The Beat Goes On: The Struggle to Teach Music

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, November/December 2019 Issue

By Alex Newman

Without music, said German philosopher Nietzsche, life would be a mistake. The American novelist Jack Kerouac went so far as to say the only truth is music. Indeed.

Music has escorted life from ancient times (Orpheus and his lyre) to nursery rhymes—Rapunzel’s singing attracted her prince—and on to modern times, with The Sound of Music’s von Trapp family escaping Nazis under its cover. Recently, doctors have discovered the value of music for Alzheimer’s patients.

It’s not surprising then, that educators, too, sing the praises of music as an integral part of a well-rounded education. For its 2010 study “A Delicate Balance,” the Coalition for Music Education in Canada (CMEC) surveyed teachers in over 1,000 Canadian schools. The resulting 120-page document maintains that music education leads to improved self-discipline, sense of community, and collaboration, as well as increased academic achievement in other subjects.

Similarly, the literature review conducted by the NAMM Foundation (National Association of Music Merchants) affirms that students who study music in school tend to have larger vocabularies, more advanced reading skills, and scored higher on reading and spelling tests. Thus, music, indeed, can “soothe the savage breast.”

Mandart Chan, a BC music teacher, however, sees an additional benefit: “The sense of community it creates for those students who don’t necessarily have a connection to other students.”

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Alex Newman is a Toronto freelance writer and editor. Visit her website, alexnewmanwriter.com.

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Alex Newman
Alex Newman
Alex Newman is a Toronto freelance writer and editor. Visit her website, alexnewmanwriter.com.

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