Music to Their Ears

Instructor, April, 2000 by Roberts McParland

That's what literature can become to youngsters where we integrate music into our lessons.

Upon hearing the first powerful strains of Beetoven's Fifth Symphony, the dark-haired girl in the second row, crayon grasped tightly in hand, attacked the page before her. Her lines were heavy and jagged, like lightning across a summer sky. "This music makes me feel angry," she told me. Beethoven was helping this sixth grader express the rage she felt about her parents' recent divorce.

The incident reminded me that music can be a volatile force in the language arts classroom. Our responses to music can be intense and personal. But this makes music a powerful vehicle for teachers leading students into literature. When children listen to a song that is thematically linked to the literature they are studying, an exciting synthesis can occur. I've found that this combination encourages deeper processing of information, dramatically increases reading comprehension and retention, and invigorates the learning process.

Artists and songs that are appropriate for kids in upper-elementary and middle school are cited in the pages that follow. But through the use of more age-appropriate music, the basic strategies discussed are just as effective in earlier grades.

The Power of Pop

While we frequently use visuals to enhance students' reading comprehension, I believe many of us overlook the auditory realm. Popular music, which permeates our culture and the lives of kids, is an extremely helpful tool for engaging their interest. Some may initially ask what the Backstreet Boys, Madonna, or the Goo Goo Dolls could possibly have to offer academically. For one, popular artists often address themes that relate to kids' lives: romantic dreams (Hanson, the Backstreet Boys), wishfulness (Christina Aguilera, Jewel). Their lyrics can reassure young people that someone understands just how they feel. Using popular music as a hook, you can guide students to evaluate the emotions it evokes, to draw parallels with literature, and to explore less familiar musical genres and artists.

I have found it a good idea to mix newer acts like Lauryn Hill, Matchbox 20, and Third Eye Blind with recording artists who are popular, yet have longevity. Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Mariah Carey are highly visible recording artists who have proven they have staying power. Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Eric Clapton may seem like ancient history to some students, but the quality of their work is indisputable.

To introduce popular music into your classroom, don't think you'll have to spend hours listening to the Smashing Pumpkins, Hanson, or Jewel. Your students will have plenty of ideas and be eager to bring CDs and cassettes to class. However, review the songs carefully to ascertain that they are age-appropriate and don't contain offensive lyrics. Many CDs come with liner notes containing lyrics that you can quickly scan. Tell students that they will need to choose their selections wisely and should be able to explain why a song they propose has merit. Ask them to describe, in discussion or writing, how the song makes them feel. What images does the artist use? What do they notice about the language? For ideas on how to locate lyrics and materials on your own, see Music Resources, page 29.

Touring Cut Songs

While current hits may serve as a hook to draw students in, I've found that other musical genres can offer greater depth, meaning, and relevance to literature. Musical theater provides a rich storehouse of well-crafted lyrics, often concerning human relationships. Libraries are an excellent resource for material such as audiotapes, videocassettes, and musical scores. With his song "O1' Man River," from Show Boat, Oscar Hammerstein II characterizes an entire community and its way of life through the voice of an African-American dockhand on a Mississippi levee. This song can be linked to Mark Twain's tales of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer or the short stories of Zora Neale Hurston, Charles Chesnutt, and other writers who focus on African-American culture in Southern settings. The plot of Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story can be linked to a unit on Romeo and Juliet or on S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, a novel about teen group Rivalries. Alan Jay Lerner's lyrics for My Fair Lady effectively characterize Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins and raise issues about culture, class, and learning.

Many songwriters draw inspiration from literature. For instance, Sting drew upon Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun") for his song "Nothing Like the Sun." Paul Simon refers to Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost in his song "Old Friends/Bookends," and he adapted the theme of Edward Arlington Robinson's "Richard Cory," about a wealthy and unhappy man, in his song of the same name--a good choice for a song/poem comparison. (You might also share the text of A.R. Gurney's play Richard Cory.) Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn's songs from the musical Cats come to us out of T.S. Eliot's poetic voice.