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Wallis Lucas

Mrs. Taylor

AP Language

9 February 2017

TED Talks Speech

If someone were to ask students in the high school chorus class why they are taking the class,

he or she will likely get many very similar answers. Its an easy A, theyll say. if I take this, I

wont have to take another AP class, Itll improve my GPA, I dont need any more stress.

Regardless of whether a student has a passion for music, one truth is undeniable: Music classes

are a way for students to unwind during the hectic school hours. There are no tests, no homework

assignments, just making beautiful music with people who want to sing. Because learning isnt

just about getting smarter. Learning is about learning new things, whether it is new information

or a new talent. Music in schools is absolutely necessary for a complete education because it

benefits students in academic and emotional ways, as well as creates new opportunities that

students wouldnt normally get.

Some argue that music is not nearly as relevant to getting a proper education as are the core

subjects. Thats why no one calls it a core subject. They say music doesnt contribute to

intelligence and learning and is more a hobby than a potential future for a student, that it is a

waste of time that could be spent learning more science and math.

Music is scientifically proven to help students in several ways academically. First, and most

obviously, it helps with coordination. Playing an instrument improves hand-eye coordination,

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and practicing and performing music, whether vocal or instrumental, improves intersensory

coordination, primarily between the eyes and ears. Music also improves a students language and

reasoning in that exposure to different languages in vocal performances causes the development

of the ability to pronounce, infer definitions, and in turn understand languages like Latin, Italian,

German, and French. According to organizations like Save the Music and Music for All, along

with these benefits come those related to focus, concentration, and memorization, which can lead

to higher scores on standardized tests, those numbers which we consider such a determining

factor in our futures.

Sometimes, schools imply that if a subject is not assessable, it is not necessary for a proper

education. However, we cannot express ourselves through math. We cannot express ourselves

through history. We need more than writing to express ourselves. We need to develop a sense of

aesthetic expression. Music helps us in emotional ways in addition to those scientific benefits.

Music helps us relax. Music helps us focus. Music helps us unwind. For instance, when I get

home, I often head straight for the piano. In math, we were discussing how we focus when doing

homework; several of us said by listening to music. Music is how we cope, how we find

ourselves, how we express ourselves. Music helps us build self-confidence. And is that not

exactly what we are supposed to do as a teenager? To grow? To find who we are? Since music

was invented, it has been enjoyed by people young and old. Musicians and artists have often

been cultural trailblazers, with poets like Dickinson and Whitman in the nineteenth century, like

Fitzgerald in the twenties, like Elvis in the fifties, the Beatles in the sixties, and so many more.

Music can convey things words cannot. So why arent we providing the opportunity for students

to expand their horizons and explore a musical field of study? Arent schools supposed to
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encourage students to express themselves and do what they love? So why are schools valuing

math and science over self-expression and creativity?

Lastly, music classes expose us to new opportunities. If there were no chorus classes at

George Walton, there would have been no lower school musicals, no All State Chorus, no voice

recitals. If I hadnt been in a chorus class in eighth grade, I wouldnt have been in an opera at

UGA. If there were no band classes at GWA, there would be no one at All State Band, or Janfest,

or marching on the football field at halftime, supporting our team. In addition to inspiring

students to pursue music, chorus and band classes have the potential to contribute to school

pride. There would have been no one in Texas representing us at the All-American Bowl. We

would not have had a quartet at the state literary competition last year. If it werent for the music

classes at GWA, these opportunities would never have been offered to students.

Why do we need music in schools? Because music is everywhere. _______, say something.

Thats music. Music is defined as vocal or instrumental sounds combined in such a way as to

produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. Communication is beauty. Voices

are beauty. Speaking is beauty. The rapid clicks of fingers on a keyboards of these computers,

which we view as such an important part of our education? Thats percussion! Thats music!

Poetry? That is music, a songlike flow of words in an abstract succession of notes which produce

emotion and beauty. That is music by definition! When the birds sing, and the leaves rustle; when

the lockers close and the buzz of conversation rings through the hallway like an angelic choir of

cacophony? Even the song of silence? Thats natures symphony! The symphony of life, of

existence! Every day, we constantly hear music, leading us to take it for granted. We say we

dont need music in schools because we ignore it in everyday life. We say it because we ignore

the fact that life is music. Childhood is the opening movement of a symphony, quick and lively;
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next is the adagio, the most important part of life, the developmental years of life, where the

music creates meaning, creates beauty, creates emotion, creates an image for itself. And isnt that

when we need music most? When we have to do this for ourselves? If schools take this from us,

how can we fully find ourselves? If life is music, how can we learn without music in our lives?