WiNK

by: Ioanna Aspras

Over the course of the last few months, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to talk and connect with teachers about a topic that everyone can relate to: music. Learning about the differences and similarities to music when they were growing up compared to now was fascinating, as was comparing and contrasting them to one another.

There were quite a few parallels between what each of them mentioned to me, as well as their tastes. A major similarity that I noticed was that many of them talked about how their parents heavily influenced what music they were listening to up until they were nearing their teenage years. I feel as though this isn't something that any of us, now, think about: that we would listen to our parents' music. Sure, they would play for us their tastes, but growing up with music literally at our fingertips, I would say we were (and are) able to access and try out more of our own music whenever we wanted to, even at really young ages.

This project has truly opened my eyes to how revolutionary technology really is and how lucky our generations are to witness and grow up with it.

Listening to the radio is a step away from being unheard of at this point. But for many of our teachers, this is the only way they could enjoy their music in their cars... that, or cassettes or CDs. We can't even imagine carrying something more substantial than our phones anywhere we may be going.

Listening to music in class, all we need is the internet and headphones. For the teachers, though, music was something that the whole class shared all together. In this scenario, I'm honestly not sure what is "better." Being able to listen and play the music you enjoy when you want to without disturbing others is very convenient. But, it also lacks the community aspect that I think many of our teachers experienced. Even if you're listening to music you don't particularly love, you're doing it all together; everyone can love and dislike it together.

Sharing music is another piece that has significantly evolved. Now, when you want to share music with someone you can just text them a Spotify link. Before Spotify, everyone would burn their own tapes or CDs for one another. I find this so much more personal because you actually have to put some effort into sharing something you enjoy with another person. You also have to hand it to them in person, or even ship it in the mail. You're not just pressing a couple of buttons and calling it a day.

Every one of the teachers I interviewed talked about how they listened to music growing up and each of them said something that wasn't streaming. They would actually have to buy and collect the music they loved instead of just searching and adding to playlists. Now, vinyl records are making a comeback and I think it's great that they are. Many teachers talked about how there was something special about physically being in a record store and sifting through the records... actually touching the music. Even the community that would be in these stores would be an experience in and of itself. Personally, I am very excited about this coming back because I would love to experience, even in the slightest, what all these teachers experienced and shared with me.

Throughout my time with this project, and even now as I am writing this, I am truly noticing that what people don't or didn't have, is what they desire, like the saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side." For our generation, some of us may long for a more disconnected, personal way of life; while those who went through a time without having the easy opportunities we have at our fingertips, they enjoy and cherish it a lot more.

Thank you so much to all of the teachers I met with!! I really appreciate you taking the time to talk about this with me and I hope I did your stories justice in these articles. I hope to possibly continue this project, or at least continue asking these questions and learn more about the universal and beloved topic of music.