{"id":3501,"date":"2020-04-20T12:36:32","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T16:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/?p=3501"},"modified":"2025-01-28T09:18:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T14:18:30","slug":"music-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/2020\/04\/music-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"
Professor Paul Christiansen helps voters understand
\nthe power of music\u00a0in political ads.<\/i><\/b><\/div><\/div>\n

With the 2020 presidential campaign in full swing, American voters are being faced with video ads carefully designed to influence their views of the candidates. Set to music that suggests authority or instills fear, these campaign ads sway viewers without their knowledge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Paul Christiansen wants to change that by giving voters the tools to spot potential manipulation through music.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like a public service,\u201d Christiansen said about his research. Music isn\u2019t a systematic part of an American education, he says, noting that as a result, voters are underinformed by how influenced they can be on a deep, emotional level by nonverbal appeals.<\/p>\n

An associate professor of music in the College of Communication and the Arts, Christiansen is the author of the 2018 book, Orchestrating Public Opinion: How Music Persuades in Television Political Ads for U.S. Presidential Campaigns, 1952-2016<\/em>. Also an expert on Czech music, Christiansen has appeared on NPR and BBC Radio 3, sharing his expert analysis of the history of presidential political ads and providing context for the election cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic is most powerful when [listeners] are not paying attention to it. When attention isn\u2019t focused on music, in a political context that leaves an opening for an emotional appeal,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Christiansen\u2019s research on political advertisements \u2014 which grew from a seminar he taught earlier in his career on music in TV commercials \u2014 allows him to tap into his undergraduate studies in communications and his graduate degree in musicology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his book, Christiansen traces every presidential campaign from the 1952 matchup between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson to Donald J. Trump\u2019s victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. He shows how they use music to instill confidence or provoke fear, to emphasize a candidate\u2019s wisdom and authority or to make an opponent appear incompetent or foolish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Christiansen demonstrates how an ad\u2019s choice of instrument or well-timed key changes can influence listeners. For example, he writes that a twangy country guitar was used by Jimmy Carter\u2019s campaign in 1976 to make the Georgia Democrat \u2014 a Naval Academy graduate and former governor \u2014 seem folksy and down to earth. Two decades later, President George H. W. Bush\u2019s re-election campaign chose a country guitar track to portray opponent Bill Clinton of Arkansas as a country bumpkin, a hick who was not prepared for the Oval Office.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Christiansen also discusses pop-culture references \u2014 from hit songs to TV commercials \u2014 and highlights the game-changers that had lasting influence on the field. Throughout, he expresses concern about the manipulative nature of these ads.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs I write in the book, I would love to see music completely removed,\u201d he said, adding that he knows that is unrealistic. \u201cI love music and I don\u2019t like to see it used to distract voters from focusing on the candidates\u2019 policies and records.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dana Gorzelany-Mostak, an assistant professor of music at Georgia College and creator and co-editor of Trax on the Trail, an interactive campaign music website, said Christiansen is making an important contribution to the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of the first to look at the history of political advertisements in a creative and unique way,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s coming at the topic from a specific scholarly lens, bringing a musicologist\u2019s perspective, but he\u2019s engaging, and his work is not alienating. He\u2019s providing the public with a toolbox for what they are viewing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The expanding media landscape and special interest groups that now produce issue ads make Christiansen\u2019s work more crucial, she said. \u201cThere\u2019s all this information and no system that filters it, so it\u2019s all the more vital to have a toolbox and to be more critical.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the 2020 campaign peaks, Christiansen believes the ads that exploit the electorate\u2019s fear and anxiety will continue. In fact, there will be more than ever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The number and cost of political advertising are growing rapidly. One prominent ad agency estimates spending this year will eclipse $10 billion, up dramatically from the estimated $6.5 billion spent in 2016 (on presidential and congressional campaigns). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLong ago we left behind the era when campaigns strictly controlled their television messages,\u201d he said, noting the growth of YouTube and other online platforms. A little knowledge will go a long way toward arming voters against undue influence. \u201cIt\u2019s OK if you don\u2019t understand how they are trying to manipulate you. Just be aware, focus on it and the minute you do, you\u2019ll see what they\u2019re trying to do,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Peggy McGlone \u201987 <\/em>covers local arts for The Washington Post.<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professor Paul Christiansen helps voters understand the power of music in political ads.<\/p>\n

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