Music as Communication: Popular Music Lyrics and Musicality as Communication

            Every communication studies major completes an extensive research project as a capstone before they graduate. For my own, I wanted to make it a combination of my love of communication and my love of music. This project took place over the course of two semesters and displays my finest academic work. At the completion of this project, there was a formal poster presentation session where I had the chance to discuss my findings with faculty and students alike. That poster is displayed below. 

            My study utilized a thematic analysis of 26 examples of popular music lyrics and musical composition in an attempt to answer the main communicative themes in our society. In other words, what do we find interesting in musical lyrics or what grabs our attention in the music itself? From previous studies, I had learned that popular music reflects the rhetoric of the current cultural era, so I felt that my study was introspective on our cultural interests, viewpoints, and even morals. 

            Throughout this project and the two semesters built around it, I put in a lot of time and brainpower to complete a task that I once found very intimidating. Therefore, I have gained experience tackling large, long-term projects, working closely with others, and exhibiting a strong will and determination to finish what I've started.

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