West Ridge Academy: The Important Balance Of Freedom And Choice In Music

I'm almost certain your parents also said it to you. Did you also say it to your kids (although you may have promised yourself before that you wouldn't). Your grandparents almost certainly said it to your parents. From The Kings of Leon and Weezer to Soundgarden and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. From Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones to The Beatles and The Beach Boys. From Tom Petty and Neil Young to Paul Anka and Enya. Perhaps ever since music was invented, parents from all over the globe have been protesting to their kids "that's not music" while screaming at the top of their lungs, "turn that thing off!"”

Of course, parents aren’t the only ones who struggle when listening to another generation’s music. From the other side, many kids would also tell you about how they endured countless hours inside the car with their parents while the "old folks" listened to their kind of music. “It’s boring." "It's corny." "It's not old, it's just 'classic'."In the same manner that you made your protests years ago, kids will insist that their parents just can't appreciate their taste whenever they hear complaints about their music.

Striking a compromise between parents and teens regarding conflicting issues can be an explosive proposition. It's not uncommon for trivial disagreements over music to spill over to more contentious family issues which have been simmering beneath the surface after all this time. Understanding each other's choice of music and setting respectful boundaries if in case they don't really like each other's music can be a uniting factor for families to have a mutual respect for each other. Without a doubt, music plays a powerful part in molding a teenager's life.

Kids have this affinity with music to the point that many experts even agree that music defines certain generations. Reminisce back to your high school days and try to remember the music that you were listening then and how you and your friends truly felt that your favorite songs were describing you or the things you were going through at the time. According to West Ridge Academy's music teacher, Chris Woods: "music has the ability to communicate the deepest feelings of our hearts; the feelings of our souls, essentially". "It can make you happy, or sad, experience heartache and victory, anger, frustration, and yes, even the feeling of peace . Music is truly an important medium which has proven its adeptness in communicating ideas and emotions between its creator and the listener."Take a close look at what kind of songs your teen is listening to on his or her iPod, and most probably you'll learn a valuable insight as to what your teen actually values in life.

There is hope however for parents who disapprove of the music that their teens are listening to. It has been noted that teens are more interested in the music's rhythm and beats, rather than its lyrics. “A lot of our kids today like to listen to hip hop and rap music. I think the reason for that is because of hip hop’s rhythmic structure,” Woods says. Further, Woods advises parents to remain patient since musical tastes actually vary over time.

Parents must also be vigilant however, as there are some music which contains negative messages which can be detrimental to the psyche of malleable teens. It is critical for parents to establish clear standards for music, such as avoiding songs with violent lyrics, overt sexual messages, or profanity. Once parents have established those guidelines, it is important that teens be exposed to different kinds of music and allowed to make their own appropriate choices. Reaching a compromise and sharing each other's music can actually teach parents and teens about the art of building bridges and dispute settlement. By allowing their children the freedom to choose their own music while at the same time establishing clear boundaries, parents and teenagers are forging towards a more positive direction.

West Ridge Academy's students learn from Mr. Woods the value of music and how they can use it to express themselves through various types of music. At the end of the course, some of the students even record their own songs. Being able to give life to their ideas and emotions through music can be a very liberating and touching experience for teens. "I was taken aback by the number of songs that the kids wrote which touched on spiritual subjects, or reflections on life, " Woods said amused. "I believe that their musical training here in West Ridge Academy helped them to address that creative aspect within themselves which they really needed to acknowledge".