The Importance of Learning to Play a Musical Instrument: Debate

Learning to play a musical instrument is important –

We all remember when we were young, going around and hitting things and calling it music - even if it wasn’t. We all remember going out with friends, and dancing and singing to our favourite song. We all remember the many different musical instruments that music teacher’s threw at us. We all remember thinking ‘this is pointless, how can music ever help us?’ Where some people believe that music isn’t important, I believe that music does help students. Firstly, music is a great stress relief and helps you learn more, from rhythms, rhymes, maths and patterns. Secondly, it helps build your team skills and your social skills. Finally, music helps broaden your knowledge of cultures. These reasons are just the tip of the iceberg. Music is the glue which helps connect us all.

Firstly, imagine a wonderful combination of notes and sounds, calming people down. It helps take away everyone's troubles. A combination of notes that relaxes you and allows you to float away with the sounds. A combination of notes that everyone can enjoy. Melodic music is like a calming stream and is a great stress relief. Many people enjoy coming home and playing on their instrument and unwinding after a long and stressful day. Music also helps you learn, not only patterns and rhythms, but maths and other school subjects as well. It has been proven that students who participate in a music program score higher on tests and do better in school. It doesn’t matter if the students are in primary school, middle school, or high school, as the results are the same throughout all years of schooling. According to a study done with year 2’s, some students played the piano and keyboard, while other students did not. The students who participated in playing the piano and keyboard scored 27% higher in math tests than the students who didn’t participate in learning the instrument. Another study with high school students who took the SATs showed that students with experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher, by up to 63 points, than students with no arts participation. There are multiple studies that prove time and time again that music programs are very valuable and beneficial for students.

Secondly, music helps build your team skills. Team skills are a very important in life. Whether its playing a sport, or having to do a joint project at school, everyone, at some stage will have to be part of a team. Playing an instrument requires you to work with others, so your music sounds good. In a band or orchestra setting, you must learn how to cooperate with the people around you. Also, in order for a group to make beautiful music, each player and section must learn how to listen to each other and play together. Music also improves your social skills. Knowing how to play a musical instrument leads to the potential chance of creating or joining a group or band. Performing and rehearsing together may lead to you becoming friends. The world of music opens doors that usually wouldn’t be open to you. It provides the opportunity to go to places and meet people that you may not have had the chance to meet before. It’s very common for people to gain lifelong friendships through musical activities.

Finally, music helps you understand other cultures. Often music reflects the environment and times of its creation. Therefore, you learn a variety of music types such as classical traditions, folk music, medieval, and other genres. Music itself is history, and each piece usually has its own background and storyline that can further your appreciation of other cultures. Music can include a range of different instruments, from all over the world. When you are listening to music from another country, you may notice some things that seem odd. Whether it’s a different language being spoken or sung, or an instrument like tapping sticks that you may have never heard before, every song has a part of its country included into it. After all, music makes the world go round.

In conclusion, today’s world is one of rapid growth and development in all areas, be it technology, population, or any number of things. A well-rounded education is essential for equipping students with all the skills necessary to fare well in modern society. A strong emphasis on the basic core areas of reading, writing, math, and science are a must, but music should be as well. This way more students will learn to love music and will carry on the tradition of making music for the world hear. Not only can music better prepare students for successes both academically and professionally, but it can also become the base for a memorable, happy, and involved social life. The future of this planet lies in the hands of the students; are we going to poorly equip them by denying some of them the opportunity to experience and learn from music or are we going to prepare them for success and let them play musical instruments? Whether you are poor or rich, young or old, smart or dumb, music unites us all. If you are not playing an instrument, I suggest you go and start learning one. Are we really going to deny that playing a musical instrument is important?