Just for a minute, I want you to imagine a world where there’s no music, and not just in our concert halls or our music classrooms. No more dramatic music playing during our favorite movie, no more cheery melody to tell us the ice cream truck is around the corner. No more grocery store tunes or elevator jazz. Radio silence.
It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without music, because music is everywhere. Music has always been a part of us. We have a beautiful, rich musical heritage that spans thousands of years. Music can connect us, music can inspire us, music can terrify or thrill us to our very core. Music is a magic that is part of our soul.
To say there is no more space for music education in our schools, or that there is no more funding that can possibly be spared for such a frivolous specialty is to neglect an extremely powerful part of the whole child. We are cutting out and rewriting major portions of our shared experience as human beings if we decide that music does not matter any more. Music has extreme power to connect, to uplift, to comfort, to inspire. Music has a place—now and forever—in our schools, our home, and our world.
Not all who love and understand the importance of music will become performers, and not everyone should. But the product of educating the whole child is that they have access to a deep and rich part of the human experience. They can understand musical motives, they can sing along to their favorite songs in tune, they appreciate listening to a beautiful symphony, and they share their love for music with others. The well educated child carries on the tradition.
There is a reason this rich musical tradition and our innate love of music has lasted this long. It is our heritage. Let’s work together to share it with the next generation.
Here’s how you can help:
- Reach out to your school principal and express your love for music and its place in our schools. If there’s not a music program in your school, politely ask if there are resources available to begin one.
- If your school does have a music program, reach out to the teacher and introduce yourself. They will love the support, and knowing they have someone on their team will mean the world to them (take it from us, we know first hand!)
- Volunteer on the PTA and advocate for funding to be allocated to the music program
- Symphonies usually give free or reduced ticket prices to students. Call and reach out, and see if you can invite several families in your area to a night at the symphony. (Pro tip: There are often special children’s concerts on the performance calendar that are shorter for our younger friends)
- Attend concerts in your school, meet the teacher, tell the principal afterwards how much you enjoyed the concert