of Popular Music in Education Studies that examine the use of popular music in core subjects such as math, science, social studies, and language are needed. One might examine the difference between learning a piece of popular music that has been arranged, and a piece of popular Music Y ouTube. Education difference 57 music that is learned by wrote in a school setting. How do students respond to learning popular music by wrote versus learning popular music through notation? What are parents' attitudes towards the use of popular music in school? What are teachers' attitudes toward the use of popular music in schools? Does education about different genres of music have an affect on genre preference? Researchers could examine writing songs in popular styles in a school setting. Recommendations for Music Education Practice The essays and surveys of the participants in this study demonstrate how their favorite songs function in their lives. Frith's functions provide a wealth of discussion material for many different ages of students. Students in ensembles that perform popular music could be asked to determine which of Frith's four functions a particular popular song they are learning is most likely to fulfill. Directors of ensembles who focus on popular styles of music could use Frith's functions as a theme for the year, developing rehearsals and discussions about how the particular songs might function in the students' or others' lives. Teachers of general music classes could replicate the current study twice a year to see if the students' favorite songs change over the course of the year. An effort should be made by all music teachers to help their students make text-to-life connections. Using music that students are familiar with is a way to encourage that connective type of thinking. Getting students to write about how the music they listen to and perform functions in their lives also creates connections. Discussions about the nature of the music they listen to can be a helpful connection to other core subjects such as social Recommendations/or Practice dcmonstrate of'music 58 studies and literature. Popular music lyrics are rich with references to older popular music songs, current events, and people in history - both musical and nonmusical. Popular music is also rich with musical references to composers from the past and present. Both of these elements of popular music can be used in numerous ways to expand the musical learners understanding of how music works, where it comes from and what it means. Popular music is complex both culturally and musically and therefore, worthy of study and the attention of music educators, if not for the fact that popular music is culturally and musically relevant, then for the fact that it functions in the lives of their students in many different ways. Knowing how music functions in the lives of music students can aid music educators' repertoire choice, curriculum planning, and interactions with their students. As a general music teacher 1 find it important to know what types of music my students listen to and how they listen to it. It gives me an insight into how they use music in their lives. I direct a choir at my school that is called the Rock n' Roll History Choir. We only sing popular music, and we do not use choral arrangements. We learn the music by listening and then singing. We have a student drummer, bass guitarist, electric guitarist, piano player, and several acoustic guitarists. Just recently, I had choir members write choir intentions essays in which they had to tell me why they want to be in choir and what songs they think we should do next. Several of the students wrote about how they are glad that we sing the kind of music that we sing instead of 'regular choir music.' My goal is that the Rock n' Roll History Choir become a student-led group, in which all the music is student selected and arranged. This study was a step in my understanding of how popular music functions in the lives of adolescents and part of an -- both musical and nonmusical. Popular learners understanding of how music works, where it comes from and what it means. I find it important to know what types of music my I listory 59 overarching philosophy that popular music is a valuable tool for teaching the elements of music and connecting music to other content areas. The fact that Frith's four sociological functions of popular music hold true in the lives of the participants, validates the music that they listen to from a sociologically functional standpoint. Using popular music in my curriculum validates in another way the music that my students listen to. It lets them see that the music they listen to can be used in a scholarly way to start conversations about many topics, to teach musical theory, and to teach musical performance. The study of popular music education can validate the use of popular music in a school setting. Applications of Popular Music in the Classroom As a music educator, part of my philosophy of music education is that the use of popular music in the classroom can validate students as important participants in the classroom community, help to meet students where they are, and empower students by allowing them to contribute new texts and materials to the curriculum. Young people, like adults, need to feel important. It is my objective in my classroom that all students know that their point of view is heard, and that it is valid. When I presented my students with the idea that we might sing some of "their music" in our concerts I was flooded with requests. I was inundated with unsolicited papers full of song titles and band names. I know that some of these students would not be in my choir if we were not singing songs by Coldplay and Bob Marley. Participants in the present study demonstrated through their writing that they "owned" certain artists and songs, or used their favorite song "to create a type of self-definition" (Frith, 1987). Allowing my 60 students to bring similar possessions and identities to my classroom, and using them in a formal classroom setting, therefore validates what they own and who they are. To help meet my students where they are, I ask myself several questions. What do my students know about music? What do they like about music? How does music appear in their lives? Knowing the answers to these questions helps me find a starting point for my lesson planning. Invariably I find that my students know things about music that I do not know, that they like popular music, and that music appears in their lives in ways that it does not in mine. I am sure that if they asked me the same questions, they would find that I like popular music, that I know things about music they do not know, and that music appears in my life in ways that it does not appear in theirs. Good teachers do not expect their students to know what they know. Instead they start with a base of concepts and skills that serve as a common ground for both teacher and student from which they can build. A music teacher can use popular music as a starting place filled with accessible musical concepts and materials upon which to build. If popular music is what my students know and enjoy, it makes sense to validate it. Doing this will allow me to meet my students where they are. Smagorinsky (1995) presents a reconceptualization of writing as a tool for learning as well as a rethinking of what we consider to be texts. He describes artistic composition as the creation of texts. Smagorinsky states, "...educators ought to question the privileged status of the textual forms that they allow students to produce and consider the potential of other acts of composing for enabling students to develop thought, (p. 160)" Smagorinsky challenges "textual forms" and provides examples of other forms of composing to develop thought, and by doing so, presents the idea of a musical expect their students to know what they know. Instead they start with a base of concepts my students know and enjoy, it makes sense to validate it. Doing this will allow me to " ... educators thought. 61 composition as text. Popular songs can be used as texts in almost all classrooms. A music teacher need not stretch very far to include popular music in the curriculum. Popular music contains all the elements that students are expected to learn according to state and national standards. By allowing students to write music in popular forms, as well as select popular forms of music to analyze and perform, a music teacher empowers the student. Students can take ownership of their education when they supply the text or materials for learning. Instead of the teacher choosing the repertoire, the students choose it, and therefore become more invested in its success. Popular music can help to validate and empower students in the classroom, and provide a common ground where both teacher and student can be comfortable beginning musically. Teachers lose nothing by incorporating popular music into the curriculum, and when they do so, students have so much to gain. tex t. curri culum . stude nts val idate gro und comfo rtable musicall y. Ihey APPENDIX ESSAY TEMPLATE APPENDIX A ESSA Y 63 Name Date Please use this paper to tell me why your favorite song is your favorite song. Please describe as many reasons as you can about why this song is your favorite. You can also tell me: when you listen to it, why you listen to it, how you listen to it, with whom you listen to it, how makes you feel when you listen to it, or anything else you want to tell me about this song. Pleas write the title of your favorite song and who performs it in the spaces provided. You can use the back of this paper if needed. Title Performer Name, _______ Date, __ _ favo ri te reaso ns Ihis it li sten e lse te ll aryaur usc i r Tit le ____________ _ Pcrformer ____________ _ APPENDIX B FIRST SURVEY TEMPLATE 65 Favor