Rationale and Benefits of Music Education
Rationale
In today's society, subjects such as math and the sciences are most heavily emphasised. While band programs put the instruments in a students hands, they do not always provide the opportunity for self expression or lasting success. This has often designated other areas of the educational experience to the back seat. This is especially true for the saxophone, for as Larry Teal put it, the saxophone is misunderstood as it is believed to be an easy instrument. In reality, it is an instrument that is very easy to play poorly. As a result, having a teacher to offer guidance can make a tremendous difference in ones enjoyment of the instrument.
Music in my mind is a lot like language. In order to truly understand it and become fluent, you have to immerse yourself in it. It requires dedication, time, and guidance. It necessitates perseverence to learn how to read music, play your instrument, as well as how to hear, create, or even explore the unique emotional imprint it leaves in its beholder. Music enables us to express ourselves in ways words often cannot. It exposes us to different cultures and teaches us a valuable lesson, that not everything in life is quantifiable. To further this point, having a music teacher isn't just having someone point out your mistakes and how to fix them, it's having a mentor who provides valuable one on one training and guides you through tasks and provides lessons that go beyond the page.
Benefits of Music Education
By playing a musical instrument, you are engaging virtually every part of the brain, while heavily stimulating the motor, visual, and auditory cortices. It has been found that musicians brains are strengthened, containing significantly higher amounts of gray matter due to the amount of connections created within. This allows the brain to transmit information faster and more efficiently. The student receives advantages in several other fields as it leads to faster problem-solving skills in academic, as well as social settings. This is also part of the reason why Musicians have been shown to have stronger memories, training their brains to hold onto memories and access them faster than most. Its emphasis on the refinement of fine motor skills also results in on musicians having to use both sides of their brain heavily, enhancing hand eye coordination, and training the ear to become more sensitive. Furthermore, it has also been found that musicians often have higher levels of executive function due to the need for musicians to understand the emotional content and message of the pieces they study.