Why study music?

[Michaelangelica]

Why study music?

Is there any point?

Should it be encouraged at school?

Should we teach kids to sing?

What do you think?

We often hear community leaders, politicians and police decry the values of the youth of today.
Most young people love music and it is easy to get them involved. But to become proficient in music takes hard-work, discipline, focus and consistent long-term application. These are qualities many adults say they want to see in youth and the leaders of an uncertain tomorrow.

Playing music in an ensemble or an orchestra is difficult. It is quite different from playing a trumpet or a piano at home. It involves teamwork, sharpened listening skills, awareness of others in your group, precision, timing, fine discrimination, poise, control and an ability to follow instructions from the conductor quickly and effectively.
It requires the individual to look to the welfare of the group as a whole. Again these are all skills we would like to see developed in our young people. Many training musicians, just slog it out alone in a room at home. This is an isolating experience and can lead to ineptness in social and performance situations.

Performance is what music is all about.
Performance not only brings enjoyment and pride to others in the community, it gives children and young adults confidence in front of an audience.
It also enhances their own sense of worth - they can do something that other people enjoy and appreciate.
Performing is giving of yourself. It is giving something back to the community and society you live in. It helps make you feel involved and connected to that community. It gives skills of which you can be proud.
The study of music through the ages Medieval, Baroque, Romantic, Modern of necessity involves children in a deeper understanding of the history and development of our modern world.
The study of different modes of music, Jazz, Classical, and Contemporary deepens youth’s appreciation of all music. It enriches their lives, connects them with over a 1,000 years of western culture, gives a standard by which to judge other music and gives them access to a rich tradition.
They will carry this heightened perception with them all their lives- even if they do not take up music professionally- and they will pass it on to their families.
The syudy of music theory is often said to be as hard and intellectually challenging as advanced maths or physics.

What do you think?

(PS we need a music and environment forum at Hypography)

[Farsight]

Music is good. I like music. I've got a piano. There's nothing better than a nice tinkle on a Saturday afternoon.



Anyhow. I'm not sure if people should study music. It's like footie. They should play it.

[Tormod]

I agree with popular. Music should be played. Only those who want to pursue it should study it. I did, and have a Bachelor of music perfomance.

But "study" can of course mean to just learn an instrument. Taking lessons is not the same as studying music (or at least, there are varying degrees of studying...).

I think music should be an integral part of primary school. Both listening to music and playing instruments. Learning some guitar chords can transform a person's life... (I know this for a fact ).

[wine]

Why NOT learn music!
There's layers of mathematics behind that jazz.
There's fun, and expression.
It exercises the brain in so many ways.
Learning music is like learning the universe.
Yes, it may be hard to learn at first-
But, that's at first.
Soon, the individual will be rolling through their own transformations.

Improvisation, which comes later, is a beautiful phenomenon. Or, Ability.
We can just flow with dynamics, and rhythms, patterns...

What more can I say?

[Tormod]

Originally Posted by wine

What more can I say?

Everything that ever was is a song that is sung into existence.

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by wine

What more can I say?

...a moment for that tingly sensation when you listen to an epic song.

Greatest hits,
Buffy

[wine]

Buffy and Tormod have Soul.

Listen to Philip Glass!

[infamous]

Originally Posted by wine

Buffy and Tormod have Soul.

Very true, so very true. And as the eyes are the window on the soul, music is the doorway....................Infy

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Tormod

I agree with popular. Music should be played.

Yes maybe my wording was off

Originally Posted by Tormod

I think music should be an integral part of primary school. Both listening to music and playing instruments. Learning some guitar chords can transform a person's life... (I know this for a fact ).

Please tell me how? It is a serious question.
I have no music yet both my father and grandfather were musical. (Grandfather used to play the piano at the pub for drinks and would be bought home every night roaring drunk-the police had to "check" each night that the publican had closed at the right time!; and after "checking" always gave Granpar a lift home).
My music career ended at 5 when we moved into a new house and the piano would not fit though the door. I have always had a feeling of loss about music. Strangely, never about any other subject- I was overjoyed to toss Latin and French as a kid.
I enrolled myself in Guitar lessons when I was 10-11. But the night my parents had to go with me to enroll me officially they came home too late. I still feel angry and disappointed about that night.

I am writing a submission to the Local Council on why music education should be promoted but with no direct experience of it myself I am finding it very hard. I just feel in my heart it is the way to go, but need logical, rational reasons.

[InfiniteNow]

If you're going to argue in favor of including music in education, one of the strongest avenues will likley be the robust data available about the "Mozart Effect." Multiple studies have repeated the positive results of this, in several modalities and paradigms (i.e. it's been tested in different ways and still holds true). There is criticism, but the data in favor of music's beneficial effect on the mind, of both adults and younger students whose mind's are still developing, is growing.

• Human Intelligence: Mozart Effect
• Neuroscience for Kids - The Musical Brain
• Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning.
• MIND Institute Website

Here's a pretty cool book, Exploring the Musical mind, available online:
Exploring the Musical Mind: Cognition,... - Google Book Search

In the 20 years since publication of John Sloboda's landmark volume The Musical Mind, music psychology has developed as a vibrant area of research - exerting influence on areas as diverse as music education and cognitive...

And not completely on topic, but I find interest in this little snidbit:
Clinical Nurse Specialist - Abstract: Volume 11(2) March 1997 p 43-50 Music Therapy: Proposed Physiological Mechanisms and Clinical Implications.

Studies suggest that music therapy can be an effective nursing intervention in stressful situations for decreasing anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate