MUZIC APPRECIATION: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN GENERATION Z & CLASSICAL MUSIC By Timothy Dale Green Liberty University A MASTER’S CURRICULUM PROJECT PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MUSIC EDUCATION Lynchburg, Virginia April 2018 ii MUZIC APPRECIATION: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN GENERATION Z & CLASSICAL MUSIC by Timothy Dale Green A Curriculum Project Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Music Education Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA April 2018 APPROVED BY: Mindy Damon, Ed.D., Ed.S., M.M., B.S., Advisor Stephen Muller, D.Min., M.M. B.M., Reader Vernon M. Whaley, PhD., M.M., B.M., Dean of the School of Music iii Abstract Today’s music educators stand in a strategic position in the history of classical music in America. At a time when symphony orchestras are struggling to survive due to an aging and declining customer base, a generation of musical omnivores are ripe for a connection to the world of classical music. Generation Z has a vast, eclectic musical appetite, choosing to listen to a variety of genres and styles of music instead of adopting a generational style. However, they have limited interaction with classical music due to certain non-musical attitudes and values. It is possible the disconnect between Generation Z and classical music can be bridged with an innovative approach to music appreciation courses in higher education. This study examined existing literature concerning the non-music major student’s interaction with classical music in an effort to determine factors that influence Generation Z’s attitudes and exposure to classical music. The research revealed that the attitudes, behaviors, and values of Generation Z are influential factors in the interaction and enjoyment of classical music. These factors informed the creation of a curricular framework that facilitates engaging popular music to make connections with other genres in a music appreciation course for non-music majors. Keywords: classical music, post-millennial students, Generation Z, music appreciation, music education, musical omnivore, collegiate non-music major iv Table of Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iii Chapter One: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 Background .........................................................................................................................2 Statement of the Problem ....................................................................................................4 Statement of the Purpose ....................................................................................................5 Significance of the Project ..................................................................................................6 Research Questions and Hypothesis ...................................................................................6 Definition of Terms .............................................................................................................7 Chapter Two: Literature Review ....................................................................................................9 Generation Z Characteristics and Values ............................................................................9 Generation Z Interaction with Music ................................................................................11 Factors Influencing Musical Choices ................................................................................15 Music Appreciation Curriculum .......................................................................................23 Chapter Three: Methods ...............................................................................................................29 Introduction ........................................................................................................................29 Research Questions and Hypothesis .................................................................................30 Chapter Four: Research Findings...................................................................................................31 Factors Influencing Classical Music Interaction................................................................31 How Can muZic Appreciation Help? ................................................................................34 Chapter Five: Conclusions and Recommendations .......................................................................37 muZic Appreciation ..........................................................................................................37 Appendix A: Curriculum Project ..................................................................................................41 v Appendix B: Exploring Music Form .............................................................................................68 Appendix C: Voice/Instrument Classification Form .....................................................................69 Appendix D: Music Listening Analysis Form ...............................................................................70 References .....................................................................................................................................71 1 Chapter One: Introduction Music appreciation courses have long been a staple in university classrooms. As a result of a movement which reached its height in the early 1900s, the scope of music appreciation extended beyond the classroom to encompass popular media and include the latest technology.1 An understanding of and appreciation for classical, or Western art music was required to be considered an educated person.2 But decades of shifts in educational priorities and funding as well as constant progression in popular music and technology have drastically altered the musical landscape in America.3 A new group of students is filling college and university classrooms. Generation Z, a widely diverse and constantly connected generation sometimes referred to as “digital natives,” has stepped out of the shadows of their generational siblings, the Millennials. Though some researchers refer to them as young or late millennials, the trend is to mark the new generation with those born in the mid-1990s.4 Gen-Z attitudes and values closely resemble those of Millennials only more intense, earning them the descriptor “millennials on steroids.”5 These generations have ushered in a musical mindset differing from previous generations, being the 1. Michael Mark and Charles Gary, A History of American Music Education, Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield Education, 2007. 2. Heather McNeely, “Questioning Boundaries in Traditional Music Appreciation Pedagogy: A Study on the Effect of an Attentive Listening-Based Approach on the Music Appreciation Achievement of College, Non- Music Majors.” 3. Lewis Gordon, “College Music Appreciation: Pedagogical Approaches and Preliminary Findings.” College Music Symposium 36, (1996): 103. 4. Joan Hope, “Get Your Campus Ready for Generation Z.” Enrollment Management Report 20 no. 4 (2017), 4. 5. Libby Kane, “Meet Generation Z, the ‘Millennials on Steroids’ Who Could Lead the Charge for Change in the US.” Business Insider (September 15, 2017). http://www.businessinsider.com/generation-z-profile-2017-9. 2 first without a generational music preference, 6 choosing instead to listen to a wide range of genres and styles and sometimes referred to as musical omnivores.7 Generation Z has a vast, eclectic musical appetite, but does not interact with classical music. This conflict could be addressed and overcome in collegiate non-music major students with an innovative approach to music appreciation curriculum. Background Music education in America has a long and sometimes tenuous history. In 1837, Lowell Mason and his associates, confident music should be taught to children in school, volunteered their time to teach music in the Boston public school system. The following year Boston added music to the school’s curriculum.8 Public schools throughout America began following Boston’s example. In 1862 John Knowles Paine, the newly hired organist at Harvard University9 began offering a series of music lectures to all undergraduate students on the topic of music history and appreciation.10 Paine would go on to head Harvard’s department of music, the first in an American university.11 Throughout the 1880s Thomas Surrette gave lecture recitals in the United 6. Richard Sweeney, “Millennial Behaviors & Demographics.” New Jersey Institute of Technology. December 22, 2006. https://certi.mst.edu/media/administrative/certi/documents/Article-MillennialBehaviors.pdf. 7. Alexander Legeros, “The Case for Engaging Millennials in Classical Music: Classical Music is in Purgatory,” Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, (2016): 6, http://hdl.handle.net/ 11299/180416. 8. Edward Birte, History of Public School Music in the United States. Philadelphia: Oliver Ditson Company, 1937. 9. John Knowles Paine – 1906. Online Text. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/ item/ihas.200185359/. 10. McNeely, “Questioning Boundaries,” 11. 11. John Knowles Pain – 1906. 3 States and England, playing musical examples and providing historical and biographical information about the music and composers.12