The Socialization of an Artist: The American ComposerAuthor(s): Dennison J. NashSource: Social Forces, Vol. 35, No. 4 (May, 1957), pp. 307-313Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2573318 .

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SOCIALIZATION OF AN ARTIST 307

THE SOCIALIZATION OF AN ARTIST: THE AMERICAN COMPOSER

DENNISON J. NASH University of Connecticut

A NY society may be thought of as a net- work of roles which must be manned continuously if the work of the society

is to get done. But some of these roles are more necessary or important to the society than others. If the society is to survive, these more necessary, or important, roles must receive a sufficient supply of adequate recruits from every generation. In some societies, as has been pointed out by Linton, such a supply is ensured by ascribing roles (or statuses) on the basis of cultural patterns or bio- logical facts.' Thus, the fact that one is born the first son of a king may mean that he gets to be king in the next generation. Other societies leave the supplying of recruits for even the more neces- sary roles to the individual's conscious choice and successful effort. This emphasis upon achieving roles is characteristic of our own society.

But the emphasis upon achievement in a society does not seem to mean that selective processes do not operate to train individuals for, and direct them to, necessary roles. For example, Merton has pointed out that certain selective processes may be operative before the individual makes the conscious choice and successful effort to achieve a bureaucratic role.2 Thus, in a sort of backhanded way, a society still may guarantee enough recruits to get its work done. This paper attempts to show that even in one of the least necessary vocational roles in our society-the composition of serious music-such forces operate in recruiting personnel.

Two aggregates of interviewed individuals have provided primary data for this paper: (1) 23 jury- determined "most successful" American-born composers of serious music; (2) 24 advanced students of musical composition selected by the heads of three outstanding American schools of music.3 The mean age of the composers is 51; the

students, 31. There is one female in each aggre- gate-a representation which does not seem dis- proportionate when compared, impressionistically, with the respective universes.

The two aggregates under study obviously represent two stages of achievement. The students are on the verge of entering the vocation of composition. Probably, their ranks will thin in the process of becoming professionals. And it would seem that only a fraction of the profes- sionals will be termed "most successful" (the jury determination of the composers under study). But to see these two aggregates as representing dif- ferent stages of success in achievement of the compositional role, it must be assumed that the situational characteristics of the role are the same for both despite the difference of one "professional generation" (in this case, 20 years). An analysis of all available materials indicates that though there are some slight differences (the amount of public funds available to finance musical training is one), the broad characteristics of the compositional role outlined below apply to both aggregates.

Other reservations to the study concern the techniques of observation, the representativeness of data, and the method of experiment. The techniques of observation are, admittedly, crude, but this was made necessary by the exploratory nature of the project and the desire to secure reliable data. There is no way of determining how representative these aggregates are of their universes. Consequently, the term American com- poser, when used here, can apply only to those com- posers in the aggregate under study. Finally, the experimental Method of Agreement used cannot hope to delineate, precisely, selective or causal

1 R. Linton, The Study of MVan (New York: Appleton- Century-Crofts, Inc., 1936), pp. 113-131.

2 R. Merton, "Bureaucratic Structure and Per- sonality," in Clyde Kluckhohn and others (eds.), Personality in Nature, Society and Culture (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1953), pp. 376-385.

3 All data for these aggregates were gathered by the author and are reported in N. Jackson, Socialization of

the American Composer, unpublished term paper, Middlebury College, 1955, and D. Nash, The American Composer: A Study in Social Psychology, Ph.D. thesis, University of Pennsylvania, 1954. All subsequent references to the student aggregate stem from the Jackson paper. The data for the "most successful" composers are given in the Nash study, particularly in Chapter 5. Minute footnoting for the various facts in the text will not be attempted here, although much of the data is reproduced exactly.

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308 SOCIAL FORCES

factors. Additional work with control and experi- mental groups will be necessary to give scientific weight to the conclusions of this paper, even though some tentative comparisons with other aggregates have been attempted.

In view of these reservations, the conclusions of this study must be tentative and limited. I hope that they may constitute stimulating hypotheses for additional work in the field of personality and culture in general and the social psychology of the arts in particular.

THE ROLE SITUATION OF THE AMERICAN COMPOSER

In general, the role situation of the American composer may be said to be relatively nonsupport- ing of his musical aspirations (which include the desire for performance of his works to an audience). Though the contemporary American composer works hard and long at the solitary activity of putting musical notes on paper, the evidence indicates that most members of the American serious-music audience (which numbers only a small fraction of the total American music audi- ence) can get along quite happily without hearing any of his music. And, in general, the attitudes of those who cooperate with the composers to produce and perform their music (i.e. the musical business- man, conductor, and instrumentalist) reflect the attitude of this audience.4

One indication of the relatively dispensable nature of the American composers (judged "most successful" by a jury of musical experts) is given by their mean annual income from composition for 1951: $2,640. Almost no composer can live as he would like on his income from serious composition alone. But he can, and does, turn to other jobs which fatten his income. He may play (at the same time) additional roles such as musical business- man, conductor, critic-author, instrumentalist, and teacher. Such role versatility tends to increase his control over the performance-destiny of his own works as well as to enhance his socio-economic status. But when the composer is ranked as a composer (his favorite self-conception), his social standing is relatively low (as compared with other vocations requiring an equivalent amount of training and intelligence) in the total society.5

In addition to the obvious criterion of the ability to compose serious music, then, recruits for the role of serious composer in American society must meet the following criteria: (1) ability to work in the face of social non-support; (2) ability to assume certain other vocational roles at the same time; (3) ability to pursue considerable solitary activity. This research seeks to set down and explain those factors which, acting through the socialization process, select or prepare a person for this kind of role. That the results of this inves- tigation may have broader application is suggested by Wilson's analysis of the American poet's role, the criteria for which are similar to those listed above.6 Therefore, we might expect to find similar selective factors operating in the poet's back- ground.

SELECTIVE FACTORS IN THE SOCIALIZATION OF

THE COMPOSER

1. Heredity

Any simple explanation of the achievement of the composing role does not, apparently, lie in the realm of heredity. If professional compositional ability is taken as the inherited trait, there appears to be almost no connection between the student and successful composers and their primary relatives. Only one primary relative of the subjects showed professional compositional ability (a brother). Professional instrumental ability in primary relatives seems to be more closely con- nected with compositional ability, yet the fact that 14 composers and 16 students had pairs of parents who were not instrumentalists suggests that, although some general inherited trait such as "musicality" may be operative as a selective factor, the investigation of environmental factors cannot be ignored.7

2. Sex

The infrequent appearance of top female composers has been explained on constitutional

4See Nash, op. cit., pp. 44-50, for a discussion of this point. The gap between composer and audience tastes is the product of a host of social and personal factors.

5The function of the composer's role versatility is discussed fully in D. Nash, "Challenge and Response

in the American Composer's Career," Journal of Aes- thetics and Art Criticism (Sept. 1955), pp. 116-122. For an analysis of his social standing see Nash, The American Composer, pp. 98-101.

6 R. Wilson, The American Poet: A Role Investi- gation, Ph.D. thesis, Harvard, 1952.

7There is also the possibility that compositional ability, as an inherited trait, is more closely related to general artistic or creative ability than "musicality."

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SOCIALIZATION OF AN ARTIST 309

(hereditary) grounds.8 The data of this study do not lay to rest this contention one way or the other, but they do suggest that, if a woman is to succeed as a composer, she must have strong and consistent support of her musical aspirations by her family of orientation. The single female in each aggregate and all other female composers known to me received this kind of support. On the other hand, though most of the men said that their musicality was valued until age 12, eight of the composers and 11 of the students ran into family objections during the age period 12-25 (judged to be the career-deciding period). Therefore, it can be concluded that the factor of family support of musical aspirations facilitates the achievement of the compositional role, but it is more selective for females than for males. The female drive to achieve the compositional role appears to be more easily blunted, or redirected, by her family en- vironment.9

3. Ethnic Group Membership

It was an extremely sensitive and intelligent family, as such. And they were most anxious that I should not be put upon in terms of my talent. But at the same time they were wildly encouraging.... To have an artist in the family was considered a great boon.

This statement by one of the Jewish composers in the aggregate about his family's attitude toward his musicality gives some insight into the workings of family social support and may help to explain why Jews appear more frequently in the aggregate of successful composers than would be expected from their representation in the total population. The various ethnic groups (Jewish, Italian, Ger- man, and French) contributed nearly half of the successful composers, and the data for the career- deciding period indicate that they met less resist- ance in their choice of a musical career than the native Americans.10 It can be tentatively con-

TABLE 1. VOCATIONS OF HEADS OF 23 COMPOSERS' AND

24 STUDENTS' FAMILIES OF ORIENTATION

Vocation Composers* Students

Total ........................ 22 24

Professional ................... 10 9 Business ...................... 9 9 Farmer ....................... 1 3 Skilled Labor ................. 2 3 Unskilled Labor ............... 0 0

* No evidence for one composer.

cluded, therefore, that the impress of certain "Old World" ethnic intellectual and artistic traditions, acting through the medium of parental support of compositional aspirations, have con- tributed considerably to the development of musical composition in America.

4. Social Status

That the factor of rather high social status facilitates achievement of the compositional role seems to be indicated in Table 1, which enumerates the principal vocations of the heads of the com- posers' and students' families of orientation.

The professional and business categories, it is clear, contribute most of the recruits to the com- posing role. But this predominance does not distinguish musical composition from other intellectual vocations. Anne Roe found that the same categories contributed nearly all of her eminent biologists, physicists, psychologists, and anthropologists.'1 The specific selective factor operating in all of these cases may be economic; it permits, or prevents, the extensive formal education necessary to achieve an intellectual or artistic vocational role.'2

5. Family of Orientation

A. SIZE. The mean size of the families in which the composers grew up (4.3) was close to the na- tional mean (4.4) for the age period of their childhood.'3 This suggests that, insofar as family

8 W. Pannenborg and H. Pannenborg, "Die Psy- chologie des Musikers," Zeitschrift fuir Psyclzologie, 73 (1915), p. 130.

9 It is interesting to note that an outstanding con- temporary female literary figure, Virginia Woolf, received the strong and persistent support which seems to be a prerequisite for female success as a composer. For a discussion of this point see M. Johnson, A Case Study of Virginia Woolf, unpublished term paper, Middlebury College, 1955.

10 A subject was classed as a member of an ethnic group" if (1) be said that he was a member (e.g. "I'm a Jew"), (2) the principal language spoken in the hoine

was that of an ethnic group (e.g. Italian), (3) his parents were immigrants to the United States.

11 A. Roe, "A Psychologist Examines 64 Eminent Scientists," Scientific American (Nov. 1952), pp. 21-25.

1 Seventy percent of the composers had at least 16 years formal academic learning.

13 The census year nearest to the year in which the

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310 SOCIAL FORCES

size acts as a determinant of role-taking ability, the typical composer received training not unlike the average American. The significance of the markedly larger student mean family size (5.3) and its greater divergence from the national average (4.0) will be discussed below.

B. STABILITY. Approximately two-thirds of the composers' families of orientation remained unbroken (i.e., neither death, divorce, nor separa- tion intervened) until the subjects were 18 years old. This compares with the four-fifths "unbroken" in the student-and the three-fourths "unbroken" in Roe's biologist-aggregate.'4 How these pro- portions compare with the United States mean is impossible to determine. But most of the composers and students were subject to the stabilizing in- fluence of an unbroken family during their child- hood and adolescence.

C. CHARACTER OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS. What about the nature of interaction within the family? Unfortunately, adequate data do not exist for the composer aggregate (there is a large number in the "undetermined" category), but in those cases for which there is sufficient evidence 40 percent reveal conflict as the characteristic mode of inter- action of parents during the subjects' childhood (age 0-12); and about half of the "determined" cases show conflict between the subject and one parent (the father).15 Further investigations may support my hunch that family conflict is a neces- sary factor in composer-etiology.

The data for the relative social distance of parents from the subjects tend to support Graf's contention that:

Musical fantasy, like every other artistic fantasy, is usually the heritage of the mother; and the emotional life of the musicians that displays so many feminine traits is mysteriously bound to the emotional life of the mother.16

In the model cases, both students and composers felt that their mother had been closer than their father to them during their childhood (age 0-12). Of course it may be argued that this factor could hardly be selective of composers since this type of

TABLE 2. POSITION OF 23 COMPOSERS AND 24 STUDENTS

IN THE BIRTH ORDER OF THEIR FAMILIES

OF ORIENTATION

Position Composers' Students' Families Families

Total ....................... 23 24

Only Child .................... 5 5 Youngest Child ............... 9 7 Middle Child .................. 3 4 Oldest Child .................. 5 8 Undetermined ............1..... 0

relationship may be characteristic of most Amer- ican families. But, until adequate comparative data are available in this regard, it seems legiti- mate to list this factor in the background of the composing role.

D. POSITION IN THE BIRTH ORDER. The subjects' position in the birth order of their families of orientation seems, according to Table 2, to be of crucial importance as a selective factor. The large numbers in the only- and youngest-child categories, plus the fact that 3 composers and 5 students who were oldest- or middle-children were separated from the next (or later) born by at least four years, indicates that the majority of the subjects came from family roles associated with an indulged and precocious personality, if Bossard's outline of the characteristics of these sibling positions is ac- cepted as authoritative.'7 Additional evidence for another art (drama) is provided by a study of drama majors at Middlebury College. It was found that all of these subjects were only children.'8 It can be said, therefore, that this aspect of the family environment of these artists-to-be en- couraged the development of the personal auton- omy which later would be necessary to deal with a hostile or indifferent social world.

6. Peer Relationships

Although the data of Table 4 are unsatis- factory, statistically, the general impression

average composer was six years old was taken as referent. In the case of the composers the year was 1910; the students, 1930.

14 Roe, op. cit., p. 25. lb The analysis of data for the students is incomplete. 16 See M. Graf, Fromn Beethoven to Shostakovich,

(New York: Philosophical Library, 1947).

17 J. Bossard, The Sociology of Child Development (rev. ed.) (New York, Harper and Bros., 1954), pp. 108-118. Melford E. Spiro has suggested that this role also may provide an opportunity for the increased exercise of fantasy, an obvious asset to a composing career.

18 G. Tuttle, The Drama Major at Middlebury College, unpublished term paper, Middlebury College, 1955.

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SOCIALIZATION OF AN ARTIST 311

gained from Tables 3 and 4 is that most of the subjects early fitted themselves into roles which, like musical composition, are at variance with the dominant themes of their society. In other words, their training in the extra-musical aspects of the composer's role began early. A possible explana- tion for the relatively great numbers of participants in "social activities" is given by one composer who said that he went through the motions, but wasn't very interested. By playing a musical instrument or dreaming up new melodies one is not necessarily disqualified from the youth society. Indeed, the musical ability of some of the subjects made them very acceptable on "social occasions."

7. Musical Development The musical drives of the subjects were mani-

fested prior to formal teaching cues. It would seem that this manner of beginning would be a rewarding experience generally. Ten of the composer-subjects and 12 of the students began formal musical training before age 6, and almost all of the remainder started between the ages of 6 and 12. In general, first training (and the first manifestations of talent) was instrumental, with compositional efforts following later. One of the more precocious of these generally precocious subjects illustrates his early course of musical development as follows:

TABLE 3. PRINCIPAL ROLE COMPOSERS AND STUDENTS

PLAYED WITH PEERS, AGE 0-12

Role Composers Students

Total ....................... 23 24

Considered peculiar; tended to coniorm .................... 6 5

Considered peculiar; tended to- wards passivity or withdrawal 10 11

Considered normal; conformed 4 3 Undetermined ................. 3 5

TABLE 4. GENERAL ROLE PLAYED BY COMPOSERS AND

STUDENTS IN PEER " SOCIAL ACTIVITIES" (DATES,

PARTIES, ETC.), AGE 12-18

Role Composers Students

Total ....................... 23 24

Participant ................... 7 7 Non-Participant ............... 10 13 Undetermined ................. 6 4

I can remember waiting from--well, certainly three anyway, to five-waiting for my piano lessons. And I wanted to play the organ when I was six, and I couldn't reach the pedals to play the organ.... And waiting to study composition. They wouldn't let me study composition at the school until I was college age, which was ridiculous.

In his musical development, therefore, the com- poser is generally in the van, with his social environment lagging behind, musically speaking. Such a picture contrasts sharply with the stereo- type of the American boy who is forced to take music lessons-usually against his will.

SUMMARY

So far, in this tentative presentation of selective factors which operate in the recruitment ot American composers, the similarities in the back- grounds of students and successful composers have been stressed. But it would seem that differences should be examined too, since not all students become professional composers and not all pro- fessional composers become highly successful. What factors seem to enable the individual to survive this thinning of the ranks? Analysis of the differences in the central tendencies of the various selective variables shows that the two aggregates differ markedly in three instances: inheritance (the "trait" of musicality), family valuation of musicality (age 12-25), and family size. More of the composers had primary relatives who were professionally musical, more had families who supported their serious interest in music during the crucial career-deciding period, and the average composer family was smaller (by 1.0 persons) than the student.

The significance of inheritance and environ- mental support (familial) for the achievement of success seems obvious. Less clear is the function of family size. Probably, the smaller family is better able to assist the aspirations of its children. This conclusion is supported by a rough estimate of the mean social status of the student and composer families. The former were four points lower on the North-Hatt scale, which means that there probably were less family resources available to the child growing up in them.'9 The advantage is to the successful composers here.

In addition, the complex of selective factors

lo C. North and P. Hatt, "Jobs and Occupations: A Popular Evaluation," Opinion News, IX (Sept. 1947), pp. 3-13.

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312 SOCIAL FORCES

which, in general, tend to be associated with achievement of the compositional role may be summarized briefly: (1) inheritance of some general trait such as "musicality;" (2) male sex; (3) mem- bership in some "Old World" ethnic group; (4) relatively high social status; (5) family valua- tion of musicality, especially in the age period 0-12; (6) structural stability of the family of orientation; (7) subject closer to mother than father during childhood years; (8) subject plays a role in the family associated with an indulged and precocious personality; (9) subject plays a role on the fringe of his youth society (he is considered peculiar, does not participate in "social" activities); (10) subject is precocious in musical development, his first musical activities being instrumental.20

These factors, determined by the experimental Method of Agreement, tend to be selective of composers; how many of them are also selective of recruits to other vocations will have to be determined by further investigation.

DISCUSSION

The composer, it is clear, needs more than compositional talent to function professionally in our society. Additional qualities which enable him to carry out the compositional role are the ability to stand up to a hostile or indifferent social en- vironment and the traits which facilitate role versatility. Speaking in terms of learning theory, how are these qualities "built in" to our composer- recruits through the process of socialization?2'

None of the selective factors outlined in the summary above seem to account for the develop- ment of personality traits which facilitate con- siderable role versatility. In fact, Rorschach evidence for the most versatile of the composers indicates considerable personality rigidity, if thinking method and strength of ego are taken as indications.22 This is opposed to the quality of personality flexibility which common sense might suppose and suggests that the different roles

played by the American composer do not require very different personality sets for their perform- ance. The behaviors required of the composer, instrumentalist, conductor, music teacher (com- position), etc., can be provided (without too much difficulty) by a personality which is not extra- ordinarily flexible.

The ability to stand up to a hostile or indifferent social environment and to pursue a largely solitary activity seems to be connected with the following selective factors: the sex of the person, his role in the birth order of his family and in his childhood peer groups, and perhaps the precocity of his musical development. Though it is not clear whether the determinant is environmental or constitutional, it is clear that a man's musical ambitions are less easily blunted by social opposi- tion in our society. The "rugged individualism" which may be facilitated by maleness also is encouraged (according to Bossard's theory) by the role played by the composer in the birth order of his family of orientation. In addition, this last factor may be responsible for assisting the pre- cocious musical development of the composers, and this in turn may be the factor which helps to set the composer off from his age-mates-in part accounting for his position on the fringe of his youth-society and consequent training for the compositional role which has very similar char- acteristics.

Manifest compositional talent and general compositional activity seem to be products of the hereditary factor, the explicit valuation of musi- cality in the subject's family of orientation, his attachment to mother (which may be determined by a variety of constitutional and environmental factors), and the musical training made possible by a relatively high social status (and the ac- companying valuation of musicality by the family). The selective process here may be explained in terms of learning theory. Give a person the neces- sary inherited trait ("musicality," perhaps) which he expresses in random fashion (along with other traits), reward one aspect of his response through the valuation of "musicality" in general and composing in particular by his family-especially by his mother-music training, and the intrinsic pleasure of composing, and he will acquire the composing drive which will be manifested at the presentation of appropriate cues.

Is It "Accident" Or "Design"? Does the process by which our society obtains recruits for the

20 The factor of family size is not included here since it appears to operate only to separate most successful composers from students. The data concerning family conflict is suggestive, but inadequate.

21 The concepts of drive, cue, response, and reward in the Miller-Dollard learning paradigm are implicit in this discussion. See N. Miller and J. Dollard, Social Learning and Imitation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1941).

22 Nash, The American Composer, pp. 209 ff.

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SOCIALIZATION OF AN ARTIST 313

compositional role appear to be a matter of "ac- cident" or "design"? If "design" is taken to refer to the explicit valuation of musical composition and reward for learning it, then obviously a part of the recruiting process is not "accidental." The families of the composers-to-be approved their musical activities (at least in the formative years), and the existence of institutions which teach composition provided an implicit sanction of the activity. Composition may be lowly valued, but it is valued nevertheless. Probably no recruitment for any social role could take place without such "design."

On the other hand, there are two kinds of "accidental" factors which take a part in selecting personnel for musical composition in our society. First, there is the base provided by the inherited constitutions of the members of a given generation. Some people may have more native talent than oth- ers and the populations of some societies may be more talented at birth than others (though we are not sure about this), but no society (with the possi- ble exception of Brave New World) can predict the quantity and quality of the musical talents it will get in one generation. It is a matter of chance or "accident." The second kind of "accidental" factor is inherent in the very nature of a society. It cannot be perfectly homogeneous, and this means that there is bound to be a heterogeneity of experience in the socialization process (e.g. dif- ferent positions in the birth order, families of differing degrees of stability, status differences, etc.). Thus, any society, because it is a society, may direct individuals toward a variety of roles- one oI which may be musical composition.

By "design," "accident," and through the competitive process involved in the achievement of roles, our society gains recruits for one of its less necessary roles-the composition of serious

music. Mead outlines the place of this role in the value system of the society as follows:

Each society approximates in its chief emphasis one of the many possible types of human behaviour. Those individuals who show this type of personality will be its leaders and saints; . . . those who have perversely seized upon some perfectly alien point of view, it will sometimes lock up in asylums, . . . burn as heretics, or possibly permit to live out a starveling existence as an artist.23

Now, although Mead includes both in the same category, it is obvious that the role of patient in a mental hospital is assigned a different order of value than composer of serious music. But a Rorschach investigation of the successful com- poser-personalities (which will be reported in a separate paper) reveals a rather high incidence of pathology as defined by conventional clinical diagnosis.24 This suggests that the two roles have a common denominator on the personality level. The difference in order of values seems to mean that some individuals with trends towards mental disorder find a constructive and dignified outlet for their energies while others are condemned to a life of ignominy. But for the existence of the com- poser's role (and others like it) there might be many more recruits for the role of patient in mental hospitals. This, rather than the writing of serious music for performance, may be the primary function of the composing role in our society.

23 M. Mead, "Growing Up in New Guinea," in Fromi The Soutth Seas (New York: William Morrow and Co. Inc., 1939), p. 227.

24 0. W. Lacy diagnosed six psychotic trends, four psychoneurotic, and three schizoid character struc- tures-on the borderline of psychosis. See Nash, The American Composer, p. 153f. There may be a connection between the selective factors, already enumerated, and the pathological trends, but its exact nature has yet to be determined.

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