Musical tastes of secondary school students' with different cultural backgrounds: a study in the spanish north african city of Melilla

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the musical tastes of secondary school students in terms of cultural origin, in the Spanish city of Melilla, a North African enclave bordered by Morocco and characterized by its cultural diversity. The study also examines the musical environment of the students since, as different studies have shown (Frith, 2004; Hargreaves, Marshall & North, 2003; Lundquist, 2002; Pitts, 2007), there is no direct relationship between music studied formally in school and the music listened to in daily life. Some 667 students from first to fourth year in compulsory secondary education level (334 females and 323 males), between the ages of 12 and 16 participated, of which 55.9% were of Berber origin, 39.1% of European origin, and 4.9% of mixed origin. The results that were derived from the Questionnaire on Preferences of Musical Styles prepared by Lorenzo, Herrera & Cremades (2008) reflect that the musical tastes of students are oriented towards popular music (Reggaeton, Pop, Hip-Hop or Rap, amongst others) and, on the other hand, they differ according to the cultural group of origin. These musical preferences are clearly influenced by several agents of socialization that are part of informal education (principally peer groups, TV, radio, and the Internet), that shape the cultural and musical consumption habits of young people. Finally, a number of proposals are made for the integration of formal and informal musical education.