Importance of Music Education
Lindsay George
Staff Writer
Playing an instrument is fun, but it’s more than that, too. Learning music provides an academic experience students cannot get from other activities or subjects. Musical performance requires both sides of the brain to work together, since musicians must both have logic and creativity.
“It’s a fun challenge because being a good musician is not knowing what’s in front of you, it’s about preparing for what’s not,” sophomore Dallas Speicher-Ramirez, a clarinet player in Concert Band said.
“Music is a great way for students to experience the world and to experience life,” Mr. David Porter, the Marching Band and Concert Band Director, said. “It’s often weird to think about which different composers were alive during the Revolutionary War, or which were alive during the Civil War. You can ask yourself questions like, ‘How did musicians represent what was going on?’”
Cumberland Valley’s music program is filled with wonderful people, and many opportunities.
Porter said, “I really enjoyed playing and singing when I was in school.”
Speicher-Ramirez said, “It’s a great environment. Everyone’s really nice and supportive.”
“The Cumberland Valley music program is such a great program because there are so many wonderful bands and people,” freshman Maria Ratnasamy, a saxophonist in the ninth grade band said. “All of the band teachers that I’ve had are amazing. They’ve all taught me so well, and taught me to understand music and appreciate it in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to without them.”
Music helps students learn to be themselves and show their creative side, as well as work through things themselves.
“I’ve been involved in music since I was really young,” Ratnasamy said. “Music is a great way to express yourself.”
“If there’s something you can’t quite get right with your studies, you can go play some music and then come back,” Speicher-Ramirez said. “It’s like a fresh start.”
“The most important aspect of music education is the experience that students go through while learning how to do something,” Porter said. “My job isn’t to make the next big star, it’s to teach them the discipline they need to learn something.”
There are many programs they can think about joining, such as choir, band, orchestra, and other music classes
Porter said, “Being a musician is enjoyable; it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”