Music Then and Now: Using Technology to Build a Lyric Animation Module

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. JEL Classifications: A20, A21, A22

ChatGPT has Aced the Test of Understanding in College Economics: Now What?

“…This type of experiential learning goes beyond simple memorization and fosters a deeper understanding of the subject. Students can be asked to write brief essays that apply economic principles to solve interesting questions they personally observe (Geerling, 2013), form student groups to synthesize music with economics (Geerling, 2019), or work on art-inspired projects that require students to apply economic concepts (Al-Bahrani et al, 2016).…”

Teaching Macroeconomics Through Music

“…Some require students to link lyrics to economic concepts (Tinari and Khadke, 2000;Mateer and Rice, 2007). In Geerling et al (2020), students were asked to create an animated lyric video of a recent song with economic content. The authors offered advice on how to set up the project.…”

Music 4 Econ: https://music4econ.com/

“…Second, it provides examples of what students themselves can do. M4E includes a number of studentcreated projects resulting from an assignment used in our classrooms since 2005 (see Geerling, Mateer and O'Roark, 2019). By applying the concepts learned during a course, students are actively engaged in putting their knowledge into practice.…”

“…This is demonstrated by the publication of multiple papers explaining how music can be used to teach economics. Papers have been written targeting particular songs (Krasnozhon, 2013), Broadway shows (Rousu and Conrad, 2017) various genres (Melichar, 2018;O'Roark, Holder and Mateer, 2018;Roussu, 2016;Wooten, Geerling, and Calma, 2021), and even student-created music based projects (Al-Bahrani, et al, 2017;Holder, et al, 2015;Geerling, et al, 2019). Other work focuses on using music to teach particular courses (Van Horn and Van Horn, 2013;Ben Abdesslem, 2022) and specific topics (Geerling, et al, 2021;Rousu, 2018, Rousu, et al 2021.…”