“There is something really special about when a group of people comes together and does something better than any of them could do on their own. I think that’s something music offers,” says Mari Schay, the current assistant professor of music education at Portland State University and previously an elementary and middle school music teacher. Music, whether recognized or not, has had a significant impact on the majority of our lives. From having lullabies sung to us as infants, to using different melodies to memorize the alphabet in kindergarten, to further developing our music tastes as we age; music is ever-present in our lives.
Music is such a large aspect of each individual’s life and our society; the importance of encouraging the listening, learning, and creation of it cannot be overstated. Music brings endless creativity and joy to each of our daily lives that wouldn’t be possible without opportunities for learning. Music programs are undeniably important to kids and adolescents.
“Even if you don’t have plans to become a professional, music — and art in general — is a safe and positive way to gain extremely important life skills,” says JJ Kirkpatrick, a musician who has played with and for a variety of people, including Phoebe Bridgers. He says the programs he was a member of allowed him to gain skills like creativity, teamwork, self expression, confidence and project management.
Technical skill and refined knowledge are principal aspects that school-based music programs offer. Students who can’t or choose not to participate in extracurricular music programs can take advantage of these courses being offered in a place they are already required to go for seven hours of the day, and still develop talent in reading, playing, and composing music. Yet this practical learning is not the only value music programs hold.
As Schay explains, kids “usually come to school for friends and for things that help them connect with their friends.” Electives and choice classes are typically those socially connecting courses.
A study done for the International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology found that interest has a positive effect on learning. It says, “Interest is a powerful dictator and motivator in the learning process. Students are likely to engage in more learning activities when their interests and emotions are positively provoked.” This correlates with attendance for students. The more engaged students are, the more likely they are to show up and participate in class. Schay expands on this, “Whether it’s sports, or music, or theater, or pottery, or woodshop,” these are the things “that usually inspire people, inspire their curiosity, and inspire them to connect with each other, and I think especially the older you get, that’s more of the reason why you go to school.”
However, there is further reasoning why music can be so meaningful and connecting. Our brains process music in a special way. Listening to — or making — music increases blood flow in the regions of our brain that control emotions. For example, one of the many brain regions that reacts is the nucleus accumbens, which releases dopamine when your ears process music. This increases feelings of joy and euphoria when you hear it, which is a reason why many refer to music as a drug.
Schay’s high school music program was “more social than musical”; it was a place for her to go and be with the people she loved. The program was not necessarily about gaining more musical ability. Still, the opportunity to play in high school led Schay to gain enough musical ability to pursue music professionally. “I was either going to do music or English, and the people I hung out with in the music area were just more fun to be around,” they explain.
At that point, Schay decided to take music more seriously and began practicing between four to eight hours every day. This led to her getting more notice from faculty and “that got me into one of the best conservatories in the country for graduate school.” The mere opportunity to be in the music field in high school led to an eventual career-changing decision and extraordinary achievement.
This didn’t only happen to Schay. In high school, Kirkpatrick was able to join one of the best bands in the country and “began to develop my identity as a musician.” Unlike Schay however, Kirkpatrick knew in sophomore year that he wanted to pursue music professionally. He studied music in college and eventually got offered a job playing trumpet in a professional musical theater production. One opportunity led to the next, and eventually he was playing for Phoebe Bridgers on the Eras Tour.
Schay and Kirkpatrick are just two incredible examples of some of the outcomes of musical education. Even for students who choose not to pursue music past middle or high school, involvement in these programs have endless benefits for their brains and lives.
Extraordinary, rigorous, and beneficial. These are all words Kirkpatrick uses to describe his musical education. It wasn’t all good though; drawbacks were prevalent: “Things were very competition focused. Because of this, we as individuals were not encouraged to develop as creative unique musicians as much as we were drilled to perform the best to win.” He also describes his undergraduate experience at the Manhattan School of Music as feeling like a “toxic musical bootcamp.”
Simply having the opportunity to be involved in music doesn’t equate to a need to be hyper-competitive. Schay, who teaches individuals how to become music educators, says, “You [teachers] have to have empathy; you have to have humility [and] curiosity,” and adds that you have to be “willing to put yourself behind others in order to see them grow.” Students deserve to learn and feel challenged, in all extracurricular and school programs. Yet, societally we see in athletics, academics, and of course music there is a line that has and continues to be crossed, pushing students too far.
The importance of these opportunities being offered to every high school student cannot be overstated. Funding arts and creative departments is paramount yet usually done inadequately as a society and on a smaller scale in our city and district. The encouragement for kids to pursue and appreciate music at a young age is an important step for adults and parents to take.
Music engages so many different parts of the brain, and for children exposed to music, the challenging and multi-sensory experiences can encourage cognitive development and increase learning. Encouraging people to engage, inspire, and continue to develop these skills and interests is underemphasized. Music is one of the largest examples of how structuring classes towards interest and engagement only leads to good outcomes. The benefits of music are truly endless.
