Music education is good!

 Coming from a pretty musical family, the art of noise has always played a big role in my life. I was in the children’s church choir in elementary school, I thrived in our once a week music class, and in middle school playing the flute in concert band was my favorite part of the day. Spencer, my elder brother, has always been the driving force behind this. My brother has won numerous awards for his skill in jazz. He has played the bass, both electric and string, since about freshman year. I watched my brother’s fingers dance on the strings, and how the same fingers could perfectly master the piano with no teaching or music books. Today, my brother can play clarinet, bass, guitar, piano, banjo, trumpet, trombone, and violin. The last six instruments he taught himself. I have always admired Spencer’s skill, being a mono-instrument person. But in 8th grade I discovered something I had that my brother never could master. I could sing. Though I don’t participate in band or choir at school, I still do both on my own. I never do anything without a song in my head or without ear buds in.

This all being explained, I want to abolish something my father has always told me.

I hear a lot about how music is a waste of time.

My dad always said math and science will always be there for me, and music will fluctuate depending on my skill on any given day. But guess who did a little research on how wrong he is? You got it. The link below takes you to a PBS article about the benefits of music education. According to this article, learning to play and read music teaches children to do multiple difficult things simultaneously. Even listening to music is beneficial, which stimulates the brain. Studies also show that musical education boosts the IQ score, and makes the brain work harder overall in daily life.

Though all of those facts are mentioned in the article below, I can prove that they’re true. Today, after having music in my life, I am a 3.0+ student, and am going to college next year. My brother received scholarships for his musical talent, and is graduating from college in a few months to pursue music and electrical engineering. Think about the benefits of something before you shoot it down because of the time commitment. Music is worth it, I promise!

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-benefits-of-music-education/