Stay in the Mix with Music!

Who: All people who love music
What: Music In Our Schools Month
When: All month long
Websites: Music for All [1]

Did you know...

• Almost 50% of music teachers nationwide say funding cuts affected their programs last year and would continue to do so in the upcoming year.
• Students involved in school music programs scored 107 points higher on their SATs than students with no participation.
• Ninety-five percent of Americans believe music is a key component to a child's well-rounded education.

Sources: School Music Matters [2] and Music for All [3]

Student Voices
Sometimes, music can create powerful intergroup connections, shattering stereotypes:

A music-tutoring program matches mostly affluent, mostly white Carnegie-Mellon University students with mostly impoverished, mostly black middle-schoolers, helping everyone involved shatter stereotypes. Carnegie-Mellon student Annie Savarese launched the program in 2002. "It completely opened my eyes," she said, referring to how little she knew about the lives of young people within walking distance of her college, people she otherwise never would have met. "I'm teaching them about music, but they're teaching me about the world." Savarese recalls a young flutist who went to band class every day, day after day, simply pushing air through her instrument, unable to make music. In a tutoring session, with one-on-one attention from Savarese, the girl started playing notes. "That," Savarese said, "was a nice moment."

Other times, music itself can perpetuate stereotypes:

"I've noticed that a lot of music puts women in a shallow light. With some of the women singers out there, there's this theme of competition, like you have to be better than everyone, look better than everyone."
-- Virginia Tran, 16

"I'm an African American female -- full black, I mean I'm pretty dark. I think a lot of music and videos paint this picture of the interracial or light-skinned girls as being the most beautiful. I think that bothers me more than some of the explicit stuff -- it bothers me more than the misogyny."
-- Shawna Fitz, 16

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had the opportunity to make music with a partner or group? What kind of skills did you have to use?
• How does making music together build bridges between people?
• Does some music make you angry in the way it portrays certain groups of people -- women, gays and lesbians, Christians? What can you do about it?

Activity Ideas

• Listen to the song "What Can One Little Person Do?" [4]. The song talks about several individuals who made a difference for social justice -- Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Discuss what each person did to help the world. Then, in small groups, create a new verse for the song about someone you admire or something you want to achieve. When everyone is finished, sing some of the new verses together to the tune of the song. (Grades K-5)

• Have students listen to protest music and then brainstorm in small groups issues they might protest today. How can music be used to further the protest causes students listed? Have students bring in a favorite song and change the words to make it a protest song. (All Grades)

• As a class, listen to the Simon and Garfunkel song "At the Zoo," [5] writing down the labels used to describe each animal (monkeys, giraffes, elephants, etc.). In small groups, write a short explanation and justification of the label attached to one of the animals; be creative, even funny if you like. Take turns reading the explanations aloud. Then discuss the following questions: Do you think the animal's label was fair and reasonable? Do you ever use similar information, or lack of information, to make judgments about people? Can you think of examples in your school where a group of people defines and justifies a stereotype about another group? (Grades 9-12)

Books (and Music!) in the Mix
Music for the End of Time ($17) chronicles the real-life story of French composer Olivier Messiaen and his imprisonment in a World War II concentration camp.
(Grades 4-6) Eerdmans Books for Young Readers; ISBN# 0-8028-5229-7

Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad ($15) contains 16 spirituals slaves used in their quest for freedom.
(All Grades) Appleseed Recordings; ASIN# B000005BPI

Oscar: The Life and Music of Oscar Peterson ($16.95) looks at one of the great jazz musicians of all time. The biography also shows how the history of jazz parallels the history of confronting racism.
(Grades 6-12) Groundwood Books; ISBN# 0-888-99537-7