How is Music Education Important?
With so many school districts cutting back education in the arts like music, choir and band, the question arises: How important is music education? If it is not important enough to fund through the public school system, why should children be taught music?
Music is more than notes on a page. It is the sound that creates life. It is the memory engraved in the mind. It is what makes the world go around. Music is soul of human life.
Yet, school districts toss this connection aside due to the lack of funding. Whether it is taught in school or not, students of all ages are drawn to music. Music speaks the words that humans feel, but cannot seem to find. Music expresses emotions in ways incomprehensible to the human heart. It breaks the barriers of age, race, nationality and creed. Play a song. People can tell you a memory associated with that song. How can something that sews the moments of life together be tossed aside?
No amount of money in the world can teach people what one song can teach in a mere three minutes. Studies have shown that information set to music is retained by the human brain more than information without music. Why don’t school systems foster this idea? Almost every student owns an iPod or MP3 player. Music is something everyone loves. Though it may be different types of music that excite a person, it is still the number one connector to the human spirit.
Music education is an importance that is overlooked by lack of funding. This is a costly sacrifice because it is the one tool that could unite the world of education and the world of human existence. Without music, life loses its very foundation. Most people write off music education because they think learning how to read music, understanding the notes of Beethoven, or learning how to play an instrument has no significance in the real world.
It doesn’t take a genius to see how music impacts the world: turn on the television, listen to the radio, watch a movie or browse the internet. Every aspect of life contains music. Wouldn’t it be great if every student had an understanding of how that music really impacts the human spirit? How can one song make people feel happy and want to get up dance? How can another song remind people of an event that happened so long ago? Why do some songs just make people cry? This is music education. This is what students all across the world need to learn. This is the importance of music education.