Исследовательская работа "The Influence of Rock Music on Youth"

XIX Научно – практическая конференция

Секция «Иностранный язык»

The Influence of Rock Music on Youth

Выполнил: Халиков Давид,

10класс МОБУ СОШ №15

 Руководитель: Шайбакова М.Р.,

учитель английского языка

Нефтекамск, 2015

                                                 Contents

1. Introduction…………………………………………………….……3-4

2. Main Part

               a)  The history of rock music……………………..…………………5-7

b)  Different genres of rock music………………………………. …7-8

     III.     Practical part

         1. The attitude of adults and young people to rock music……….........9

         2. The most popular groups with students of School №15……...…..10

          3. The main issues of the most popular groups’ songs……….….10-13

    IV. Conclusion……………………………………………………………14-16

    V. Bibliography……………………………………………………………/...17

1. Introduction

Music – is one of the most inspired forms of art. Rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, a variety of sound-combinations, music colours and nuances reproduce infinite scale of feelings and emotions.

Many young people today are fond of listening to music, especially rock music, though there are worldwide complaints  about the effects of rock on the young people. Through lack of analyzing, many judge rock music without ever knowing the truth about it.

What is rock? Rock music is a genre of popular music. The sound of rock is traditionally centered on the electric guitar. The sound of an electric guitar in rock music is typically supported by an electric bass guitar and percussion produced from a drum kit . A group of musicians performing rock music is termed a rock band or rock group and typically consists of between two and five members.

Rock is a topic not often touched on because of its complexity and its evasion by conservative adults. It is often viewed by them as “a bunch of noise”.

Psychologists say that listening to rock music results in ‘escapism’ (abandoning social responsibilities). They also add that some rock music (for example, certain heavy metal songs) affect young people like drugs. There are well-known cases of antisocial and amoral behaviour on the part of young ‘music-addicts’ . Medical research shows that the volume of sound produced by powerful music at rock concerts does great damage both to the senses of hearing and to the nervous system. Indeed, cases of mass hysteria are not at all unusual at pop concerts.                                                    

 Besides   many adults will argue that there are many dark messages in rock music.

         The aim of this paper is to do research on the influence of rock music on the youth as it is mostly listened music nowadays. What are the main themes of the songs of most popular groups? What is their social impact? Does rock music have positive or negative effect on teenagers?  

           The objectives of the work are:

1. To look through the historical background of rock music;
2. To find out the attitude of the adults and the youth and compare the results;
3. To find out the list of the most popular rock groups with teenagers nowadays;
4. To find out and classify the themes and problems of the songs;
5. To find out what influence rock music makes on the youth.

The research materials are: the information from different sources – Wikipedia, musical literature, the questionnaires, 200 songs of the most popular rock groups

The methods of research are: the overall selection (review of historical studies, questionnaires  and interview with open answers used in gathering the research material), statistical analysis and drawing conclusion.

II. Main Part

1. The history of rock music

 It is difficult to decide who started the history of rock music. This is because rock and roll music evolved from different genres and some songs that belonged to the blues, jazz and country genres offered elements that could be considered rock and roll. Bill Haley is considered to be the artist that created rock, with his song “Rock around the clock” in 1951 which is believed to be the first rock song; it had become popular enough to top the billboard music charts. Other early rock artists include Chuck Berry and Little Richard, these artists led to the popularisation of rock music .

1950’s The fifties bring the birth of Rock and Roll with rhythm and blues, country and gospel music fusing together in Rock 'n Roll, Doo Wop, Rockabilly and the beginnings of Soul. With early hits first appearing on the R&B charts and then moving to the pop charts by the second half of the decade. Pioneering rock music artists Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Ray Charles and many more take the rock music sound and influence worldwide.

 1960’s In the sixties rock music takes over the pop charts for the first time. A wide variety of new rock genres emerge, including surf music, folk music, Motown, Stax, the British Invasion, psychedelic, hard rock and heavy metal. Groups like the Supremes, The Temptations, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin and solo artists Dick Dale, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix are successful. Album sales become as important as hit singles late in the decade

1970’s By the seventies the album has become more important than the single. Concerts have moved from clubs and halls, to stadiums. Heavy metal, folk rock, progressive rock, funk and glitter rock, are followed by disco and punk rock. Major artists include Led Zeppelin, Yes, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, T.Rex, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Kiss, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen, Bee Gees, Fleetwood Mac, Chic, Donna Summer, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols and The Clash.

1980’s In the eighties CD's replace albums and tapes. MTV and music videos become influential. Dominant artists include U2, Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, The Go'Go's, Phil Collins, Human League, Flock of Seagulls, INXS, Journey, Dire Straits, Foreigner, Billy Joel, Guns & Roses, and Motley Crue. New rock music styles such as synthpop, new wave, hardcore, speed metal, hair metal, the new british invasion, and rap come to the forefront.

1990’s In the nineties rock music continues to evolve with grunge, alternative, industrial, house, hip hop, techno and trance music becoming popular rock music forms. Rock bands like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, The Pixies, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Blues Traveler, Phish, and Beck sell side by side with the more pop oriented sounds of Whitney Houston, En Vogue, NSYNC, TLC, Maria Carey and Britney Spears and the rap / hip hop of Public Enemy, NWA, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Ice-T, Cypress Hill, Nas, Tupac Shakur and many more.

Post-hardcore and Emo (early 2000s) Hawthorne Heights, Sunny Day Real Estate, My Chemical Romance Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance and disparate groups such as Paramore and Panic at the Disco Emo rock music had far greater appeal amongst adolescents which furthered rock musics variety and potential. Post-hardcore : The Used, Hawthorne Heights, Senses Fail, From First to Last and Emery and Canadian bands Silverstein and Alexisonfire. British bands like Funeral For A Friend, The Blackout[289] and Enter Shikari also made headway.

Garage rock/post-punk revival (early 2000s) There had been attempts to revive garage rock and elements of punk in the 1980s and 1990s and by 2000 had grown up in several countries The commercial breakthrough was led by four bands: The Strokes, who emerged from the New York club scene with their début album Is This It (2001); The White Stripes, from Detroit, with their third album White Blood Cells (2001); The Hives from Sweden after their compilation album Your New Favourite Band (2001); and The Vines from Australia with Highly Evolved (2002). A second wave of bands that gained international recognition due to the movement included Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Killers, Interpol, Kings of Leon , The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Editors, Franz Ferdinand and Placebo.

Retro-metal (2006) The term "retro-metal" has been applied to such bands as Texas-based The Sword, California's High on Fire, Sweden's Witchcraft, and Australia's Wolfmother. The Sword's Age of Winters (2006) drew heavily on the work of Black Sabbath and Pentagram, while Witchcraft added elements of folk rock and psychedelic rock, and Wolfmother's self-titled 2005 debut album combined elements of the sounds of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.

Contemporary heavy metal, metalcore (2008-2009) Metalcore, originally an American hybrid of thrash metal and hardcore punk, emerged as a commercial force in the mid-2000s.It was rooted in the crossover thrash style developed two decades earlier by bands such as Suicidal Tendencies, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, and Stormtroopers of Death and remained an underground phenomenon through the 1990s; early bands include Earth Crisis, Converge, Hatebreedand Shai Hulud. Killswitch Engage's, The End of Heartache and Shadows Fall's The War Within to debut at number 21 and number 20, respectively, on the Billboard album chart.Bullet for My Valentine, from Wales, broke into the top 5 in both the U.S. and British charts with Scream Aim Fire (2008). Metalcore bands have received prominent slots at Ozzfest and the Download Festival. Lamb of God, with a related blend of metal styles, reached number 2 on the Billboard charts in 2009 with Wrath.

Digital electronic rock (2000-2006) In the 2000s, as computer technology became more accessible and music software advanced, it became possible to create high quality music using little more than a single laptop computer. This resulted in a massive increase in the amount of home-produced electronic music available to the general public via the expanding internet, and new forms of performance such as laptronica and live coding. These techniques also began to be used by existing bands, as with industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails' album Year Zero (2007), and by developing genres that mixed rock with digital techniques and sounds, including indie electronic, electroclash, dance-punk and new rave.

2. Different genres of rock music

By the late 1960s a number of distinct rock music subgenres had emerged, including hybrids like blues rock, folk rock, country rock, and jazz-rock fusion, many of which contributed to the development of psychedelic rock, which was influenced by the countercultural psychedelic scene. New genres that emerged from this scene included progressive rock, which extended the artistic elements; glam rock, which highlighted showmanship and visual style; and the diverse and enduring major subgenre of heavy metal, which emphasized volume, power, and speed. In the second half of the 1970s, punk rock both intensified and reacted against some of these trends to produce a raw, energetic form of music characterized by overt social and political critiques. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of other subgenres, including new wave, post-punk and eventually the alternative rock movement. From the 1990s alternative rock began to dominate rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop, and indie rock. Further fusion subgenres have since emerged, including pop punk, rap rock, and rap metal, as well as conscious attempts to revisit rock's history, including the garage rock/post-punk and synthpop revivals at the beginning of the new millennium.

III. Practical part

1.  The attitude of adults and young people to rock music                                            

For the purpose of finding out the different attitude of both adults and teenagers we have questioned 80 people of different ages (40 adults and 40 teenagers). The questions offered have been :

1) How old are you?                                                                

2) Do you listen to rock music?                                                                                        

3) Does rock music have a positive or negative influence to young people?      

4) What rock groups are the most popular nowadays with young people?

The results of the questionair you can see in the piecharts below
Do you listen to rock music?


Does rock music have a positive or negative influence to young people?      

2. The most popular groups with students of School №15

According to the answers of respondents we have found out the Top 10 of the most popular rock groups with the students of school №15. You can see the list below:                                                                                                        

1.Skillet

2.Linkin Park

3.AC/DC

4.Nirvana

5.Green Day

6.Metallica

7.Hollywood Undead  /  Nicleback

8. 30 seconds to Mars / Ramstain

9.Aria  / Three Days Grace

10. Black Veil Brides

3. The main issues of the most popular groups’ songs.

For the purpose of finding out the influence of the rock music on the young people we have looked through 200 songs of the most popular groups among modern youth.

           The main issues of the songs are:

1)Love, relationship between a man and a woman

   
“Feel your presence filling up my lungs with oxygen
I take you in”(Skillet “Rebirth” )

“I don't wanna live

I don't wanna breathe

'les I feel you next to me

you take the pain I feel”( Skillet “Camatose”)

“I hate everything about you

Why do I love you?”(Three Days Grace “I hate everything about you”)

2. Controversial feelings in the inner world of a young man. It attracts great masses of young people all over the world, expressing their hopes, dreams, disappointments and joys.

The secret side of me

I never let you see

I keep it caged but I Can’t Control it

So stay away from me

The beast is ugly

I feel the rage and I just can’t hold it

It’s scratchin on the walls

In the closer, in the halls

It comes awake and I can’t control it

Hidin under the bed

In my body, in my head

Why won’t somebody come and save from this

Make it end

I feel it deep within

It’s just beneath the skin

I must confess that

I feel like a monster    ( Skillet “Monster”)          

I can't escape this hell

So many times i've tried

But i'm still caged inside

Somebody get me through this nightmare

I can't control myself   (Three Days Grace  “Animal  I have become”)

3. Very often rock singers sing about REAL problems that people go through such as depression, drug addiction and suicide, which are subjects most people don't like to face. These songs encourage the young to overcome difficulties, to hope for the better, to deal with depression.

Even if I say

It'll be alright

Still I hear you say

You want to end your life

Now and again we try

To just stay alive

Maybe we'll turn it around

'Cause it's not too late

It's never too late  (Three days Grace “Never too Late”)    

I'm gonna fight for what's right

Today I'm speaking my mind

And if it kills me tonight

I will be ready to die

A hero's not afraid to give his life

A hero's gonna save me just in time

I need a hero to save me now

I need a hero, save me now

I need a hero to save my life

A hero will save me just in time (Skillet “Hero”)

You're sick of feeling numb

You're not the only one

I'll take you by the hand

And I'll show you a world that you can understand

This life is filled with hurt

When happiness doesn't work

Trust me and take my hand

When the lights go out you will understand ( Three Days Grace “Pain”)

No time for goodbye he said

As he faded away

Don't put your life in someone's hands

Their bound to steal it away

Don't hide your mistakes

'Cause they'll find you, burn you

Then he said

If you want to get out alive

Run for your life.

If you want to get out alive

Run for your life.( Three days grace  “Get out alive”)

4. Global problems of the mankind on the whole planet like war, terrorism, hunger  from the philosophical point of view. In the song “What I have done” by Linkin Park it is said that we are responsible for everything we have done.  

In this farewell

There is no blood

There is no alibi

'Cause I've drawn regret

From the truth

Of a thousand lies

So let mercy come

And wash away

What I've done

I'll face myself

To cross out

What I've become

Erase myself

And let go of

What I've done  (Linkin Park “What I have done”)

                                                      IV. Conclusion

The great composer Ludvig Van Beethoven said :” Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.”

Music has always been a factor in people's lives. This is specifically true with teenagers. Musicians have shaped trends in fashion, dance and even moral behavior. As each generation progresses, it seems that these areas of influence have become more of a factor. Music is a huge factor that affects the emotions of teenagers and adults alike.

In this paper there was conducted analysis of the most popular rock songs as they are the mostly listened according the results of the questionair. During the investigation there were collected and analyzed 200 most popular rock songs.

I have chosen this topic because I think it is obvious that young people express their emotions and thoughts through music.

The aim of my investigation was to do research on the influence of rock music on the youth as it is mostly listened music nowadays, to find out  the main themes of the songs of most popular groups,their social impact  and wether rock music has positive or negative effect on teenagers. My research consisted of the following stages:

• First of all we studied the history and different genres of rock music  from the Internet sources, from the literature.
• Then we questioned 40 adults and 40 teenagers in order to find out their attitude to rock music as well as to find out the most popular rock groups with young people.
• After that we classified the themes of the most popular groups’ songs  according to theire main ideas and problems  to find out their positive or negative influence on  young people.

 In the process of research we came into conclusion that the most popular music among modern youth is rock music as 63 per cent of them listen to it.

One of the most unexpected practical findings was the fact that only 15 percent of adults are fond of rock music although this genre goes back in its history to 1960s.

This fact makes us think that rock music is getting more and more popular in recent years.

We defined the Top 10 of most popular groups with modern teenagers – the students of School №15.

1.Skillet

2.Linkin Park

3.AC/DC

4.Nirvana

5.Green Day

6.Metallica

7.Hollywood Undead  /  Nicleback

8. 30 seconds to Mars / Ramstain

9.Aria  / Three Days Grace

10. Black Veil Brides

The classification of the most popular songs according their main ideas can be seen in the table

In our opinion  a lot rock music is much meaningful stuff. Now we don't mean to say all mainstream stuff has no meaning or value to it, we like both that and rock, but it's just our opinion and analysis.                                                                                        

We don't think rock music will influence young people in a bad way. But it's each to their own and people should be allowed to listen to what they want without restrictions such as different influences.

Through lack of analyzing, many judge rock music without ever knowing the truth about it. Those that do not understand the genre may blame it for everything that is wrong with today. Rock music is not to blame for the darkness in our society; instead, it leads us away from it. It has many positive influences that cannot be seen at a quick glance. Rock music inherited the folk tradition of protest song, making political statements on subjects such as war, religion, poverty, civil rights, justice and the environment. Not only has rock affected individuals but society and time altogether. Rock music has had positive influences that stretch across the messages it conveys.

Rock groups understand how influential their songs can be. Rock music is a powerful tool, fueled by the positive messages it carries. Having music filled with positive messages proves to be very useful.

  V. Bibliography

1) Rock music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music    last modified on 28 December 2014

2) The History of Rock Music.

http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/history-of-rock-music;

3) Influence of Rock Music on Young People | The Rock Blog.                                  

http://www.shirthunt.com/blog/influence-of-rock-music-on-young-people/

4) Rock music https://www.studymode.com/join.php

5) The effect of rock music on young people.

http://englishwell.org/14504-the-effect-of-rock-music-on-young-people-vliyanie-rok-muzyki-na-molodezh.html

6) The negative effect of rock on youth.

http://www.saching.com/Article/The-negative-effect-of-rock-music-on-youth/631