Musical Manipulation

and the Droopy Eyed Teenager

The Monday morning after a long winter break just might be the least motivating moment for a high school student all year. The refreshed yet droopy-eyed high school student wakes up in the dark to walk to school in single digit temperatures to stand in a stretched out line to place a backpack on a conveyer belt to walk through screeching metal detectors to finally sit down in a stiff chair under glaring fluorescent lights to learn about some seemingly irrelevant information.

Unsurprisingly, the mood of many students on these days are that of a recently bathed cat; irritable, glum, and perhaps revengeful. All three moods play out to be a less than desirable learning “state of mind.” Unlike the face emojis students text each other, their actual mood and emotions are nuanced, and without much control for what is sent and received. But it’s understandable that students struggle at this age to self-regulate as it is expected. Students are no longer blissfully ignorant children (despite what is often said about them by others) they are adolescent turning adult students that are now expected to control their emotions.

But emotions are hard. My students, like many others, find tools to help manage this growing responsibility. Some turn to their phones, others to their friends, and a certain few will attempt to light up in the bathroom. As a music teacher it is encouraging to see those who turn to music during their day. Many will listen to music as a way of completing their identity (the choice of headphones is as important as what they listen to). Whether intended or not, the music certainly has affect on a student’s mood as I see by the way students carry themselves and interact with others.

Perhaps “musical manipulation” is not the most flattering phrase but I believe it accurately (in most situations) describes the use of music in my general music classroom. Outside of the music used for pedagogical purpose (i.e. lets listen to Chicago blues to enhance our understanding of the Great Migration and Delta Blues), I use student created playlists to greet/dismiss students, accompany in-class projects/activities, and at times class discussions. While I could rationalize this idea to the importance of listening in a music class, or to being ‘culturally responsive’ to my students background, the equally if not greater rationalization is to provide additional motivation to students, who might otherwise be unwilling, to actively participate.

While I certainly haven’t conducted any formal study to measure mood or cognitive performance, I do see symptoms of positive and stabilized moods in many cases. I also don’t expect some sort of ‘Mozart Effect’ (which is in itself problematic) to occur with my students. But perhaps the best outcome would be to have helped students understand their own identity and how music can or does play a role in forming an identity while also regulating mood. If students also become less miserable on those Monday after break days, that would be good too.