Why should people learn music, anyway? What is the purpose of it, since by itself it has no obvious function, takes significant amounts of time and effort, costs a lot of money and comes with no guarantee that one will succeed with it?
Hm, with all these potential problems how would this possibly fit into the social values common nowadays such as convenience, flash, hype, rat-race, greed, glamour and media-addiction? Well I am glad you are asking these questions!
First of all, once our basic needs are met, human beings still have an innate proclivity toward expression, and have sought to unleash this since time immemorial. Music can and certainly does fulfill this creative side of us if we work to reach at least a basic level of musical aptitude.
Music is art, culture, expression, beauty and many other aesthetic judgment calls. So it would not be out of bounds to proclaim that music for music’s sake is enough reason to do it. Beethoven would probably agree. Maybe Bach, too.
In this blog I am going to list a set of principles which are upheld by the pursuit of music.
One of the massively prescient reasons for embracing the art of music, including music education, is that the sheer number of thought processes required which have to happen at near the speed of light, (particularly when reaching advanced stages of musicianship) appear to enhance brain function. I’m not going to cite any studies here. I’ll leave that to you and Google.
In our ever faster-paced world, where we simply must remain open to learning new skills and systems, the pursuit of music serves a dual purpose. Learn to play music, and as a free bonus learn better thinking skills: synthesis, symmetry, complex organization, multi-level thinking, independence of tactile awareness through sound and touch, heightened sensitivity, changing pace while keeping it steady, measuring sound vibration and differentiating between tensions to name a few extra enhancements.
Yet when a person learns to play a bowed string-instrument, there is another added dimension to the thinking “extras” which includes engaging the left and right hemispheres with even more, and different, simultaneous processes.
One of the earlier aptitudes gained in becoming musically competent is developing the skill of reading music. Like reading a language of words, the language of notes is also transferable to other instruments. In fact music is a universal written language not only between instruments but across cultures all over the world. Like a spoken language, it isn’t limited by visual cues.
So instead of making this particular blog an exercise in describing the cerebral enhancements that would probably put you to sleep, I’m going to shorten things up and get on with my list. If you have any additions, or would like to take the discussion further, please do comment!
PRINCIPLES SUPPORTED BY THE PURSUIT OF LEARNING TO PLAY MUSIC
Enhanced Brain Function
Reading Musical Notation
Listening In-depth
Self Expression
Working Together to Achieve a Common Good
Coordination
Connection
Community-building
Culture
Friendship
Excellence
Adaptation, or the Ability to Respond and Adapt Quickly to Change
Self-Confidence
Tolerance of Conflicting Ideas
Hope
Independence
Conformity
Aesthetics
Personality Development
Lifelong Learning
Spatial Awareness
Complex Problem-solving
Linear and Non-linear Thinking
Cultural Appreciation
Confidence
Elegance
Precision and Excellence
Managing One’s Presence
Art
Sharing Ideas
Change
Preparation with Minimal or Less Than Enough Time
Political Refuge (you never know when this might come in handy)
The brother of a friend of mine was spared from re-education in China during the 1970s when he was recruited to play the erhu in the local government’s orchestra, and my friend was on the train to follow suit when the Cultural Revolution finally ended. That’s my personal connection to including the last principle on this list.
Thoughts? Comments? Would love to read your reply. xx -Bonny
