Do kids these days appreciate music? - A teacher's observation

I am currently a music teacher at an elementary school. Our school's philosophy is one based off of arts-integrated principles, meaning that even in academic classes, the arts - visual, dramatic, or musical - play an important part in the learning environment.

Every day, students listen to classical and jazz, instilling in them a strong appreciation for deeper, more complex music. Many of them are regularly exposed to folk, jazz, classical, and other 'non-mainstream' forms of music.

Still, I wonder often whether or not kids these days appreciate 'good' music - meaning whether or not they appreciate emotional delivery, musicianship, theory, and the complexity of lyrics and harmony.

While doing my jazz lesson with my fourth/fifth graders today, I showed them two video clips. The first was of Ella Fitzgerald, seamlessly scatting her way through "One Note Samba." The second was of a young Amy Winehouse performing a stellar rendition of the standard, "Teach Me Tonight." While the students were certainly appreciative and in awe of Ella's stellar talent, they were utterly silenced by Amy Winehouse's performance and her ability to emote so effortlessly. For three and a half minutes, they were totally fixated on her musicianship, emotional delivery, and stage presence. Afterward, they described how even though they didn't understand the lyrics, they felt how emotional her performance was and a certain "sadness" in her performance. When they found out she passed away, they were moved. They were amazed that someone so young could be capable of such musicianship and that she is no longer here to share her gift.

I have had a number of encounters this year with students that have left me amazed at how much they have been exposed to art and music, but this lesson really amazed me. If they are taught to be sensitive and appreciative of more than just the beat of a good song, they are opening themselves up to appreciation of good music, as well as to feelings of awe and emotional connectivity we often feel to our music.

Conclusion: YES, kids these days DO appreciate music!

We are products of our environments. When I lived in Memphis, I remember one day a kid called the local station and asked them to play Snoop Dogg's 'Gin and Juice', a most decidedly adult song, even in its radio edit. The morning radio DJ team got a laugh out of what was probably a seven-year old's request, asking him if he knew what the song was about. I thought it was sad.

Thanks for teaching the next generation. They need as much exposure from caring mentors as they can get.

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Originally Posted by antceleb12

Still, I wonder often whether or not kids these days appreciate 'good' music - meaning whether or not they appreciate emotional delivery, musicianship, theory, and the complexity of lyrics and harmony.

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"Good" is a subjective judgement.

I don't think you can generalize it, and it depends a lot on the kid's parents and environment around them. There are certainly kids who appreciate music to the degree some of us here do, and ones that don't at all.

My 15 year old nephew plays the trumpet and acoustic guitar. He loves Miles Davis and artists like that. Me and my family played nothing but good music around him and that influenced him.

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Originally Posted by soulster

"Good" is a subjective judgement.

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Hence why I placed 'good' in quotations.

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Originally Posted by thomas96

I don't think you can generalize it, and it depends a lot on the kid's parents and environment around them. There are certainly kids who appreciate music to the degree some of us here do, and ones that don't at all.

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That's my point. Kids who, even with all the mainstream pop and Top 40 hits around them, receive consistent exposure to culture and more complex music such as jazz or classical are still able to appreciate music beyond a song's beat.

Glad to say that my 7 year old great grandaughter appreciates the music I grew up with and even ask to hear them on her own.

Great comments. I'd suggest that my interpretation of 'good' music is that it's foundational. It should at the very least have logical structure and be influential to people beyond its time period. Hence, I was a huge fan of my father's favorite artists from the '50s and '60s, even though I was born in 1962. The fact that a large number of my favorite songs are obscure and never charted proves that my selection of 'good' music is extremely subjective and very personal.

With that being said, there's a reason some of the greats were great. Exposing kids to the likes of Ella, Duke, Stevie, the Beatles, Patsy Cline, Sinatra, and Charlie Parker is likely to inspire at least some of them.

Unfortunately, the majority of children today is what they are exposed to on pop radio. Good to hear about those being exposed, such as your students, really showing appreciation.