Assignment 16 - Haley Drake

Everyone loves music. Sure, maybe some people have different tastes than others. Maybe one person loves Taylor Swift and the other loves Kanye West. Maybe you're obsessed with the Hamilton soundtrack. Or maybe you just really love listening to whale noises and Bach remixes and it helps you focus on your work... Whatever you're into, music has an extensive role in shaping who you are. 

Fortunately, everyone in this classroom has access to pretty much any music ever published with streaming sites like Youtube and Spotify. Probably all of us have attempted to learn how to play an instrument - or at least had the option to. And a good number of us still make music now - and love it. On a low note, there are millions of under-privileged children that never had the option to explore music like we have, and I think that's a real problem that needs to be addressed.  

Learning how to understand and perform music from a young age has innumerable benefits to growing minds. It has been said that even a brief exposure to music can stimulate mathematical, verbal and reading abilities in children. Studies from Stanford University have confirmed that children with a single year of musical training have increased linguistic competence compared to children with no training. Anyone who has seriously studied music knows that performance requires a kind of focus and persistence that would otherwise go unchecked with "traditional" education. So why is it that music is less respected than other academic subjects? 

As a society we value music and the arts. From music to movies to TV shows to books, our culture revolves around the creativity of intellectual people, but when school budgets shrink, the arts are the first to go. In 2016, public schools in U.S. cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. still faced elimination of music programs. This is a problem because it means kids in these cities don't have the option of band, orchestra, or choir at school. When programs like this are ignored, children don't explore their possible musical talent, and the problem crescendos when they become adults - ignorant to the qualities of music. 

I'm pretty sure that if we didn't have a music class when I was in elementary school, I wouldn't have ever gotten involved in the subject. It was the same elementary music class that taught me the lyrics to nursery rhymes an how to play "Hot Cross Buns" on the recorder that inspired to later join choir and orchestra, which led to my passion for music today. Music class has always been one of my main reasons for getting up and going to school in the morning, and I can't imagine education without it. This is why music programs are an absolute necessity - especially in New York and cities where school budgets are shrinking and youth music organizations are suffering. 

In New York City, for example, there is a program called Harmony that is gaining recognition for the success it's had in musically training students who would otherwise have difficulties affording a private teacher. While it would be amazing to have tuition-free music programs like this across the country, there is an even larger problem of a lack of music education in other countries across the globe.

International programs like El Sistema - the national system of orchestras in Venezuela - have also been incredibly successful in inspiring young musicians who would otherwise not be able to explore their creative talent. It is organizations like this that should serve as a model for the widespread acceptance of music education. 

Yes, everyone loves music. No matter what kind of music you love, it's an invaluable part of our global culture. But unfortunately, many public schools have made attempts to scale back the aspect of music education in their curriculum,which harms many children's ability to express themselves creatively. We need to make music education as accessible as possible, not just in the larger communities of the United States, but internationally as well. 

Understanding music and helping others to understand music will genuinely improve children's excitement for learning, as well as opening the global cultural aspect of music to a whole new generation of people. 

Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks 

Crescendo: The Power of Music http://www.crescendofilmdoc.com/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-heymont/more-funding-for-school-a_b_757558.html

http://www.elsistemausa.org/

http://harmonyprogram.org/