Why is music the most important form of expression, especially for young people? 

Music is one of the most subjective art forms to ever exist. Everyone has access to it, and anyone is able to form an opinion on what they feel is music. Usually, it is an auditory series of vocals or instrumental sounds that are combined to form harmonies, tones, and chords. However, it can also be experienced through vibrations or visuals, so it is not necessarily something one can only hear. There are many different genres in music, ones that garner completely different audiences. There is music in different languages, with different instruments, but they all fall under the umbrella of music. It is an art form that can be appreciated by anyone, and while making music may require talent or musical knowledge, it requires absolutely no talent or knowledge to appreciate a pleasant sound or rhythm. Since most of the modern music industry is directed towards young people, they make up the demographic that engages the most with it. As a member of this demographic, I can say for myself that we encounter a lot of music, and have gotten very comfortable with using it to express ourselves through production and consumption of music. Music is the most important form of expression for young people because of its ability to connect to their feelings, build their identity, and develop their emotional intellect. 

Self expression is an incredibly important skill for adolescents to have. It allows for them to outwardly respond to their environment and vocalize their opinions on the world around them. Without self expression, anyone can struggle with finding their identity, so much so that they conform to a society that does not act in their best interest. In “Girl”, a short story written by Jamaica Kincaid, there are many ways it can be read, but the most apparent was that it was  commands for a young girl to abide by in order to be accepted into a society. Many of the commands are household chores the main character is instructed on how to do, by what can be assumed as her mother, wanting to prepare her daughter for the outside world, worrying about how the daughter will be perceived and accepted into the society they are in. An example of this is “this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” (Kincaid, 306). Both these characters have conformed into a society in which girls are meant to behave a certain way, and it seems that when the girl goes to defend herself, she is not understood as an individual. This shows the importance of self expression, especially as a young girl, since her identity is completely based on how she is perceived in the society, based on things they see as bad, not perceiving her as the individual she is striving to be. 

Music makes it easy for young people to express themselves, as it not only includes producing music as its own form of expression, with feelings and emotion flowing throughout the rhythms and lyrics, but also including the consumption of it, which oftentimes leads to opinions and criticism being formed. The formation of opinions leads to the development of an identity, because of how one would usually describe themselves in relation to things they like or dislike. One of those things many people usually identify themselves with is what music they enjoy or dislike and what they relate to based on their experiences. The article “The Politics of  Voice in Tween Girls’ Music Criticism” expands upon this idea, conveying how young people, specifically young girls give criticism as their engagement with popular music that they have listened to, allowing them to express their thoughts freely, and add onto the media they have consumed. In the article, it adds that “when we fail to take girls’ musical engagement seriously, we overlook an opportunity to understand one of the central mechanisms by which they become political thinkers and actors” (Pecknold, 69). In other words, being able to form an opinion or criticism, is an ability that should not be dismissed, as it shows young people’s intellectual capacity to not only recognize their feelings as their own, but personally connecting themself to this form of media, with those feelings in mind. Using music as a tool to identify yourself, especially as a young person, helps you to develop socially. You may find yourself welcomed into a community full of others who also identify themselves with music, building social skills and relations with people who likely share similar experiences. 

Music is a constructive way to express oneself and help those who may have difficulty expressing themselves verbally. The article “The Expression of Emotion in Music” showcases that in young children, this is very prevalent. They describe that since children are not very familiar with knowing the name of what they are experiencing, it is hard for them to verbally express their emotions, so they show it through outbursts such as crying. They describe music as a more direct way of accessing emotions, saying that when there is music involved, “we’re in direct contact with our emotions” (“The Expression of Emotion in Music, 1). This article specialized in how musical instruments are “gates for their emotions and playing them allows their emotions to come through” (The Expression of Emotion in Music, 1). By teaching kids to use musical instruments to connect to their emotions, especially ones as young as they focused on, it develops their emotional intelligence, giving them a creative way to express themselves that will resonate with others. 

Although “The Politics of Voice in Tween Girls’ Music Criticism” focused on feedback from tween girls, it supports the idea that “The Expression of Emotion in Music” also focuses on, which is expression of feelings and opinions in the youth. The young girls’ criticism of music they have consumed promotes expression and builds their emotional intelligence. While there are limited ways youth can express their feelings and opinions verbally, as said in the article “The Expression of Emotion in Music”, music is the perfect example of things that they can consume on their own and form a connection with. Expression through music is not only limited to production, it is also consumption and the forming of an opinion, that can then be shared, developing young peoples’ identity, improving emotional intelligence, and getting them more in touch with their own emotions.