Measuring Musical Social Change Case Studies Olivier Urbain, Ph.D. Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research Transcend: Art and Peace Network (T:AP) About Measurability Is it about sounds or about people? Christopher Small (deceased Sept. 7, 2011) To music is to take part, in any capacity, in a musical performance, whether by performing, by listening, by rehearsing or practicing, by providing material for performance (what is called composing), or by dancing. (Musicking, 1998, p. 9) 1
Musicking, continued We might at times even extend its meaning to what the person is doing who takes the tickets at the door or the hefty men who shift the piano and the drums or the roadies who set up the instruments and carry out the sound checks or the cleaners who clean up after everyone else has gone. They too, are all contributing to the nature of the event that is a musical performance (1998, 9). 2
Measurable Goal of Nonkilling The mission of the Center for Global Nonkilling is to promote change toward the measurable goal of a killing free world ( ) Governments hide the number of people they kill in wars, even though they know. There is an effort to change that. Research and campaigning initiative launched in September 2011 the Charter for the Recognition of Every Casualty of Armed Violence. Oxford Research Group s Every Casualty project. Prof. Glenn Paige 3
Measuring Musical Social Change Case Studies Playing for Change Art of street musicians through the Internet (2010 = 30 million), concerts, CDs, DVDs. March 2005 Mark Johnson meets Roger Ridley in Santa Monica, California. Ridley sings Stand by me on the street, and Johnson is a technician and producer. Mobile filming and recording technique, DVD Songs around the World. 4
Roger Ridley The Art of Street Musicians 5
Worldwide Recognition Building Music Schools 2007 PFC Foundation (non profit) 2008 Timeless Media (for profit) 2011: seven schools have been established South Africa, Ghana, Mali, Rwanda, Nepal (3) Beware of cultural neo imperialism Traditional music and wisdom of the elders 6
From the Ground Up These are not our schools; each school belongs to the people in the community. The community is invested in the school and its success. The people create the energy that the schools and the community need to succeed (2010). Anybody can help $ 5. Flute for a child $15. Allow local craftsmen to repair a djembe $25. Madal drum, benefits child & local craftsman $50. Five cement bags for music school foundation $75. N'gony, benefits child & local craftsman $150. One month teacher's salary $1000. Fund 3 Nepali music programs for a month 7
Concrete Goals and Measurability (1) Concrete Goals and Measurability (2) 8
Concrete Goals and Measurability (3) 2011: 10 programs, 750 students, 150 jobs Recommendation: systematic evaluation Surveys with control groups Interviews, ethnography. Statistical analysis of school attendance, success after graduation, nutrition, hygiene Worldwide center for evaluation of PFC results Min On Concert Association Minshu Ongaku, Music for the People make live musical performances accessible to ordinary people in all parts of Japan Established by Daisaku Ikeda in 1963 70,000+ concerts attended by 100 million+ people, inviting musicians from 100+ different countries to perform in Japan. One million+ volunteers. 9
La Scala 1981, 500 artists, 80 trucks Measurability (60 year old Japanese) I really didn t want to come. I had bad feelings towards Russia because of the Northern Territories Dispute. I used to live in Kushiro and Nemuro, which were occupied by Russia. However I came here today, and when I heard the music and the singing, I could not hold my tears, which flowed freely throughout the performance. I realized then that I should not judge people based on stereotypes. The people of Russia are now my friends for all eternity (Kobayashi 2010). 10
Northern Territories Measurable Change 11
El Sistema Venezuela: 250,000 people learning music 125 youth orchestras, 31 symphony orchestras 1975 Social Action for Music, Jose Abreu. Simon Bolivar Youth Ensemble (2007 BBC, Carnegie) Teresa Carreño youth orchestra (2011). Gustavo Dudamel (L.A. Phil, Gothenburg Symph) Edicson Ruiz, Joen Vasquez, Pedro Eustache, L. Miguel Rojas, Edward Pulgar, Natalia Luis Bassa No roads, sewage, water, electricity Poverty, high levels of criminality 12
Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra Worldwide Tours 13
Gustavo Dudamel Jose Abreu (2009) In [their] essence, the orchestra and the choir are much more than artistic structures. They are examples and schools of social life, because to sing and to play together means to intimately coexist toward perfection and excellence, following a strict discipline of organization and coordination in order to seek the harmonic interdependence of voices and instruments. 14
Research Question How can one measure the social impact of El Sistema? Interviews (Article in The Observer of July 27, 2007) Renee Arias, practicing his French Horn at a home for abandoned and abused children, when asked what he would be doing if he had not joined El Sistema, replies: I'd be where I was, only further down the line either dead or still living on the streets smoking crack, like when I was eight. 15
Statistics June 6, 2007, Inter American Development Bank granted a loan of US$150 million to El Sistema. The bank had conducted studies on the more than two million young people educated in El Sistema Participation in the program was linked to improvements in school attendance, declines in juvenile delinquency, and a decline in crime. The bank calculated that every dollar invested in El Sistema was reaping about $1.68 in social dividends. Measurability Yes, it is measurable through interviews, surveys and statistics. El Sistema is now developing in Colombia (Batuta), the UK, the US and other countries. Recommendation: worldwide network collecting data in each community and country, centralizing the results. 16
Conclusion The social impact of musical programs can be measured through surveys, interviews, ethnography and statistics, but this data collection and analysis needs to be done in a more systematic and organized fashion. Music and Social Change 17
establish a Final Recommendation Global Task Force for Measuring Musical Social Change 18