Music as a Compulsory Subject

What was your favorite subject when you were in elementary and junior high school? I’m sure that you had a few subjects that you preferred over others. Have you ever thought deeply about why students are required to take the classes that they are?

Growing up in Wisconsin, USA, I was required to take English, History, Social Studies, Science, Math, Music, Art and Spanish. I really enjoy the Arts so I excelled at English, Music and Art, but I was terrible at Science and Math. If my school did not require Math or Science, I would have given up those subjects long ago. Perhaps this is also true for students who are not musically inclined. However, for me as someone who really loves making music, I always looked forward to music class.

Music is the math of the artistic world. There is a language used to show how to play music. We must remember the symbols on sheet music in order to play an instrument or sing choral music. When making original music, we must understand what notes go well with one another and how to represent them on paper. In elementary school, music class teaches students the basics, and if they are so inclined, they can continue on the musical journey. For me, this meant playing clarinet as a junior high school student with my school and learning to play guitar on my own outside of school. In high school playing guitar was really important to me. All my heroes and role models were in bands and had I not learned how to read sheet music when I was younger, perhaps playing guitar would have been more difficult for me.

On the other hand, I was naturally drawn to music. Sometimes, I wish I had been forced to work a little harder at studying science and math. Careers in science are plentiful and secure. Also, there are many opportunities to help others if you have a background in medicine. I’ve always been interested in the organization Doctors Without Borders, but I will never be able to volunteer with them because I am not qualified to do so. In addition, I am terrible at math! It takes me a long time to solve a simple problem and I often have to use a calculator. I really wish I had worked harder at becoming a better mathematician.

In conclusion, having compulsory subjects does have some merits. This system encourages students to explore subjects that they may not be naturally gifted at and also forces them to develop a certain level of skill for those subjects. Having music as a compulsory subject can expose students to appreciate the Arts and improve their ability to connect to the sounds in their environment. In addition, music has a naturally calming effect and may help students who suffer from learning disabilities to focus more.

Even though some students may be opposed to formally studying music, I think the fact that it is compulsory is a great step towards making a well-rounded and informed society. However, I think this is true of the all subjects, regardless of whether individuals like them or not.

Annie

Vocabulary

to excel (verb) ? be exceptionally good at or proficient in an activity or subject
inclined (adjective) ? having natural artistic, technical, etc. ability; talented
merit (noun) ? the quality of being particularly good or worthy
well-rounded (adjective) - carefully composed and balanced