From beloved heartwarming Christmas melodies to intense songs of angry political and social protest, music is one of the most emotionally charged forms of expression. Although the psychological research behind that statement is fascinatingly complex, the layman’s explanation is quite simple: music is a powerful combination of both lyrics and sounds. These two elements work in tandem to create and support a common message, which can have long-range impact in determining facets of one’s social or cultural identity. Because of music’s key role in the lives of ourselves and our students, it is natural to consider its implications for classroom use, especially to elucidate abstract concepts that might easily confuse our students.
One such concept is theme—more specifically, determining a theme for a given set of texts, or working backwards to create a set of texts around a common theme. Music offers an opportunity to slow down; students most both read and listen to a text to get a complete sense of its meaning, and modeling the importance of working with a process (rather than simply completing a final product) is crucial to students’ development as writers.
The following activity is designed to introduce students to the importance of recognizing nuances in theme.
- Prior to class, choose a selection of concept albums. Write individual song titles from the albums onto notecards.
- Group the students together by album. How do the songs work together to build or support the album’s theme? What multiple perspectives or layers are present?
My go-to selections are Lemonade (Beyoncé), 15 Minutes (Barry Manilow), Red (Taylor Swift), This is Country Music (Brad Paisley), and Songs in the Key of Life (Stevie Wonder). Lemonade embraces Beyoncé’s perspective as a proud Black woman reclaiming her identity after tumultuous relationship struggles with Jay-Z; her messages are not only rooted in Black history, but in the artist’s personal journey. Manilow’s album takes a slightly different approach by presenting the chronological account of a fictional celebrity’s journey through fame using both vocal and instrumental pieces. Red presents multiple emotional responses to lost love with an overarching color motif. This is Country Music examines the cultural and social impact of the country music genre. Finally, Songs in the Key of Life is rooted in Stevie Wonder’s conflicting feelings of disillusionment and renewed vigor as he reassessed his place in the music industry, ultimately reflecting several topics in his track listing, from honoring contributions of all races to global humanitarian efforts.
The whole-group discussion that follows is one that examines each group’s prepared theme with textual support from the lyrics and musical observations from the melodies. For example, several common themes that have emerged from my students’ analysis of Red are that love is both a steady and transient emotion; love affects everybody differently; and love evolves as both partners change. While some tracks express the youthful excitement of a first love, other tracks reflect bitter disappointment and anger—all of which are valid emotions when navigating romantic relationships. The lyrics generally match the songs’ orchestration, although there are some notable examples where the titles indicate a different tone than is actually present in the song itself; students have interpreted this as more than a stylistic choice, but as a continuation of the artist’s exploration of theme: relationships can be unpredictable.
Because song lyrics are generally easy to understand and interpret, students enjoy seeing how each song is slightly different than the others in the track listing, while still creating a cohesive motif. Today’s students may not be familiar with the idea of concept albums; their personal playlists are often an eclectic collection of different artists and genres, rather than a unified representation of a single artist’s style. (To that end, I have also used concept albums to discuss how to describe an author’s style.)
This activity can also be extended to make the literature connection even more deliberate:
- In their groups, students find 3-5 poems to create a “concept album” based on a certain motif or theme. Alternatively, the instructor could provide a theme for students.
- What does each poem contribute to the “concept album”? What voices and perspectives are present?
I typically choose motifs or themes with opportunities for diverse perspectives, such as identity and culture, war and peace, or love and relationships. Rather than feel stymied by the open-ended nature of these categories, students tend to enjoy exploring the topic to see all possible options. For example, groups could interpret “war and peace” to include conflict within a family, as well as political or social tensions in the United States and abroad.
When using this extension of the activity, I like to expand it into multiple days. For each poem students include in their “concept album,” they reflect on several surrounding ideas, including the author’s background and the historical/social context that influenced the work; the individual literary elements that contribute to an overall tone; and any limitations the poem has, such as a voice that only represents a small fraction of the population, or a viewpoint that is not held by the majority of the students themselves.
Musical concept albums give students the opportunity to experience several short texts in one sitting and see each song’s connection to the artist’s larger message. By using these concept albums as a bridge to analyzing more complex texts for thematic development, students are able to see how many textual elements work together to create a solid theme. Just as a musician’s message is conveyed through both melody and lyrics, so an author uses many smaller elements (figurative language, syntax, dialogue, etc.) to develop a larger take-away.
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MEJ 