Making Sense of Dance Music

Name: Helena Gerritsen

Student ID: 04030453

Course: MA Mass Communication

Module: Researching Communications

Code: CMP014N

Tutor: Dr Thomas Giagkoglou

Date: 23th of January 2006

Words: +/- 3000

Abstract

Dance is a cultural and musical phenomenon that has gained a significant meaning in this century. Dance has earned his relevance through clubs, dance events, hit parade, radio, TV, singles and most important in the hearts of millions of people who possess youth spirit. Obviously dance has a significant meaning for these people from different backgrounds, ethnics, religions and nationalities.

Negus, 2002 argues that music is the crucial binding factor for all subcultures.

The use of media is crucial in the development of subcultures in order to give access to bigger audience. The Industry saw a huge potential in this 'target' group and offered services and products to the Dance scene. At the other hand, music can be seen as a form of intercultural communication that not only convert us into markets but might tell something about our identities that divide us from the mass. This research will be focusing

on what Dance music means in everyday life of the Dutch sub culture.

To analyse the construction of social relationships and create an understanding of the social world, discourse analysis is an often-used tool.

The objective is to formulate a set of ideas, values and assumptions of the meaning of dance music for the Dutch subculture. This will be done by in-depth interviews on one sight and by discourse analysis of a Dutch dance magazine on the other. This approach has been chosen because making sense of something is an inevitable tension between words and music.

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Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................... 3

1. Research questions ................................................................. 4

2.1 Literature Survey ..................................................................... 5

2.1 Definition of terms ................................................................... 7

3.1 Review of Research Methods ................................................. 8

3.2 Research Design ...................................................................... 8

Bibliography .................................................................................... 10

1. Research question

My research question will form the basic for further research, as well in literature as in field research. The area I want to investigate are the similarities and differences in the way the dance is represented by a dance magazine on one hand and the identity and value it has for the consumers in the dance sub culture on the other.

Music is a way to define youth cultures and distinguish youth subcultures. I am fascinated by how music styles like rock and roll and hip-hop have shaped history.

They were crucial for the development of parts of the society. The consumers are passionated by the identity of the music style. They adopt this lifestyle to their everyday activities and develop the appropriate values.

Dance music is a global 'product' that does not refer to a local identity nor to written lyrics by the artist. Consumers are harder to identify than in earlier music styles, like hip hop. Gender, ethnics, income, religion, profession and social status do not define the consumers of dance. Nor does the majority solely consume dance music. Often do they enjoy different world music styles as well. But dance music does get bigger and bigger influences in our music consumption. Holland is one of Europe's biggest dance producers in dj's and in dance events. Many Dutch dj's are well known in the world, Like DJ Tjiesto, Michel DE Heij, Eric E etc. But what is the actual meaning of dance music for the Dutch subculture. The main research question can be formulated as follows:

What is the significant meaning of DJ Dance Music in relation to lifestyle, identity and social&moral values to the Dutch subculture?

The research is carried out through a discourse analysis in a Dutch Dance magazine and through in-depth interviews with dance consumers.

Sub-questions will be investigated in both parts of the research. During the development of the research, outcomes can change or raise new sub-questions.

So far the following sub-questions are formulated:

1.Does dance give a sense of belonging, and does it give a sense of place?

2. What kind of identity is given to the consumption of dance music?

3. What is the social status of the dance music in hierarchical division?

Existing researches and widely accepted theories concerning this subject