Listening Habits of the Young

It’s the end of school. A good time to do whatever. Today in music listening class, I had the inspired idea to find out something about my 8^th grader’s listening habits. And so armed with pencil, paper and a few questions, off we went. The results are worth sharing—here’s some excerpts from their answers:

When do you listen to music? In the car, doing homework, before bed, before a game, while reading, while drawing, while I shower, eating breakfast, while exercising, when I’m sad, when I’m bored, when I’m searching for an answer, when I want to, all the time, whenever I can.

How do you listen to music? On my phone, through earbuds, through headphones, i-Pad,

i-Pod, computer record player, CD’s, radio.

What do you listen to? Alternative, classic rock, pop, punk rock, hip-hop, rap, classical music, indie rock, Swedish rock, electronic music, Latin, jazz.

And most interesting:

Why do you listen to music?

• Because music is sorta a way of learning for me, since people usually sing about their experiences.

• ‘Cause I’m sad, happy, or really bored or scared, confused about life.

•  It speaks to my emotions.

• It makes mundane things interesting. It cheers me up.

• Because I want to enjoy the beauty in my life.

• Because it makes me feel better.

• Because I enjoy hearing the different styles in the artists/ composers.

• ‘Cuz I’m sad, ‘cuz I’m mad, And music, makes me feel glad!

• It makes whatever I’m doing more interesting because it has a soundtrack.

• To help me think.

• To prepare me for games (sports). It pumps me up.

• It soothes me. It calms me down.

• It’s reliable. It’s the one thing that never changes.

• Because I like listening to things that are different than what my parents listen to.

• Because it makes me feel better about myself.

• Because it makes me feel like I can relate to some people.

• Because the lyrics can describe situations that I feel and make me feel like I’m not alone.

• Because I am in need of whatever emotion a particular song evokes.

• To shut out the noise of people talking.

• Why not?

Homework for my readers: What’s your answer?