Resources: 1.) Your music file storage system, preset radio stations, playlists created on iTunes, or Pandora stations 2.) Internet 3.) ( I grew up listening to country, christian, hip-hop, rap at home, and classical music in school while completing assigned readings to help us focus and have background noise) 4.) I have been to one concert as an adult, Jack Harlow 2 years ago Introduction and Alignment: Scanning through available radio stations for a few moments will likely reveal, at least in part, the breadth of musical styles available today. There are genres, sub-genres, and crossover artists, and thanks to technology, we can access these at any time of the day or night. Understanding our personal preferences is a good place to start, as we will embark on listening to music outside our preferences. It’s also helpful to remember everyone else’s preferences are as strong as ours, and the diversity in sounds and styles and lyrics can help us understand others better. Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to: examine and articulate personal preferences as they relate to music. Assignment Instructions Complete the following items: Part 1 (1-2 paragraphs) Spend a few minutes thinking about your earliest musical memories – what kinds of music did your parents, grandparents, or older siblings play? Would you describe the styles you heard as a child as varied, or did most or all come from the same style or genre? Do you listen to those styles or genres today? If you don’t listen to those styles regularly anymore, how do you feel when you hear them? What role did your childhood listening experiences play in establishing your current musical preferences? Part 2 (3-4 paragraphs) Spend some time researching the musical styles and artists who were most prominent during your high school years – what were the big hits, who were the most famous artists, which genres were most popular? Consider the songs which topped the charts in your preferred genre – what do they have in common? What themes emerge in the lyrics? What is the characteristic “sound” which dominates these particular years? Consider the artists who made these chart-toppers famous – what are their primary similarities and differences? In what ways do these artists and chart-topping songs reflect the culture at that time? Which issues were they highlighting? Were they most interested in promoting something or protesting something? Did these artists extend previous styles or create entirely new sounds? Part 3 (1-2 paragraphs) Take a look at your music downloads, Pandora stations, radio presets, etc. and describe what you see – do your choices reveal wide or narrow preferences? Which genre is most prominent? Describe the conditions which are present when you listen to the least-common genres in your playlist; in other words, what does it take for you to listen to a particular artist, genre, or song? Which types of music give you energy & which types calm you down? Which do you listen to because of the sound the artist/band/ensemble makes and which genres or artists are compelling because of the content in the lyrics? If you have heard any of your chosen artists/bands perform live, how did the live experience change the way you hear their recorded music?