Critically Assessing and Building Repertoire

Written by Naomi Davis, LPMT, MT-BC

Building repertoire is a process that will never truly end as you develop as a student, intern, and professional. It can seem overwhelming, especially as a student to think about the music you are curating to be able to store in your back pocket. As a student, I would frequently search the top, 10, 20, and 50 songs of a given decade and focus on learning as many of those songs as I could. As an intern, I began looking more critically at the songs I brought into sessions and began to realize that there was frequently veiled and sometimes even overt racist language encoded in the lyrics and messaging of many of the songs I found myself using, specifically songs that were frequently used in sessions with older adults and young children. Even more than that, there was unintentionally, a very apparent lack of diversity amongst the artists that I used. 

While at the end of the day, the music you learn for sessions is largely dependent on the preference of the people you work with, I wanted to share the process I use to explore the history of the repertoire I use in order to ensure that I have a well-rounded, culturally responsive, and critically curated rep book. 

1. Look up the original lyrics and history of the song.

   • I like to do a quick google search of the original lyrics and purpose of a song that I intend to use. You may find that there was overt racist or oppressive messaging in the lyrics of the song that have been sanitized or hidden in less well-known verses. Additionally, I like to look out for the original purpose or setting the song was used in. Was it a minstrel song? Used as a protest song? You would be surprised what you can find in about 5 minutes of searching Google.

2. Look into the background of the artist

   • While I know that it is frequently said that it is possible to separate the art that a person creates from the things that they stood for, I’m not sure I believe that’s true, especially when an artist is publicly vocal in their beliefs. I have found that if there is documented proof that an artist held racist, xenophobic, or sexist beliefs, you can find evidence of those beliefs in the music that they wrote. This is part of the due diligence that I prefer in order to do my best not to unintentionally cause harm in the spaces I am in through the music that I choose to bring into sessions. 

3. Identity of the Artist

   • One thing that I found when examining my own repertoire was that the artists represented in my repertoire did not look like the world that I saw around me everyday. I didn’t see artists present of varying races, genders, and musical traditions. We do ourselves and our clients a huge disservice if we do not take into account and work to include the multitude of amazing music available, in every decade, by diverse artists. 

I know that this process may seem overly lengthy and time consuming, and while at the beginning it can be, it gets easier over time and is so worth it! To get you started, check out the open access Google Drive folder below of researched, tested, and true repertoire with accurate lead sheets! Happy repertoire building!