Transcript

Hi! My name is Jaytee and I’m a PhD researcher at the University of Sheffield. As an early career researcher, I was interested to learn how to communicate my research, not only to scholars and academics, but also to general audiences. For example, my friends and family would often ask: what exactly is your research about? 

I’ve had the pleasure of attending several wonderful workshops organised by the Action for the Arts and Humanities, aimed at developing my communication skills, such as Hannah Williams' workshop on feature writing and Matthew Cheeseman’s workshop on social media for academics. These workshops centred around writing and helped me think about structure, style, and jargon when crafting a post. For instance, am I employing cryptic lexicons that are so enigmatic, rendering my readers befuddled and blasé? How can I be succinct without making my research appear trivial or meaningless? One of my biggest takeaways from these workshops, was to be mindful of my audience and write in a way that entices them to read more.

Building on this, I’ve also attended April Lin’s workshop on communicating academic ideas through film. I was impressed by their use of multimedia. In particular, I was intrigued by how they weaved photographs, visual effects, and animations in a way that made sophisticated academic parlance accessible to lay audiences.

While these workshops were interesting and helpful, it got me thinking. Hannah, Matthew, and April were each good in their own craft and they continued to sharpen their skills by doing more and more. For me, I am not particularly good at writing, nor am I that proficient in making videos. So, what skills do I have that I can leverage on? My answer: music. 

[music: jazz trio, comprising of piano, bass, and drums, begins to play and fades into the background]

In addition to being a PhD researcher, I’m also a music therapist, an allied health professional that uses music to help clients achieve individualised goals through the development of the musical and therapeutic relationship. My PhD research was informed by my clinical practice, having worked with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. And so, I am curious about the ways in which culture influences the way we perceive and respond to music emotionally. 

Intuitively, I believe we’ve all had an emotional experience with music. Think back to the time when you heard a piece of music and it brought a smile to your face. Or that time when you heard a song and it made you cry. Research shows that music can evoke a wide range of emotions. But can it convey ideas as well?

[music: Judy Garland singing “Over the Rainbow” is played and fades into the background]

I love this particular quote by Yip Harburg, an American songwriter, who wrote popular songs such as the one that you’re listening to right now, “Over the Rainbow” for the film, The Wizard of Oz. He said: “Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought.” 

Let’s unpack this a little. Reading words on a paper might spark thoughts and imagination. Listening to music may evoke feelings and sensations in our body. Songs, the combination of both words and music, can do both. Not only can songs foster further thinking on a topic, songs can also help us feel connected to an idea.

Let’s listen to an example.  

[music: Kit Chan singing the chorus of “Home” written by Dick Lee and fades into the background]

“Home” – Kit Chan

This is home truly, where I know I must be

Where my dreams wait for me, where the river always flows

This is home surely, as my senses tell me

This is where I won’t be alone, for this is where I know it’s home

This is the song, “Home,” composed by Dick Lee and performed by Kit Chan; they are both Singaporeans. This song was used as the theme song for Singapore’s National Day in 1998 and has since become a staple in subsequent National Day parades. In a 2013 poll conducted by the Straits Times, “Home” was voted as the top favourite National Day song. To listen to the full song, you can check it out at this link in the description below: https://youtu.be/qTkVG6lWvwY

Jeremy Monteiro, a Singaporean jazz pianist, said “if you were a Singaporean who was overseas and you hear ‘Home’, it would make you miss home… and I think that’s the magic of ‘Home’.” So, what exactly is this ‘magic’? 

On one hand, the lyrics to this song is simple yet poignant. It talks about Singapore being our home where we can feel supported during our down times, where we can feel a sense of belonging, and where we can live to our fullest potential. On its own, I do not think that the lyrics would be able to foster this sense of patriotism and national identity so strongly.

In fact, I believe it was the music that helped drive this message forward. So, what elements of music are we referring to? There’s so many that I could talk about, so for the purposes of this podcast, we will just discuss a couple. 

One way we can think about music is tempo, how fast or slow a song might be. For this song, it uses a slower tempo, which might put us in a contemplative posture to truly reflect on the words that are being sung. In a way, the slower tempo helps to draw the listener into the lyrics of the song. At the same time, this slower speed might literally slow us down, making us feel relaxed and allowing fond memories of home to emerge into our consciousness. These feelings help us connect to the idea that the song is conveying.

Unlike slow songs, songs with a faster tempo helps us connect with ideas in a different way. Let’s listen to this example.

[music: The chorus section of “Where is the Love?” by Black Eyed Peas fades in and slowly fades into the background]

“Where is the Love” – Black Eyed Peas

People killin’, people dyin’

Children hurt and you hear them cryin’

Can you practice what you preach?

Or would you turn the other cheek?

Father, father, father help us

Send some guidance from above

‘Cause people got me, got me questionin’

Where is the love (love)

Where is the love (the love)

Where is the love (the love)

Where is the love, the love, the love

This song, “Where is the Love?” by Black Eyed Peas, discusses many issues including terrorism, racism, crime, and war with the call for action, for love, in the chorus. This song is relatively quicker than the previous one and I think the faster tempo causes us to get excited and pushes us to take action. Think about the last time you went to the gym or worked out. You might have put on this song. 

[music: Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” fades in and slowly fades out]

Or maybe this one. 

[music: “Bombayah” by BLACKPINK fades in and slowly fades out]

In other words, the faster tempo energises us into action. In the case of “Where is the Love?” by Black Eyed Peas, it activated us to live out life in love and compassion toward others.

Another important element of music is its predictive, repetitive structure. An often-cited definition of music is that music is organised sound. As is the case for most popular music, songs contain a chorus that repeats itself two, maybe three times. What this repetition does is that it reinforces the core message of the song and helps us to remember it. Think of those earworms that you might have had – songs that get stuck in your head.

Or think back to how you learnt the English alphabet. 

[music: The alphabet song “ABC” plays and slowly fades out]

I am sure most of us learnt the English alphabet using this song and it just shows how music can help us remember things. So, if you ever need to remember something, put it in a song!

Maya Angelou, an American memoirist, said: “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” Songs not only help us feel, but they also help us remember the ideas embedded within them. So for songwriters out there, songs can be a very powerful medium to transmit ideas. If you are interested to find out more, I highly encourage these two books: the first is The Power of Music: An Exploration of the Evidence by Susan Hallam and Evangelos Himonides. The second is the chapter The Relationship Between Musical Structure and Perceived Expression by Alf Gabrielsson in the Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology.

In summary, I believe that song, the marriage of words and music, can connect with audiences both head and heart. So, it only makes sense that we can use music to convey academic ideas in a way that is understandable and meaningful.

In closing, I would like to share a short snippet of this song, “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts. With this, I hope to leave you with the thought that you can achieve your dreams and with the feeling that you are supported. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy.

[music: Jaytee playing the guitar and singing “My Wish” begins to play]

“My Wish” – Rascal Flatts

My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to,

Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,

You never need to carry more than you can hold,

And while you’re out there gettin’ where you’re gettin’ to,

I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too

Yeah this is my wish.