Viggo Kruger

Q: What are the most fulfilling and most challenging aspects of your job?

In recent projects I have been leading a group of young people with the goal of facilitating music activities. I used to work more closely, directly with young people, but now I am managing the operation, a bit more from a distance. One of the most fulfilling aspects is seeing how music supports the young people in coping with the challenges of everyday life, to raise their voice, build networks, and enter adult life. I have seen young people use music to build their CVs in order to get a job and become productive citizens of society. These young people are individuals who have extra challenges in life. They are in need of some kind of support to get to the stage of becoming full citizens in society. It is not a given that they will get there without that support, and we find that through music it is possible to be of help to them. The project is funded by local authorities and targeted toward “young people at risk”, who are in danger of being marginalized by society.

It is great to be using music in a meaningful way, not only through a focus on yourself or mastery of your instrument or to record a fantastic album, but rather, you enter a new level of meaning when you see that music has potential to support young people in their process of gaining strength and coping strategies. That is something that is very fulfilling because I believe, at least for myself, that a higher meaning in life comes from helping other people, especially young people, to see how they can use music to be a resource for society, getting a job, higher education, and managing life.

Q: Please describe some examples (things you have personally witnessed) that show how music can contribute to civic engagement among young people. For instance, how through music do young people become more involved in improving their community, or more socially engaged and politically active, or concerned about global challenges?

I have stories about how music becomes something very concrete and hands on. The project I worked on arranges for concerts and recordings, and a community developed so young people could have different roles as singers, technicians, promoters, and so on. When they were finished with the music project they got a certificate that they had been in the project, and that I would recommend them for future work, for example. I know that some of these young people have used this certificate when they applied for jobs. I would get phone calls from prospective employers who ask me about young people and I am able to recommend them, offer details about them being reliable and doing their job well. Sometime after that I would get the notice that they got the job. This is a practical result, rather than something very emotional, but it is actually very important. They are able to take this valuable certificate with them, and it helps them to build a better life.

Q: Please describe examples from conversations among young people (things you have personally observed) that show some of the different ways they discuss music.

There are dozens of examples. Music is linked to getting into deeper conversations, and that is among the most potent forces of music. When young people enter the music workshop they have music as a tool to engage and get into conversations, so they can talk around things a bit instead of getting directly into difficult topics. I recall driving in a car with a troubled kid who had difficulty expressing anything; But when we listened to Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana in the car, and discussed the sound of Nirvana and the lyrics, as well as Curt Cobain as a troubled person, gradually the young person opened up and described the issues in his own life. Curt Cobain was the gateway to talk about our own troubled lives. This was a trigger to build a very important relationship. To work with young people you need to know about popular music that young people are interested in today, and to know what it means to them.

Q: Based on what you have seen, how do such conversations change as young people mature (for instance, ages 15-17; 18-20; 21-25)?

As we give them skills and equipment to be more experienced players, some really start to become artists and get into contact with professional music scene in Bergen. Young people become more engaged as they gradually devote themselves to music, and they naturally talk more about music with more confidence and learn more about the skills of doing music.

At the same time, I think young people’s experiences of music are a bit hidden from the world of adults, and maybe it has always been like that, a way of dividing from adults, and maybe it is supposed to be like this. We see the tip of the iceberg, and underneath it are all of these strange phenomena of youth culture that we are not supposed to see.

Q: Based on your experience, have discussions of music and society among young people generally changed over the years due to different historical conditions? If so, how and why?

One certainly is openness to different sexualities, including transsexuality and homosexuality, and so on, this has really changed. When I was young it was viewed as totally unacceptable. Today the music is driving development of more openness and we haven’t seen the end of that. Somebody has to push the limits and we don’t know what the next limit will be. Still, although music is good for young people, this is not always, for it can also be unhealthy at times. For example, some of the white power music, and some hip-hop lyrics are devastating, promoting violence and drug abuse.

Q: Do you sense that a shared knowledge of traditional (folk) songs and dances is changing among young people, and if so, how and why?

Among the population I have worked with [“at risk” Norwegian youth] there is little awareness of traditional folk music. If there is some, it is among the young refugees and migrant young people, who sometimes advocate for the music from their home country to present themselves and show who they are. They might sing a song from their own country. Among Norwegians, folk music seems to be more present in rural parts of the country, but I happen to personally be interested in rock music, which also has an impact on what I encounter.

Q: In what ways do you see social media impacting how young people use and communicate about music?

Social media has an extreme impact, and has taken over our lives to a big extent. Young people use social media to share things, such as videos and artist websites: “listen to this, you must check this out.” They do recordings of themselves when they sing, or pictures when they are on stage, and then post everything online. That becomes a platform for recognition they otherwise wouldn’t get. Social media creates a possibility to gather audiences for recognition, but the flip side is they get the opposite, too: bullying and negative comments. Overall, it is a lottery, and you don’t know what you will get. We need to investigate that more, and adults need to know that social media is not necessarily a good thing. It can be, but can also be the opposite.

Q: What kinds of discussions have you witnessed stimulated through instrumental music? Can you imagine some new ways this could be achieved?

I am a rock band musician, and as a band we focus on the instruments and playing rather than words, since the musical groove needs to be in place before the singer can enter. It is up to the singer to determine the words, but they are not usually driving the song.

Q: What kind of new methods in work with young people would be helpful in your work? What should be the purpose of these methods?

The tech revolution can be better accommodated in youth music programs. There is so much drum and bass music now, and it is important to find effective ways of using the music that is most popular. The challenge is that the joy of playing live music together in a rock band is just not the same as someone programming some dance music by themselves on their computer.

July 2021