W E E K 4 : M U S I C A N D
I D E N T I T Y ( I E S )
MUS303 Music in the Contemporary World
1 February 2024
M I D T E R M I N F O
• The midterm will take place in-class on Thursday, 15
February during class time (9-11am), and will be completed online
using Quercus.
• The midterm will test your knowledge on course materials,
including musical excerpts, class discussions, and assigned readings.
• The midterm will be listening based meaning that you will listen to
a var iety of excerpts and answer the relevant questions.
• Questions will consist of a var iety of multiple choice, fill in the
blank, and multiple answer questions.
• To help you prepare for the midterm, you will find list of excerpts
on Quercus. As you study these excepts, please make sure to take
note of the following: the name of the artist, the full title of
the excerpt, and its relevance to course discussions, readings, etc.
GOAL S FO R TO DAY:
• Consider how music can help an
individual or group of individuals
create or construct a sense of
identity.
• Consider how music can express or
communicate identity.
• Consider how one type identity can be
used to articulate another kind/type of
identity through music.
• Beyonce: An Identity Case study
S O M E QU E S T I O N S
TO C O N S I D E R :
• What exactly is ‘Identity,’
and how can we define it?
• How can music help
shape, influence, or
inform our sense of
identity?
• Do you feel like music is
part of your identity, and if
so, why?
I D E N T I T Y:
W H AT I S I T ?
O R I G I N S O F I D E N T I T Y
• Has its roots in philosophy, psychology,
and cultural studies which define identity
as being "a response to something
beyond an individual." (Beard, 133)
• We can trace the origins of identity back
to the 19th century with the work of
German philosopher, GWF Hegel
• According to Hegel, “a
fully developed self
required recognition of its status
by others.” (Beard, 133)
O R I G I N S O F I D E N T I T Y ( C O N T. )
French sociologist Émile Durkheim expanded
on Hegel’s ideas of identity
• He proposed that “the individual was the
product of society with society determining
an individual's attitude and values” (Beard,
133)
American sociologist, George Herbert Mead,
later suggested that “the idea of the individual
is constructed through his or her interaction
with others” (Beard, 133)
I D E N T I T Y:
W H AT I S I T ?
• German-Amer ican
psycholog ist Er ik
Er ikson fur ther
highlighted the role of
community in identity
formation
• In par ticular, he notes if
an individual breaks with
their community, “it can
lead to an identity
cr is is .” (Beard, 133)
ORIGINS
OF IDENTITY (CONT.):
I D E N T I T Y:
W H AT I S I T ?
ORIGINS OF IDENTITY (CONT.):
• French philosopher and
histor ian Michel Foucault
developed important theories
regarding identity formation
• According to Foucault, an
individual “is constructed
through his or hers [their]
positioning in relation to a set
of socia l discourses or na rratives .
I D E N T I T Y:
Others
product of society
constructed
community
identity crisis
social discourses
narratives
self
I D E N T I T Y: S O C I O L O G I C A L
P E R S P E C T I V E S
• Identity as a term and concept is hard to define
because there is no single or adequate way to
define it .
• We can, however, understand identity has
hinging “on
an apparently paradoxical combination of
sameness and di f ference .” (Steph Lawler, 2)
• Identity is not fixed or determined, and our
sense of identity (whether individual
or collective) changes and morphs over t ime.
• Identity involves the process of identi ficat ion.
• Identity is not static, but rather, is processual,
dynamic, and transformative.
• Our sense of identity, therefore is “constantly
being reconstructed and renegotiated according
to the experiences, si tuations and other
people wi th whom we in teract in everyday
l i fe .”
• We do not have one ‘single’ identity; rather,
there are various forms of identity.
• “Everyone must, consciously or not, identify with
more than one group, one identity” (Lawler, 3)
• All identities are relational
IDENTITY AS PROCESS
M U LT I P L E I D E N T I T I E S
G RO U P A N D
C O L L E C T I V E
I D E N T I T I E S
• Identity is "expressed through a set of
attitudes that relate to, or are shared
with, a group." (Shelemay, 421)
• Collective identity: group identity,
cultural identity, and regional identity.
• Per Anton Sterbling, "a definition of
the term collective
identities includes every process of
community formation and sociation
that leads to clearly definable social
entities."
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF IDENTITY?
• Why do we use/need identity, and for
what reasons do we assert or perform identity?
W H AT I S T H E P U R P O S E O F
I D E N T I T Y ?
• Ultimately, we use our identity as a means of
differentiating ourselves from each other, to assert
our differences.
• "In wanting to see ourselves as unique, we magnify
small differences until they become defining
characteristics. What is shared is played down,
what is different is played up, until identities come
to seem ‘opposite’.” (Lawler, 4)
• Our sense of identity, therefore, is also largely
shaped by society and our relationship to it.
M U S I C A N D I D E N T I T Y
I N - C L A S S PA RT I C I PAT I O N
QU I Z # 4
ACCESS CODE:
MusicIdentity2024
PLEASE USE YOUR NAME AS
LISTED ON QUERCUS
M U S I C A S I D E N T I T Y:
• "Music is clearly very much a part
of modern life and our
understanding of it articulating our
knowledge of other peoples,
places, times and things, and
ourselves in relation to them."
(Stokes, 3)
• Plays an important role in terms of
how we understand society, and
how we understand ourselves
within the fabric of society
• Music functions as a symbol of
meaning.
T H E S O C I A L F U N C T I O N S
O F M U S I C
• Interpersonal relationships:
• Music can be used as a means of developing
or negotiating our interpersonal
relationships
• Self-Identity:
• Music can establish and develop an
individual sense of identity.
M U S I C A L I D E N T I T I E S
Identities in Music:
• Comprises of established musical
roles, i.e. musician, composer,
performer, critic, music teacher, etc.
• Universal identities
Music in Identities:
• "how we use music within our
overall self-identities";How music
is used to assert our identities,
whether that be
masculine/feminine, old/young,
able/disabled, extra/introverted, etc.
(Hargreaves, Miell, and Macdonald,
5)
M U S I C A N D
B O U N DA R I E S
Construction of boundaries:
• Music can be used to reinforce boundaries, including
boundaries nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, language,
class, and gender.
According to Martin Stokes
• "[…] Music is socially meaningful not entirely but
largely because it provides means by which people
recognize identities and pla ces , and the boundaries
which separate them and "musical performance, as well
as the acts of listening, dancing, arguing, discussing,
thinking and writing about music, provide the means by
which ethnicities and identities a re constructed and
mobilized." (Stokes, 5)
• Example includes Scottish bagpiping
OV E R A L L :
• Music can shape ideas and desire about our self-
identity
• Music can shape individual and collective identity
• Music can contribute to the performance of identity
• Music can thus articulate identity through its
adoption as a symbol of identity, but can also be
articulated through its musical layers/channels:
• text
• tune/melody
• dance
• instrumental practice
• performance style
M U S I C A N D
I D E N T I T Y: S O M E
C H A L L E N G E S
• Essentialism
• Stereotyping
• Appropriation
M U S I C & I D E N T I T Y:
I N T E R S E C T I O N S :
• Music, Identity and Place:
• Nation-place &
national identity
• Regional identity
• Local identity
• Music and Race
• Music and Gender/Sexuality
• Music and Ethnicity
• Music and Social Class
• Musical Identities
I DENTI FYI NG
BEYO NCE
•Gender
• Ethnicity
• Class
I A M S A S H A F I E R C E –
B E YO N C E
• Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter American R &
B singer and songwriter, often referred to as
'Queen Bey'
• Musical career began at the age of eight years
old, performing with a group called 'Girls Tyme'
• The group was later renamed Destiny's Child,
and signed a record deal with Columbia Records
in 1997.
• In 2003, Beyoncé pursued her first solo project,
Dangerously in Love
I A M . . . S A S H A F I E R C E
( 2 0 0 8 )
• "Diva"
• "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
• "Ave Maria"
• "Halo"
Why did Coulton select these
songs in particular?
• They represent Beyonce's two
personas:
1. The 'Good Girl' Beyonce
2. The 'Fierce' Beyonce
M U S I C A L S I G N I F I E R S
O F C O R P O R E A L
I D E N T I T Y I N B E Y O N C E
Sonically, via her voice:
• Identity is conveyed by way of sonic
difference
• Her voice expresses signifiers of difference
by way of:
• Vocal delivery
• Melody
• Rhythm
• Pitch
• Accompaniment
• Lyric
• Musical quotation
• Treatment of her voice
H E A R I N G B E Y O N C E ' S I D E N T I T Y :
V O C A L M O D E S
Mode Distinguishing Features Key Examples
1 Spoken delivery, with minimal melodic inflection Only brief appearances on this album
2 Pitched reciting tone in the middle of her range as the focal
point of a disjointed melodic line
"Diva"
3 Smoother melodic line, comprising high levels of internal
repetition and mainly syllabic delivery
"Single Ladies"
4 Smooth melodic line with ample room for improvisation and
embellishment
"Broken-Hearted Girl"; "Halo";
"Disappear"
H E A R I N G
B E Y O N C E ' S I D E N T I T Y : V O C A L M O D E S 1 & 2
Mode 1: Spoken Delivery
• Speech-like delivery, rap genre
• Ex: "7/11" Béyonce, 2014
Mode 2: Pitched reciting tone
• The reciting tone has its roots in Gregorian
chant
• EX: "Check up on it" Beyoncé
Modes 1 & 2 Share certain commonalities:
• They are melodically limited
• Avoid scalic consecutive notes, typical of 1990s
R&B
○ They share assertive vocal deliveries/qualities
○ They tend to carry heir own stereotypical
identifications/associations
H E A R I N G B E YO N C É ' S I D E N T I T Y: M O D E S
3 & 4
Mode 3:
• More conjunct and repetitive, but still has more melodic content than modes 1 + 2
Mode 4:
• More embellished and ‘melismatic’; i.e .highly decorative melodies, commonly
associated with the likes of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys
• Example Whitney Houston, “I will always love you”
• Highly virtuosic
• Has associations with genres such as blues, gospel, soul
• Lyrical content is more emotional, lends itself to expressions of personal authenticity
I D E N T I F Y I N G B E Y O N C E . . .
I N T E R M S O F G E N D E R
Diva Persona:
• Has strong ties to other vocal and musical practices and
traditions, namely that of opera.
Coulton identifies two songs which express Beyonce's
'diva' identity
• "Halo"
• “Diva”
How is Beyonce's diva identity expressed in the song "Diva"?
• Title
• Vocal delivery
• Lyrically
What kind of identity is expressed?
• Female version of a "hustler"
I D E N T I F Y I N G B E Y O N C E . . . I N
T E R M S O F E T H N I C I T Y
• Expresses a broader collective identity and
demography, acting as a signifier for ethnicity.
• Coulton notes that "Single Ladies" has a
"particularly white-defined reception"
• Musically, the song also references and recalls
specific musical traditions, namely African
American genres such as blues, hip hop,
and Christian spirituals.
• Antiphonal: "A term describing works in
which an ensemble is divided into distinct
groups, performing in alternation and
together." ("Antiphonal" Groves Music
Online)
I D E N T I F Y I N G B E YO N C E . . . I N T E R M S O F
C L A S S
• Class has historically been used as a marker of position and status in
society
• Status is typically signaled by way of wealth, whether inherited or
earned by climbing social/educational ranks
• As Coulton explains, the “ongoing, disproportional economic
marginalization of Black communities raises the significance of their
wealth in the social hierarchy.”
• Connection between poverty and strong morality as cultural trope
• Use of material wealth to signify power and control over social
environment.
• What genre, therefore, does Coulton reference as being a sonic
embodying of class in Beyonce's songs?
• Hip-Hop
I D E N T I F Y I N G
B E Y O N C E . . . I N T E R M S O F
C L A S S
• Disc 1: class is established by way of
“constant affirmation of monogamy
and commitment, and religious texts
• Examples: "Halo" and "Ave
Maria"
• Disc 2: class is referenced by way of
possessions, i.e. money, jewelry,
property, etc; has tie to hip-hop
genre, in which material possessions
are often evoked lyrically and/or
visually.
• Examples: "Single Ladies" +
"Diva"
• Reworking of the original song by Franz Schubert, Ave Maria
• Originally a Christian song which is often used in devotional, often Catholic, contexts,
with the original prayer Ave Maria (Hail Mary) being in honor of the Virgin Mary.
• In I am...Sasha Fierce, it is featured as a gentle ballad
" AV E M A R I A "
• How does Beyonce's version signal, express, or recall identity?
• By recalling the western art music tradition
• By recalling Christianity, the Roman Catholic religion
• What kind of identity is evoked here?
WO R K S C I T E D
• "Antiphonal (ii)." Grove Music Online.2001;Accessed 31 Jan. 2024. https://www-
oxfordmusiconline-
com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.
0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000053793
• Beard, David. “Identity.” In Musicology: The Key Concepts, 133-135. New York, NY;
Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge,
2016. https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/permalink/01UTORONTO_INST/14bj
eso/alma991106927720706196
• Colton, Lisa. “Singing All the Time: Constructions of Cultural Identity in Beyoncé’s I
Am … Sasha Fierce.” In Beyoncé, 68-90. Indiana University Press, 2020.
• Lawler, Steph. Identity : Sociological Perspectives. Cambridge, UK ; Polity Press, 2008.
• Stokes, Martin, ed. Ethnicity, Identity, and Music : The Musical Construction of Place.
Oxford, UK ; Berg, 1994