Your Musical Identities

by Kristina Nielsen

This worksheet has questions to help students think about how their musical choices and how they reflect their lived identities.

Activity / Assignment

Part 1

Circle the genres below that you would say you listen to frequently (or that you have listened to frequently in the past):

Musical theater
Hip hop
Rap
Jazz
Rock
Folk music
Alternative/Indie
Soul
R&B
Country music
EDM
House music
Gospel music
European art music
Instrumental music

Part 2

Carefully consider and answer the following questions:

Are there any other musics that are of significance to you?
Why do you think you listen to these musics and not others?
Do any of your musical choices have a distinct identity?
In what ways do these musics connect you to others? Who is it connecting you to? (Consider age, gender, culture, race, ethnicity, heritage, socio-economic status, etc.)
How do your listening choices distance you from others?

Kristina Nielsen

Associate Professor of Musicology | Southern Methodist University

Kristina F. Nielsen is an associate professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Her research explores the roles of music and dance in Indigenous revitalization movements.