FOR THOSE of us who are deeply involved in teaching music, it is apparent what an important role the arts, specifically music, play in the development of any student. It is unthinkable to consider preparing a child for life without a solid background in music, but it is obvious we need to remind others of this reality. The following is a collage of "reasons why" it is important for music to be a fundamental part of every child's learning, and this essay can be used in its entirety or excerpted as needed when addressing any group who needs to be informed. Just as there can be no music without learning, no education is complete without music.

If we believe schools exist to develop a child for a productive and meaningful life, then we must look at the contribution music makes in the scope of the total curriculum. The rationale below is broken into four main areas of focus: intrinsic value of music, academic and peer associations, preparation for life, and building individual positive self-worth. Each of the four main reasons stands on its own, but together they present a powerful combination.



INTRINSIC VALUE

The process of making music is the reward. Unlike many things we do in school, music is music for its own sake. Music is beauty within itself. It offers a microcosm of life, for the essence of life is in the living: the journey, not the destination; the process, not the product; and ultimately the purpose, not the outcome -- much like the man who fishes not to catch fish, but for the pleasure of fishing, and who throws caught fish back in the water so he can fish some more.

Music offers an opportunity to experience the pleasure of self-expression at a new level, opening exciting vistas of self-satisfaction. So much of our educational system is "impressionistic." Students are given the material and the better they can repeat it, the higher the grade they get. There is little chance to "create" or add a personal touch to the assignments. In fact, individuality is often discouraged.

Music class is a place which is "expressionistic" and students are encouraged to put their own thoughts and feelings into their music-making. This offers a much-welcomed change from the normal learning process.

The veteran musician knows that music speaks to something more subtle than the intellect; it speaks to the very soul of human kind. Music is woven into the fiber of our life, our spirit. We are moved, changed, alerted to a new sense of knowing by experiencing music. Think of your reaction when you hear Handel's "Messiah," or witness a fine band marching down the street at the local parade or feel the heart-wrenching plea of a talented blues singer. We know there is happy music, sad music, music for celebrations, and music to soothe wounded emotions. What else can generate such feelings?

Music stretches one's understanding of self, which in turn helps us understand others. And every musician will quickly tell you it stimulates a part of the mind which opens our imagination, bringing about a highly intellectual activity we have come to call joy.



ACADEMIC AND PEER ASSOCIATION

We become like the people with whom we associate. The world of behavioral psychology continues to point out the reality of personality modification through peer association. We are adaptable creatures and we quickly conform to our environment (whatever it may be) to perpetuate our survival. Therefore, if our children are going to become academically strong, it would reason they should be spending time in the presence of other successful students. With this in mind, consider these findings: Students in music are scoring 20 to 40 points higher on SAT tests, and the longer a student participates in the school music program, the higher the SAT scores.

Music develops the appetite for learning and creates habits of self-discipline and personal tenacity which carry over into every facet of school. Young musicians are skilled at concentration, alertness, memory, and self-control. These attributes are basic for success in higher education, but more importantly, in succeeding at life.

There is a strong correlation between music and disciplines of science and math - music uses the same reasoning processes. And the social requirements of group effort and communication, along with the development of motor skills, are an integral part of every music lesson.

Many have said that their musical background helped to develop the "forgotten side of the brain," for music encourages us to use acquired knowledge to deal with various aspects of life: values, ethics, creative decision making, and problem solving. Music is not the answer, but a set of questions requiring the individual to "discover the answer." Life is not about answers, but rather a quest to find the answers, and the more profound the question, the more exciting the search for the answer.



PREPARATION FOR LIFE

We all want our children to experience a healthy, happy, and prosperous life and to enjoy themselves in the process. There are certainly mental tools which aid in this goal, and music is crucial in honing these tools:

Creativity. Music opens new horizons of the mind and supports wonderment, imagination, appreciation, and sensitivity. Creativity is the source of possibility and is a mental muscle that must be trained and exercised often.

Communication. Music is a language beyond words. Music can only be explained with music because of its various styles, textures, tempos, and dynamics. It can elicit an emotion. Think of what television or movies would be without music warning us of the impending danger, or setting the mood for the festivities of a wedding. Music truly stirs the soul of people. No words or visual display can come close to the emotional impact of music.

Critical Assessment. Music is one of the key areas where an individual can develop a consistency between intellectual and emotional understanding. Here is the chance to bridge the cognitive and affective data of life, which many feel is the recipe of genius. Music offers one the chance to conceptualize, not just respond. In other words, we can create formulas instead of just solutions, and we can be proactive rather than reactive. We can open the mind and avoid tunnel vision - and in doing so, come up with discerning opinions which develop quality character.

Commitment. It is almost impossible to be "partially committed" to music. One may quit on a test, refuse to turn in an assignment, or just not be aware of what is going on in a lecture class, but the participation level in music requires a focus of attention unlike most subjects in school. Music causes one to learn persistence and the value of "not giving up," even when there is the temptation to throw in the towel. Many have pointed to "stay power" as one of the greatest personal attributes in our society. Welcome to one of the key benefits of the study of music.



BUILDING INDIVIDUAL POSITIVE SELF-WORTH

Every individual is a unique and important source of human potential. To be able to offer our personal artistic signature to any endeavor offers us a special place in life. Music does give us a vehicle to critically express our individuality while supporting our fellow beings.

In a very important way, it allows us to know who we are and answer the question we all face, "why do I exist?" In music, we do matter, we do make a difference, we do have value. Nobody can make the same contribution to the art as we alone can.

Music offers us a balance between what we take and what we give, and through giving (or expressing), our self- image rises because we have brought something unique to the world. We are unique, exclusive, and important. We have value as a vital member of society, and the awareness of this reality encourages us to be responsible in our actions as a contributing member of the community.

In today's world, so many young people seem to be lost, swimming about in a maze of quick fixes, desperately looking for something other than fashion labels with which to identify. If their musical talents are developed, nurtured, and sought, then their value increases, and they have worth... self-worth, the most important component of a fruitful life.

This article certainly does not suggest the study of music to the exclusion or expense of other subject areas, but merely states the fundamental importance of the music in the basic development of the student. It is the birthright of every child, and it becomes our duty to see it is delivered.

There is an important duty we all share as music educators, and it has been dormant in many job outlines. Although we can turn our backs on the plight of music education, it is our moral duty to wave our own flag. Although we may feel incompetent as lobbyists for our own cause, the alternative is extinction.

The questions are bold and simple:

If not now, when?

If not here, where?

If not you, who?

Just as there can be no music without learning, there can be no education without music. Let the music begin.

Simply stated, music students as a whole enjoy greater college success. One recent study of 7500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest reading scores among all majors including English, biology, chemistry, and math. And according to an article in the Phi Delta Kappan Journal, 1994, physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants, indicating that music majors were most successful in being admitted to medical school. He found that 66% of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. By comparison, 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted.

Now that I've caught your attention, let's back up and examine why those who study music at the high school level experience such terrific success in both musical and non-musical pursuits.

Friedrich Nietzsche, a great German philosopher, wrote that music was one of the arts which so sharpened our sense of participation in the world that it gave a much greater meaning to life. For him, it was not merely a passing pleasure but one of the things which made living possible. Nietzsche also shared the conviction with many scholars that music could exert powerful effects on human beings, both good and evil. In attributing such significance to music, Nietzsche was closer to the ancient Greeks than to many modern thinkers. Many of the earliest cultures recognized that music should be an important part of every human's education. Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle believed in the ability of music to motivate humans towards excellence in all endeavors. Music competitions were considered to be equally important as compared to athletic competitions, such as the Olympics.

As Anthony Storr describes in his recent book, Music and the Mind, "Nietzsche's perception of music as so significant that it can make life worth living seems utterly remote from the mundane preoccupations of Western politicians and educators. Of course it is right that they should be concerned with raising standards of literacy, with increasing expertise in both sciences and crafts, with equipping men and women with the skills necessary to earn a living in a world increasingly dominated by technology. But a 'higher standard of living' does not make life itself worth living. The arts can do so; and, amongst the arts, music is profoundly significant..."

Storr continues by saying "Although music is not a belief system, I think that its importance and its appeal also depend upon its being a way of ordering human experience. Music exalts life, enhances life, and gives it meaning. Great music outlives the individual who created it. It is both personal and beyond the personal. For those who love it, it remains as a fixed point of reference in an unpredictable world. Music is a source of reconciliation, exhilaration, and hope which never fails."

Recent research indicates that the study and performance of music can enhance the learning ability of students in dealing with other subjects, and enhance their overall well being. In the state of Georgia, as an example, state law mandates that every newborn be provided with a classical music compact disk, symbolic of the importance of music from the beginning of the life.

In conclusion, the performance of music is one of the few educational pursuits that truly combines the physical, emotional, and intellectual dimensions of human beings. One must draw on physical capabilities, much like an athlete. One must possess an acute awareness and understanding of the power of human emotion, much like the psychologist. One must understand the structure and notation of the musical language, much like a mathematician or computer scientist. Few disciplines allow one to integrate so many different aspects of self as music does. And finally, few disciplines provide one with as complete an array of experiences which, as Nietzsche so accurately stated, makes life worth living.


Music is Science.

It is exact, specific; and it demands exact acoustics. A conductor's full score is a graph which indicates frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody and harmony all at once and with the most exact control of time. It embodies many levels of physics from acoustics to architecture.



Music is Mathematical.

It is rhythmically based on the subdivisions of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper, in a highly specific form with regard to exact placement and symmetry.



Music is a World Language.

Most of the terms are in Italian, German or French; and the notation is certainly not English. It is a highly developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas. The semantics of music is the most complete and universal language.



Music is History.

Music usually reflects the environment and times of its creation, taking on the emotion of a nation, region or a people. It is the only Art form we can hear as people hundreds of years ago had. Unlike paint, whose image is always there once created, Music is perpetually "Repainted" each time it is performed. The feelings and thoughts of countless generations are forever cast in Sound.

Music is Physical Education.

It requires fantastic coordination of the fingers, hands, arms, lips and facial muscles, and control of diaphragmatic, back, stomach and chest muscles, which respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets. There are as many calories burned by a symphony trumpet player in one performance as there are by a quarter-back in a professional football game.



Music is Art.

It allows a human being to take technical and sometimes difficult areas of learning and translate them into human emotion. It helps every person to recognize and understand beauty, and to understand love, compassion and how to live more fully within this world.

This is Why We Study Music.

Not because we expect you to major in music. Not because we expect people to play music all of their lives. Not so you can relax. Not so you can have fun.



BUT:

So you will be human, so you will recognize beauty, so you will be more sensitive, especially to all the thoughts and feelings put into sound throughout the ages, so you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world, so you will have something to cling to, so you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good - in short, more life!

"... the life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation's purpose -- and it is the test of the quality of a nation's civilization."  - John F. Kennedy

This quotation is inscribed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.