Abstract
This article describes a student group project (Music for Econ) which synthesizes music with economics and is a great way to connect with your audience. We trace the journey of Music for Econ from its inception as a Pop-Up video in the early 2000s through to the creation of a Music for Econ library on Critical Commons. Music for Econ is a pedagogical device which can be used to demonstrate the everyday application of economics and help unlock student creativity. Consequently, we provide the instructor with a do it yourself (DIY) manual, which shows them how to set up the project, customize it depending on the size of their class, and how to avoid common pitfalls. We also include an end of project survey template for reference and future use in an appendix. More broadly, Music for Econ is simply fun to watch if you like music and enjoy leaning about economics.
Introduction
Becker and Watts (2008) encourage us to teach outside the confines of chalk and talk in an effort to overcome the barriers students have to learning economics, and recently those in the economic education sphere have taken that exhortation and run with it. In their pursuit of more effective teaching, and with the widespread availability of material on the internet, the use of media in classrooms has proliferated. Film and television clips, phone apps, social media, and literature, among others, have been utilized to illustrate economic concepts, but perhaps the most widely adopted media asset is music.
Research into the use of music as a teaching tool generally, and its impact on learning economics specifically, provides support for the efficacy of the medium. Raeshler (2010) found that linking lyrics to economic concepts has a positive influence on course attendance and student evaluations for courses taught in both face-to-face and online formats, whereas McClough and Heinfeldt (2012) showed that music can help improve student understanding (although they warn that the choice of song is particularly important). Others, such as Tinari and Khandke (2000), Krasnozhon (2013), Van Horn and Van Horn (2013), and O’Roark et al. (2018), have contributed lists of songs that illustrate economic concepts.
One of the most salient approaches to using music in the classroom is Music for Econ, where music lyrics are analyzed to find the economic relevance. Music for Econ is an open access resource with more than 150 song titles, and nearly three dozen contributors, including more than 20 students from half a dozen institutions providing material to the site. 1 The creative interpretations of songs have resulted in four types of lyric animations found on Music for Econ: (a) those created with software like PowerPoint or Adobe FLASH, (b) those created with online software such as Powtoon, (c) presentations where songs front animated quizzes, and (d) offerings where interpretations are overlaid on top of an existing music video of the song.
Music for Econ was presented in its nascent form in the works of Mateer and Rice (2007) and Hall et al. (2008), where economic interpretations of song lyrics were presented as student group projects in the classroom. The current article seeks to build upon this foundation. We extend the existing analysis in two main ways. First, we present this article in a do it yourself (DIY) format for any would-be adoptee, containing instructions and guidelines. Essentially, we walk the lecturer through the process of developing a finished Music for Econ project from start to finish. Second, we explain how the advent of technology has created several different adaptations of Music for Econ.
The “Connecting Music and the Economics Literature” section provides a literature review and a discussion of the relevance of using music to teach economics. The “History of Music for Econ” section outlines the history of Music for Econ, from its original inception as a Pop-Up Video to the creation of a Music for Econ library on CriticalCommons.org, an online repository of user-generated media. In the “Music for Econ as a Student Group Project” section, we provide instructors with guidelines for in-class application. In the “Project Outline and Requirements—A Handout for Student Projects” section, we discuss what we have learned about this project through the years. In the “Things We Have Learned Through the Years” section, we highlight two animations that show the power of Music for Econ. In the appendix, we provide an end of project survey template to help the instructor gauge the value-added from this creative process and the critical thinking skills acquired through this media exercise.
Connecting Music and the Economics Literature
The economics literature suggests that active engagement of students is a feature of more concrete learning. This is made more important as research shows that the learning styles of the current crop of students, the millennial generation, differ from previous generations.
Specially, and germane to the current article, music works as a powerful medium to enhance learning. Hall et al. (2008) surveyed 300 principles-level students and 99% agreed that playing music animations where familiar songs were interpreted through an economic lens adds to the educational environment. A strong majority, 76%, also indicated that they paid attention to the economic explanations in the animations. Music also makes economics personally immediate. Thus, leveraging an audience’s interest in music can engage students and may contribute positively to learning economic concepts (McClough & Heinfeldt, 2012). Specifically, Willingham (2009) notes, “we understand new things in the context of things we already know” (p. 67). Showing animations familiarizes students with the example and provides every student with the same context.
Work by Carrasco-Gallego (2017) finds that millennials have different learning styles than previous cohorts. Thus, teaching economic concepts to millennials using lecture alone could be very challenging. When it comes to economics, regardless of their leaning styles, students can find themselves lost in the jargon we, as economists, take for granted. One way around this is to use teaching aids that are familiar to students (O’Roark, 2017; O’Roark & Grant, 2018). This puts students in a setting tethered to something recognizable, which, according to Picault (2019), is particularly important for millennials. Specifically, Picault notes that new teaching methods that include active learning to improve engagement among millennials serve as a transversal between engagement and content acquisition. Picault also argues that new teaching methods clearly focus on the inclusion of popular culture and media, which are already a salient part of the day-to-day life of students.
Picault’s observations are expansions on prior research. In his pioneering work Interaction of Media, Cognition and Learning, Salomon (1979) discovered that students tend to learn abstract, new, and novel concepts more easily when they are presented in both verbal and visual forms. Cowen (1984) and Willingham (2009) both claim that using visual media in teaching rather than text alone makes concepts more accessible to a student, promoting deep learning rather than rote learning, and helping with later recall. This research on student learning preferences is the motivation for The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Macro/Microeconomics (Geerling & Mateer, 2014), which includes more than 1,000 teaching techniques designed to increase engagement.
History of Music for Econ
Music has been a staple for those using pop culture to teach economics for some time; however, the ability to play music in classes was originally limited by the technology in the rooms. To play a song often required bringing one’s own equipment such as a boom box or portable CD player with which to play a tape or CD. Sound systems in classrooms were primitive in the best of cases. Synching music up with a video presentation was at first, wishful thinking.
Eventually, classrooms were fitted with improved technology, and in 2004, Andrew Rice began using Adobe FLASH software to combine audio and visual into a single file that could be played using an internet browser, something that was now available in most classrooms, and the Economics Pop-Up Video was born. The hurdle going forward, however, was a relatively high learning curve to becoming proficient with FLASH. Taking advantage of specialization in production, Andrew was employed on the tech side, compiling projects in the likeness of Pop-Up Videos, a popular television show (at the time) on the music TV station Video Hits One (VH1). Pop-Up Videos would present a music video with occasional comic book-like speech bubbles that provided insight about the song, the artist, or a random bit of trivia or comedy. The inaugural song in the Music for Econ library was the Weird Al Yankovic parody of the Backstreet Boys “I Want It That Way” called “E-bay.” 2 In the song, Weird Al explains how E-bay, the online market place, made it easy for him to get things from all around the globe. It was a perfect song illustrating the power of markets to match buyers to sellers.
The presentation itself provided the song lyrics on the screen, with accompanying economic explanations and expositions. In the style of “Pop-Up Videos,” there was commentary about the song—“eBay highlights the gains from exchange that are possible through online auctions”—and even details of how many items were mentioned in the song, like “Pac Man Fever lunchboxes,” available on an eBay search at the time, not to mention the “pop” noises that indicated a new commentary was being made—just like in the TV show. The song was an immediate hit with students.
By the end of the decade, and with the advent of screen capture software, presentations could be made using PowerPoint, thereby increasing the opportunities for students and other educators to become contributors to the music library. Users inserted the audio file of a song into their PowerPoint presentation (usually an MP3), and after adding the lyrics and some photos, the final output resulted in a lyric animation. Fast forward 10 years, the Music for Econ project has evolved to also include online animations, which are created with free online software such as Powtoon; animated quizzes, where questions are embedded in the video; and music videos of the songs, where economic commentary is added. The only fixed inputs in this project are music and economics; the rest is up to the imagination.
This was a promising start, but to create a true public good, a distribution mechanism was required. Initially, many song lyrics and their related economic commentary were posted on a website, “From ABBA to Zeppelin”; however, A to Z was never designed to host copyrighted materials in a protected manner. As a result, the growing catalog was moved to a protected site at a major public university in the United States. The site was password protected to limit access and prevent any efforts to monetize the content. This posed a problem as access to the university server was not guaranteed and streaming of the songs was buffered. As a result, in 2012, the majority of the Music for Econ library was moved to CriticalCommons.org. This site, designed for educators to share copyrighted material under fair use privileges, had significant server space, was free to use, and did not require a password. The site allows creators of Music for Econ song projects to add their material to the growing catalog of tunes. When a song is submitted, all that needs to be done is to add “Music for Econ” to the keywords and the contribution becomes part of the catalog.
Music for Econ as a Student Group Project
In this section, we provide instructions and guidance, so that instructors considering adopting Music for Econ in their classes are aware of the strengths and pitfalls of such a project. We also highlight two of the best examples of Music for Econ on Critical Commons. At this point, it is important to stress two things: First, the instructions below are for a lyric animation built using PowerPoint, one of four types of Music for Econ projects. With a few minor tweaks, they could easily be adapted to the other formats: online animations, animated quizzes, or music videos. Second, there are derivative projects such as Rockonomix and Econ Beats, which also combine music and economics but are different in one key respect. In Rockonomix (Holder et al., 2015) and Econ Beats (Al-Bahrani et al., 2017), students take a popular song and rewrite the lyrics and shoot their own music video about economics or personal finance, whereas in Music for Econ, the lyrics are interpreted as given, not rewritten. Students take the lyrics of a song and embed economic commentary in a variety of formats. The creativity lies in the interpretation of the lyrics, while technology offers a dazzling array of potential formats. What follows is a set of instructions that are presented to students as they build their own Music for Econ projects.
Project Outline and Requirements—A Handout for Student Projects
This project asks you to create a lyric animation of a song with substantial economic content. The song you choose must be from 20XX (whatever the current year is). 3 The goal of this project is to apply what you have learned throughout this course by designing a lyric video similar (or better!) than what is played before each class. You can use any platform you like to create your project. You should assume that your audience is your fellow students. The project should be captivating and professionally done.
Working Together
You may work with as many as four students from this class to complete your lyric animation. All students whose names appear on the title screen earn the same amount of credit. The amount of credit earned is not divided by your group size, so you are encouraged to work together and use your respective comparative advantages to complete the project as efficiently as possible.
Cool Opportunity
The lyric videos that earn the highest scores are shown before class during the last week of the semester. In addition, the project showcases your creative and critical thinking skills and can enhance your resume or digital portfolio.
Every lyric video shown in class will also receive an additional 1% in extra credit. The top lyric animation of the semester will earn another 1% in extra credit. 4 The top animation is determined by a class vote.
What to Include in Your Final Project
Title screen
The title screen should include your name(s), the artist, and song title.
How your song choice relates to economics
Link your choice of song to economic concepts as appropriate. A song that is repetitive and only covers one or two ideas is not as good as one that hits on many concepts. Therefore, your choice of a song dictates how successful you will be in uncovering the economics. Each economic concept should be highlighted in a distinct color so that it stands out in the commentary.
Ways to Make Your Project Better
Use Google Images to find interesting pictures that illustrate key points, are amusing, or identify people and places mentioned in the song.
The layout should be easy to read (uncluttered).
You can also set the timings so that the lyrics, economics commentary, and pictures appear and then disappear. This adds visual interest. Keep the commentary short.
Submission
You must upload your completed lyric animation to an online platform (e.g., YouTube) and supply a working link in a word or PDF file uploaded to the course Learning Management System (LMS) by the deadline. 5
Things We Have Learned Through the Years
Over time, we have learned some things that have made the work go more smoothly.
Let your students work in groups or by themselves. You can never completely avoid the free-rider problem associated with group projects, but empowering students to form groups on their own helps. A small percentage of students prefer to work alone (and effectively do more work).
You don’t need to be an expert in creating the animations yourself. Students understand that they choose the software needed to create the lyric animation. You can message this by discussing comparative advantage when forming groups. For instance, each group might benefit from having one student who is an avid music fan to help choose the song; another who really knows the economics, so the commentary is correct; a third who is good with computer technology, so animations are professionally done; and someone to take charge to see to it that everything is completed on time.
Once you have identified the top submissions, notify each group that you intend showing their animation before class. At that time, note any things you would like to be fixed (if any). Also request digital files of the final project, so you can use the best submissions as pre-class music in subsequent semesters and so that they can be uploaded to Critical Commons.
If you use this project in a large section, you will need Teaching Assistant (TA) support to help you grade the projects. In smaller classes, peer review can help refine the submissions. Each student can be required to comment on every other submission, and then each group uses the feedback to improve their submission.
This project works well as an end of the semester review. It never ceases to amaze how students will look through notes and chapters to find a solid interpretation, whereas if they were studying in a traditional manner, they would overlook some of the same topics.
The Music for Econ student project is a perfect course capstone. In a large section, the best animations can be shown in class or before class, and polling software is used to determine the “best” submission. In small sections, all of the submissions can be watched in class on a single day—think of this as a “viewing party” (You provide the popcorn).
Examples of Best Practices
With all of the songs we have seen over the years, and the different techniques used, we wanted to close by highlighting two of the best. Of course, these choices are entirely subjective. To judge for yourself and, more importantly, to understand the power of music to explain economic concepts in your classroom, we ask that you visit Critical Commons. Go to CriticalCommons.org and enter “music for econ” in the search bar to see all the content.
In addition, we wanted to note that teaching with music works in classes of any size, so it does not matter if you have 10 or 1,000 students, but scale does matter if you use music as the focus of a student project. The Music for Econ project is suitable for any pre-college (9–12) and introductory-level economics class. Indeed, it is one of the few student group projects, which actually scales up: With more students, you end up with a richer supply of quality projects. It can be used as a stand-alone assignment or as an extra credit project.
Next, we show how an animation is morphing using two exemplars.
Animated Quizzes
The following screen captures are from Macklemore’s 2013 hit: “Thrift Shop.” 6 The lyric animation features the video in a small box and relates the song to economics by embedding 10 questions (with answers that appear after a few seconds) to maintain attention throughout. Thrift Shop is especially memorable because it describes the mood in America coming out of the Great Recession; people, including many millennials, are focusing on spending less for consumption goods. Macklemore perfectly captures this with the line, “I’m gonna pop some tags; only got twenty dollars in my pocket.” The first capture shows how the quiz is superimposed over the video for the song (in the box in the lower right-hand corner). There is also an elongated bar on the bottom of the screen that acts as a 10-s countdown timer for each question.
When the bar becomes completely green, the answer is revealed, as you can see in the next capture.
This process repeats 10 times in the animation. To illustrate this, we jump ahead to Question 9 from the quiz. Each quiz question uses a different keyword, in this case “swindled,” to link the lyrics in the song to the economic concept being emphasized.
Again, the answer is revealed after the timer elapses.
By integrating the quiz questions into the video, this type of animation is especially effective at encouraging the viewer to think while they watch.
Music Videos
“The Other Side” is from the musical The Greatest Showman. 7 The film was inspired by the story of P. T. Barnum and the lives of its star attractions in his Circus. In “The Other Side,” we see the negotiation process that leads to Barnum and Phillip Carlyle becoming partners. 8 Here, we see the actual lyric video playing with the economic commentary on the screen.
The economic commentary is overlaid at the top of the screen as the video runs in the background and the lyrics constantly change at the bottom. The key takeaway from the commentary is always highlighted in green. P. T. points out the opportunity cost of turning down the deal he is offering by mentioning all the things Philip is missing out in his current life.
A little later in the animation, Philip and P. T. begin their negotiation and both of them try to appear uninterested in a deal so that the other will make their best offer.
Finally, we see them celebrating after Philip and P. T. agree to a 10% stake in the Circus.
There is no economic commentary in the last scene because it is perfectly clear from watching the toast that both are celebrating the outcome of their negotiation. Less is more when it comes to economic commentary as there is only so much that the brain can process in a short period of time.
Conclusion
The quest to improve student learning is never ending. Greater levels of engagement help students learn, and music is one way to enhance that engagement; however, that only matters if the music is carefully chosen to complement the course learning concepts. We also know that students like music. The Music for Econ project combines engagement with music and acts as a transversal to knowledge acquisition. While other authors have demonstrated the value of using Music for Econ clips in class (Geerling & Mateer, 2014; Hall et al., 2008), this article differs in that it provides the instructor with a blueprint or DIY manual. We show you how to set up the project, how to customize it depending on the size of your class, and even how to avoid common pitfalls along the way.
The types of Music for Econ projects have evolved over time as technology has made it easier to edit lyric videos, and software has been developed to create animations without using specialized tools. We believe that Music for Econ is a pedagogical device which can be used to demonstrate that economics is everywhere and which can be adopted to help unlock student creativity.
Footnotes
Appendix
End of project survey: This template is designed to help the instructor gauge the value-added from this creative process and the critical thinking skills acquired through this media exercise.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
