Musical socialization

The Musical socialization refers to the music -related development of an individual.

Definition

The concept of socialization adopted from the social sciences has added an important element to music psychological and music pedagogical research. Musical action can also be viewed as a “transactional process between person and environment”. (Oerter, R .; 1993, p. 254 in: Rösing, H .; 1995; p. 349) The strategies of musical action and behavior result from the individual's processes of appropriation and objectification. This can be described from two perspectives, namely the aspect of development and the aspect of socialization . The musical development process is shaped by various societal and culture-specific socialization entities, which lead to the individual first adopting structural and content-related features of the musical culture in order to then change or even renew them if necessary. The term socialization particularly emphasizes the importance of the socialization bodies that have a formative effect on the individual. In addition to the family as the primary socialization instance, this also includes the various educational institutions such as kindergarten, school, training, university that a person can go through, the mass media that are used, the environmental and framework conditions in which the life of the individual takes place (geographical Location, social environment, etc.) and personal components such as age, gender, disposition. (Gembris, H .; 1987 in: Rösing, H .; 1995, p. 349) The complexity of the concept of socialization becomes clear from the fact that socio-cultural and person-dependent condition variables overlap and are embedded in a historically dynamic concept of culture. This concept of socialization, defined in this way, was often brought into connection with analyzes critical of culture, such as B. the disadvantageous manipulative effect of mass media on the individual, but this hardly does justice to the complexity of socialization processes. The assumption that there is a direct connection between music distributed in the mass media and the music preferences of the individual does not do justice to the very differentiated and reality-related socialization models. (Rösing, H .; Oerter; R .; 1993 in: Rösing, H .; 1995, p. 350) However, there is still a need for research with regard to the adaptation of the models cited above to the digital revolution with regard to media-based music, its distribution and increasing availability. Not only the direct, but above all the increasingly indirect influence of the media on the individual's music preferences must be taken into account accordingly.

Model ideas

All of the explanatory models developed in socialization research make it clear in various ways that musical action and behavior is sustainably culturally dependent and socially oriented. (Farnsworth, PR; 1976 in: Rösing, H .; 1995, p. 350) During the development of the model drafts, two strategies can be identified, namely the reduction to a few categorical criteria, which then have to be further differentiated depending on the question. or the very precise, detailed representation of all detectable condition variables of musical action in a complex diagram.

Model by AN Sochor

In 1980 AN Sochor presented a “scheme of the musical culture of socialist society” in which the music consumer only plays a subordinate role. According to Sochor, it should only represent a small cog in the strictly institutionalized socialist music business. (Sochor, AN; 1980 in: Rösing, H .; 1995, p. 350)

Model by WF Prince

With this explanatory model, the musical actor is at the center of the action. Prince published his scheme as a flow chart to explain the behavior of music listeners. (Prince, WF; 1977 in: Rösing, H .; 1995, p. 350) Here personal factors such as musical practice and experience, selective attention, momentary mood, musical preferences, forms of representation of musical structures etc. are presented in a very complex context and related.

Model by K.-E. Behave

This model strongly assumes that experience is the most important characteristic for music-related behavior and action. Experiences that individuals have with music in the course of their lives solidify into patterns of experience. The driving force for this process are “new experiences and dissonances in the available knowledge and experience”. (Behne, K.-E .; 1993, p. 344 in: Rösing, H .; 1995, p. 351) This happens when someone who has a negative attitude towards sacred music nevertheless hears an unprejudiced excerpt from sacred music perceives as positive. It is questionable whether this type of impartial listening is really possible.

Scheme by Buchhofer, Friedrichs and Lüdtke

Experiences are based on socialization-related learning processes, which in the scheme of Buchhofer, Friedrichs and Lüdtke on the development of musical preferences and the current selection of pieces of music in connection with the "model learning" (music that was heard or played in the parental home) and the " Contiguity learning ”(musical experience in certain social situations). (Buchhofer, B. et al .; 1974 in: Rösing, H .; 1995, p. 351)

Model by LeBlanc

This “interactive model” for developing music preferences is designed to be action-related and the result of musical socialization. As far as the institutional, learning psychological and person-dependent socialization variables are concerned, it is hierarchically structured, but also arranged interactively if it is viewed as a closed loop system with the brain activities of the music listener as the main control. (LeBlanc, A .; 1982 in: Rösing, H., 1995, p. 351)

Summary of the schemes by Dollase et al. a.

In the context of the social context, which is made up of the musical production systems (instruments, sheet music, sound carriers), the musical repertoire and its evaluation, the individual with his or her biological disposition and physiological constitution is confronted with objective living conditions that depend on the regional and social Environment are different. The most important points that are important for the individual musical socialization are the time and financial expenditure that is spent on music, when music is heard or made, and how much the musical actions of various institutions such as the media, peers, school or Parental home is influenced. Social learning processes include the acceptance or the delimitation of certain musical tastes. Associative learning refers to the fact that certain music (disco music, marching music, organ music) has a certain effect and function. Instrumental learning is based on the fact that musical action is either reinforced or prevented through praise or criticism. All information about music, composers and performers is part of cognitive learning. These learning processes complement each other and lead to culture-related forms of musical behavior that become part of the music culture again, which is reflected in certain listening habits, listening strategies, music preferences, functions of music and reflections on music. (Rösing H .; 1992 in: Rösing, H .; 1995, p. 353) Although this model shows relationships, it does not provide any clear information about the importance and weighting of the individual variables. The models listed are ideal-typical constructions that must be empirically substantiated. However, empirical data cannot provide more than a surface image of socialization processes if they are not put in an interpretative relationship to the model conceptions.

literature

Used literature

W. Pape, D. Pickert: Amateur Musicians: From Classical to Popular Music. Frankfurt / Main 1999, pp. 16-39
H. Rösing: Musical socialization. In: S. Helms, R. Schneider, R. Weber (Eds.): Compendium of Music Pedagogy. Kassel 1995, pp. 349-371