Think of a song. Any song that you have ever heard. How does it make you feel? What does it express? Whether you like the song or not, it has a rippling effect on you and all of society. Every song has a message – whether it has words or not – that changes how we think, how we see the world, and how we treat others. Listening to music is one half of the experience, but being able to play music yourself gives you the ability to change the world on a personal and collective scale.
Making music allows you to speak the universal language that connects people on a global level. Journalist Daniel Pearl noticed the potential of music to bridge differences among people and wanted to make a difference in the world. Unfortunately, he was killed in 2002 but his message lives on through his father Judea Pearl and the Daniel Pearl World Music Foundation. Their message is simply about bringing the world together with expression through music. Anyone and everyone can experience music in their own way, but there’s also a mutual understanding in the emotions of music. You can relate and understand the emotions of anyone from next door to across the globe just by listening to some chords or notes. Not only is it a universal language, but the act of making music it’s self also brings people together. It is a beautiful thing to see people who would normally be enemies make music for and/or with each other. People who would normally be total strangers, colleagues, or friends can suddenly have a stronger bond with you while experiencing making music together. If even more people would speak this harmony of mankind (and in a wise way), we could improve a significant part of the world’s problems.
In addition to working miracles with the rest of the world, music can also do marvelous things to us on a personal level. Many people may believe that learning to play an instrument can be a waste of time and all play with no work – but it is just the opposite. In today’s society we are told mostly to do things that involve our left brain (see picture), while many people are often lacking in right brain function. Both hemispheres of the brain are equally important, and the brain functions optimally when both sides are being exercised. According to the Journal of Brain and Cognition, “musicians are particularly good at efficiently accessing and integrating competing information from both hemispheres...” According to the study, musicians are better at divergent thinking, thinking creatively, expressing themselves verbally, and have higher IQ scores than their non-musician counterparts. It has also been found that “music therapy” (and other forms of art therapy) can drastically help people of all ages with mental disorders such as depression, epilepsy, alzheimer's, and many others ailments. Many studies even show that music can improve athletic performance in children, and alleviate physical pain. Before we decide to eliminate music programs from our schools in order to better fund "core" subjects, we need to realize what we’re doing. Learning music drastically helps with other subjects in school. Loads of studies have shown that children who participate in music programs show improved spatial-temporal skills, enhanced academic performance, more out-of-the-box thinking and better social skills. Yes, taking on an instrument often requires vast amounts of money, but if you work hard, the results are worth more than the money put in. When someone develops skills on a not-so-expensive instrument, then they can play even better when they get to play a higher quality instrument. Also, with the ability to play music, you have a potential way to make money with it. In the long run, the money put into learning music is completely worth the results that come out of it.
One reason many people don’t learn to play an instrument is because they think they lack the talent for it or they “just can’t do it”. Many (if not all) experts would agree that talent is often only an extremely small part of the equation, if any part – the rest is determination, passion, and practice. Practically anyone can play music if they put their mind to it. Music is a very human language, therefore not perfect with its beauty often in it’s “perfect imperfections”. Creativity is all about breaking the rules and as a result, all music is unique. Anyone can make music. In addition, playing music is FUN. It can be the perfect emotional escape from reality and it can express your reality within you. Enjoying your music is key to staying passionate and on track.
You can speak music no matter who you are. By learning to express yourself through an instrument, you can give harmony to yourself and the whole world. On a mental level you can feel happier and smarter, and societal level, you can change the world. Every note, harmony, tone, and melody has a rippling effect. It’s all in your hands.
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Beautiful Introductory paragraph! I love the way you open this, but I’d like to see you address the funding issue (music in schools) a little earlier to help focus the reader’s attention. Maybe mention it as part of your 2nd paragraph. This will allow your wonderful description of the Daniel Pearl World Music Foundation (and how music creates ties and is a universal form of expression and communication) to act more clearly as support for your argument about the benefits of funding music education. Also, consider linking to the Pearl Foundation (give them some free advertising :). I also like the research you include about music therapy and the cognitive benefits of music (again, link to your sources). And personally, I can vouch for your counterargument that music training can provide income for students down the road. I put myself through college and graduate school playing the organ – because of my early piano training. Emphasizing such potential is a good rebuttal to those who cry too expensive. I paid taxes on every cent I earned as a musician – and my husband continues to do so. We’ve easily repaid the cost of the music training we received as public school students. Anyway, I love the way you end this too – you’re indeed a very lyrical writer! The only addition I would make would be to have music playing in the background on your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the flow of this post. Your topic sentences and thesis were all really well done and prominent. Your diagram/picture of the human brain was really cool. That was a great addition to have for this post. The impressionistic painting at the beginning was a beautiful start to a beautiful post, every word seemed like it had a reason to be their. The music playing in the background would be a great idea! I loved the post!
ReplyDeleteCharlotte :)
...I'm convinced that music is one of the most important things in our society. that was AMAZING i didn't even notice the lack of a counter argument (although I did notice that the Daniel pearl piece seemed out of place) until mrs.Holly pointed it out because i was so caught up in the AMAZINGNESS (if thats even a word)you did a really great job!!!!
ReplyDeleteThere are some improvements that could be made, which the other commenters have already covered. There are also a couple of typos that are no doubt the result of posting at 5:07am (though I posted at 5:29 - beat that!). Putting that aside, I really love your writing - I can see your musicality shining through in your almost-melodic phrasing.
ReplyDelete"Listening to music is one half of the experience, but being able to play music yourself gives you the ability to change the world on a personal and collective scale." This is now one of my all-time favorite quotes. In fact, the entire first paragraph is beyond amazing.