In DP Music, we are currently discussing the Area of Inquiry: “Music for Dramatic Purposes and Entertainment.” What classifies a piece as ART instead of pop music? Does the context of the piece matter in how we classify a composition? To get into this idea, the students have been doing a close look at the piece, “Wait for It” from the Broadway sensation, Hamilton. While the piece pulls upon popular influences from Classic Rock and Hip Hop, it is still presented in a form more associated with artistry and skill than popular music. Yet the global popularity of the show and its soundtrack would push the work into the realm of “chips”- music for mass consumption. Can the piece retain its artistic integrity and power while being listened to non-stop, remixed, covered, and slowly creeping into everything? Or were the hipsters right all along, and once something is loved by the many, it is no longer true to its origins?
