Why Music and Music Education?

As a musician, music teacher, and life long music learner, my views on the worth of music and music education must be heavily biased. I have loved music since I was a child, and I have known since middle school that I wanted to teach others how to make beautiful music. Many students and teachers have wanted to justify the worth of music, often using poor research design. (Check out this article.) While music is an industry and can support living wages for some people, we fail to appreciate and value music in its entirety by attributing its worth to monetary gain.

"Then why music and music education, Mr. Sims?"

Research does show that humans are musical, capable of developing musical skill. In addition, we as humans have ingrained music into all of our institutions: family, government, economics, religion, education, etc. And we enjoy music. For some reason music is important to us as human beings. Some researches have noticed a correction between music/arts/language studies and achievement on standardized tests. Doesn't this mean music makes you maker? No, but in the words of composer and educator Greg Gilpin, "Smart kids choose music."

​Music is important and learning music has worth in itself. But don't just take my word for it; below are the some of the worlds greatest thinkers and their views on music and music education. 

“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, musick, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelaine.”
–  John Adams in letter to Abigail Adams, 12 May 1780

“Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear that the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it.”   Aristotle, Politics

1. “A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful that is implanted in the human soul.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

1. “Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” ― Confucius

If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” ― Albert Einstein

Without music, life would be a mistake” ― Friedrich Nietzsche.