On October 21, 2024
By Ryan Wolfe
Thousands of students across the country take part in some sort of music education either in elementary, middle, or high school. It turns out that learning an instrument, or learning music in general, has plenty of positive effects on human development. When a child learns an instrument, it can help their fine and gross motor skills, and these motor skills typically help with smaller movements like picking up food or drawing. Gross motor skills help with overall bodily movement such as running, riding a bike, and climbing.
Music can also benefit someone psychologically. Listening to and playing music can reduce anxiety and ease stress levels and the skill it takes to play an instrument requires strong lungs for being able to blow into the mouthpiece or reed. The buildup of strong lungs can improve breathing and better breathing techniques ease the heart and blood pressure. It doesn’t just have to be playing an instrument or even singing, music can release the chemical dopamine which can improve the mood and overall mental health.
The community that comes with being in a band, orchestra, or choir is quite beneficial too. Kids of many diverse backgrounds come together to make something magical, and people who would never meet otherwise come together to create music. Sports and clubs have similar results as kids can find a place to belong to. If the home is a troubling environment, a musical group can be an escape for the child to do an activity that makes them happy. A sense of creativity takes over all the students as they work together. Their bond with one another and their passion for music affect their lives. Some students may spend 3 to 6 years together making music in class, and that’s a lot of precious time that cannot be taken away.
Beyond making music with others in a class environment, skills from music can translate to other fields as one gets older. Valuable communication skills are required in many different jobs, and teamwork is another essential skill one can learn from being a part of a musical ensemble. A student must find a way to blend in with other instrument groups in the band as each puzzle piece helps execute the togetherness of the composition. One individual playing off key could derail the entire performance.
Another important skill that comes from being a part of a musical ensemble is work ethic. A lot of students must take time to practice and perfect a particular piece. It takes hours upon hours and days upon days to master a certain composition, and a perfect performance is never a guarantee. As long as the effort is put into getting better and improving, that’s all that matters in the long run. From job to job, and life in general, adaptability is needed to survive in any environment.
Such skills could be on the decline due to schools cutting music education programs. Every school has their own reason why cuts are made and some of the more popular reasons boil down to budget cuts and how much money is going to each program. It becomes a game of economics deciding what programs matter more compared to others, and typically most of the money goes towards other subjects or sports. One main reason budget cuts to music programs came to so many schools were due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The proper funding to pay teachers had to be carefully distributed, and some schools couldn’t afford it. Over 70,000 fewer teachers and other school employees were hired during the time of the pandemic due to a budgeting nightmare. Without these programs in place, a lot of students could lose a medium to express themselves and might be unable to properly focus on academics.
Music education can bring a lot of people together for one common goal; to make the best possible music and awe the audience. Many skills from communication to adaptability can be attained through music. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once stated, “music is the universal language of mankind.” It truly can bring people together no matter what race, religion, class, gender, or sexual orientation the person has. The musical classroom is a place for all people to work together and feel comfortable with one another. The world is a crazy and chaotic place already, but music transcends everything and can soften the soul. Music is a beautiful substance, so let us hold onto it as long as we’re around.