First of all, Happy New Year everyone, and let’s hope 2021 goes better than 2020! Hope you all had a safe but happy festive season and New Year.
Speaking of the festive season, it is a time when we enjoy various traditions, whether that’s leaving cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve, going carolling, or lighting the Menorah. And what else would we want to be doing at this time of year other than living our traditions? After all, traditions are great. Some of the time. The traditions of getting together for a family dinner or to exchange presents are of course great. But some traditions wouldn’t be hurt by a modern update.
There has been lots of talk throughout the pandemic about leaving outdated traditions behind and trying to return to a better world than where we left it. There have been fights for equality and making the world a better place, such as for racial equality e.g. the Black Lives Matter campaign, and climate change e.g. activism by Greta Thunberg, and neither of them could have come too soon. But these, along with other fights for creating a better world, are just stepping points, so why not build on them as we enter this new year?
In terms of music, there are also lots of ways how we can alter our listening traditions to build on these stepping points and take larger steps. The classical music genre is significantly dominated by white men e.g. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, to name but a few, and even though modern music such as pop or rap welcome more black and female artists, the industry is still dominated by white men, particularly in positions such as producers or technicians. However, despite being the minority, women and black musicians have existed for centuries and vastly contribute to music as we know it today. One of the most important reasons we should acknowledge this is to show young musicians that music, even classical music, isn’t a field preserved only for white men.
As such, I’m going to suggest five easy ways to alter your music traditions in order to expand your horizons and help build the staircase to equality.
1. Check out some Spotify Playlists
Spotify has so many playlists every day, so why not take advantage of them? It has so many different genres for playlists that you can check out, such as Pop, Indie, RnB, Dance, Caribbean, Jazz, Afro, Soul, Arab, K-pop, Latin and many more. It’s so easy to put on these playlists, even in the background, and expand your listening habits (but make sure you at least listen to a few songs before deciding whether you like it or not, in order to give it a chance). There are also more specific Spotify genres fighting for equality, such as Pride and Black History is Now, which offer numerous playlists to choose from. You can also just search for something you want to hear more of e.g. Female Classical Composers. To put it simply, enjoy exploring the full extent of what Spotify has to offer and enjoy learning what you like!
2. Buy/download some music to practice/perform from an unknown composer
I don’t know if I’m the only one, but I have often found it difficult to find and buy sheet music by female composers, particularly non-living ones. For example, I’ve often searched for clarinet books with music in by women as a present for my Mum, but not much comes up, so then you have to search for specific songs, some of which are as much as £30 to buy. As such, I understand how difficult it is to find music by women that is published in the same way as music by men, but there are still ways round it. Firstly, for composers whose works are no longer in copyright, you can check out IMSLP which has so much music that you didn’t know existed. Florence Price, Amy Beach and Alice Mary Smith are but a few fairly well-known composers who have their work on there, but it’s also easy to find music from less well-known composers such as Elaine Fine, Edith Swepstone and Chiquinha Gonzaga. You can just search for the instrument or ensemble you want to look for and enjoy seeing what names come up! The other alternative is buying music from recent and living female composers. For example, you can find new music by women at Banks Music, Selah Publishing and through books like the Multitude of Voyces anthologies. Enjoy searching for music on these sites/in these books and others like them and I’m sure you’ll find music that you’ll love to practise and perform!
3. Try out different (online) concerts
Though we’re not allowed to go to concerts in person at the moment, lots of venues and festivals are still running their concerts online, so this point is still as important now as when audiences are allowed back again. Concerts offer a different experience to streaming music, though admittedly this may be less pronounced at the moment with concerts online. However, the experience of witnessing live performances is still particularly special, whatever format it comes in. Though live concerts can’t necessarily change the music you like, they can include music you didn’t know existed, and the excitement of experiencing someone perform them often creates a lasting impact, encouraging you to think positively about the music involved. So, while you can watch these concerts online, in the comfort of your own home, why not try a concert you may not usually go to and see if it makes you feel any different about the music in it or introduces you to something new. Alternatively, if you are lucky enough to be able to go to a concert once they can start again, try a different one to usual and enjoy the new experience. In particular, give yourself the opportunity to experience events and festivals fighting for equal awareness, such as the Minerva Festival in Cambridge or the Black Music Festival in Leeds. Hopefully you’ll enjoy them and find something new to add to your traditions!
4. Follow some new sites on social media
It’s easy to follow a lot of rubbish on Facebook and other social media sites, and have your news feed blocked by things you don’t really care about. However, it is possible to find new pages to follow that don’t do this. There are a number of educational music sites which raise awareness of composers and pieces or share opportunities and support. These include Women in Music and DONNE- Women in Music. The latter posts regularly for music advent calendars, composers of the week, album of the week and on composer’s birthdays, which really helps to expand knowledge of female composers and their works. It is a really easy way to educate yourself without having to do anything except scroll through Facebook or Instagram to see their latest post. Hopefully some of what they share you’ll really enjoy!
5. Do some research yourself
Admittedly this is more effort than some of the previous suggestions, but it can be just as, if not more, worthwhile. Through the various other points, and perhaps through conversations or mass media, you may hear of certain names in the music world who you want to learn more about. Some composers can be hard to find, but most will just come up from a quick search on Google and you’ll be able to find out more about their work. Alternatively, you can find composers yourself through various lists e.g. Classic FM’s list of influential black composers. Completing research yourself, though more effort, is a way you can really tailor what you want to find to your own interests and agendas. Then maybe you can share what you’ve found with others too!
I hope some of these suggestions inspire you to take action to adapt your music traditions. It’s a new year after all, so why not try new things? Each year we make progress towards equality in music, but there’s still a long way to go, so I hope lots of you will join me this year in trying to take a bigger step on our journey to a better, more equal world.
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