http://unlvrebelyell.com/2011/12/05/lyrics-as-literature/
This article by Camalot Todd was very interesting to read. “Interpreting song lyrics as a literature device can aid in furthering and bettering the understanding of cultures during different time periods and in relations to different groups of individuals.” When you study song lyrics you can get a good image of people who were around when the piece was written and how they were influenced.
This piece focus’s on songs in China during Marco Polo’s time. It is written about a lecture given by Patricia Sieber at Ohio State University. She explains how many of the musical compositions and melodies from this time have been lost over the years but that a good amount of the lyrics survived. Even without the melody we gain a lot of insight into this time period from the words that were written.
Using lyrics from songs as a form of understanding is not limited to this specific case. Music plays a big role in the lifestyle and cultures of the people. Sieber states in this article, “We need to rethink the way we view how these songs play a role in world literature and in world history”. This is true because doing so could help us understand the world and the past outside of just the facts given in textbooks.
Before reading this I never really looked at the lyrics to a song being a form of literature. Now however, I am curious why all through school we never used music as a way to gain a better understanding of cultures and different time periods. I think incorporating songs into a lesson would be a good way to grab the attention of students. It might also help their understanding by helping them look at it as more than just facts to memorize. It might help to put them into the shoes of the people at that time so they can form a better image in their heads.
Wow. A lot of really interesting thoughts coming from Todd's article. I think it's really important for teachers to use chidlren's culture and background as a basis for learning. While I was observing a second grade classroom in Chicago a few years ago, I was introduced to a teacher who used rap as a medium for writing and analyzing poetry. Every Friday children were given the oportunity to write and recite poetry-raps they had written during the week. Students were excited to share their poetry, a subject often viewed as boring, with their peers. This experience really changed the way I viewed teaching poetry and lyrics as lit.
ReplyDeleteThis is really an interesting idea. In one of my high school classes, I had to analyze lyrics as a form of poetry. I felt like this was a good assignment because it is an easier way to approach poetry. I never thought about viewing song lyrics to understand a culture or a different time period until this year. In my History 202 class, my teacher has a song in almost all of her powerpoint presentations.
ReplyDeleteI think that viewing lyrics is a great way to hold the attention of students.