Alexis Topete

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." Mahatma Gandhi,
just from these two sentences, knows how important it is to get an education and to take every chance
you can get to learn more. And this learning doesn't have to be exclusive to just core subjects like math,
language arts, and science. There are also foreign languages, art, and what I'm here to stress about:
music and the need for there to be a music class required in school for students to graduate. Music has
been in peoples lives since the beginning of time. Before, it didnt really have a beat- it just consisted of
sounds. As time progressed and humans started to develop into more intelligent forms, beats formed
and the use of harmonies, melodies, and full symphonies were incorporated. Music is commonly used
nowadays to express feelings, emotions, attitudes, wants, concerns. For example, someone may express
how they feel about that special someone; whether positive or negative, for example the song Stomach
Tied in Knots by Sleeping with Sirens (sing song). Then there are the songs that are more on the serious
side that has to do with war, poverty, or some other crisis that has happened or is happening today, for
example the song Where is the Love by the Black-Eyed Peas (sing song). There are also songs that
involve the rights of a certain party, for example the song Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
that talks about gay rights (sing song). Then there are those random little songs where people may just
express what they really desire in life, for example the song Billionaire by Bruno Mars and Travie
McCoy (sing song). However, music has a much deeper meaning than that. The music we will
incorporate in our lives will be a huge factor that determines our future and future potential.
Music didnt really start off as expressions-a quote by Joanne P. Cavanaugh, music was math.
Music consists of a time signature that indicates how many beats per measure there are, and the tempo,
the rhythms, pitch, basically the whole structure of music. It is also related to math directly because
both require learning the subject by applying the same subject. To learn math, you must do math, such
as addition, subtraction, and so on and so forth. Same goes for music; to create a beautiful song you
must play that mixture of notes and create that beautiful sound. Music was also the evidence of
astronomical findings with the sun, moon, and stars, and how it all worked together. Even when you see
Greek treatises on music, it basically looks like something out of a math textbook. Today, music is very
universal; its everywhere you go- when youre driving, shopping, around the halls in school, eating at a
restaurant, literally everywhere. Its moved out of the learning stage to an emotional stage, and this is
where people tend to get confused at music being so influential to the future. But when teachers
incorporate music into their teaching and get students to memorizing songs to learn a topic, the
students will have that information more quickly and efficiently memorized than if they were to just
read out of a textbook containing that same information. According to an article in 2008 by Erin-Curtis
Dierks, students that were involved in a music program or class made a dramatic increase in test scores-
being 17-23% better than students who werent involved in any music program or class. And keep this is
mind: this is in a bad music program. Just think of what the results would be if the schools had a
fantastic music program. Also, as said in a 1999 issue of the NASSP, the countries that have the highest
test scores are the ones that focus on music as a primary focus of the curriculum. For example, Japan
requires their students to take at least two music classes per week in school.
Music and rhythm has an influence on people from day one. Babies tend to listen better when
someone is talking to them in a rhythm such as a nursery rhyme or a poem, and their brains develop
better when they are listening to Mozart to sleep or while playing. This same rule still applies as we get
older. I want you to take a second and think of your favorite song- it may be playing in your head right
now. Youd rather be listening to that song than listening to someone lecturing you. If a teacher were to
talk in a monotone voice to teach for an hour and a half, students will lose focus very quickly, they wont
pick up on the material theyre supposed to be learning in order to pass that class. If a teacher were to
randomly rap their lesson, in an extreme case, the students would be so shocked and attentive to the
teacher that they would be focused on what theyre supposed to be learning, get the rap stuck in their
heads, and would be learning while having fun with it, as a generalization of course because not
everyone likes rap. Music is also one of the best stress relievers that is not a prescription drug. Granted,
certain types of music can also make someone irritated and increase stress levels- but music that
someone really likes will release a hormone that makes that person feel satisfied. Classical music, no
matter who listens to it, is actually one of the best types of music to relieve stress. Now, Im sure all of
you have had stress in school here. Now just think, if you were to have to take a music class in order to
graduate knowing that classical music relieves stress and raises test scores, how much better in school
you would do, not stressing out as much as you may have before. Also, according to a book called
Music and Intelligence by Gwen Dewar, the students who are involved in a music program or class or
learn to play a musical instrument have better reading skills, math abilities, spatial-temporal skills,
vocabulary, verbal memory, phonemic awareness, working memory, perceptual organization, and
processing speed than those who never learn to play a musical instrument, or arent involved in a music
program or class.
However, not all types of music do a substantial amount of increasing test scores and chances of
success in high school or college or any schooling. Rap music such as Lil Wayne is associated with some
of the lowest test scores a student can get, while classical music is associated with some of the highest
test scores a student can get. Lil Wayne and his music are lots of times associated with drugs, leaving
teens and young adults that urge to do drugs due to the effects of social media on people. Doing drugs
such as cocaine and marijuana will eventually lead to the brain picking up on things less quickly, less
efficiently, and therefore leading to lower test scores. Classical music has an opposite effect, triggering a
better memory and focus and therefore leading to higher test scores. Now Im going to briefly go over
the national dropout rate. Today, Americas national dropout rate is 25%. 1 in 4 students drop out of
school every year. Knowing that classical music reduces stress and raises test scores, just think of how
that dropout rate could drop in adding music classes in mandatory education- from 25% to maybe 20%,
maybe even lower. Also, as of today, America has one of the lowest test scores in the top most
developed countries. Part of this could do with the fact that rap is one of the more popular genres of
music nowadays. But if we incorporate music into our schools and get students to take a music class in
order to graduate, the test scores could be raised, the average of Americas scores will raise, and
therefore we wont be such a laughing-stock to the other top most developed countries that are way up
there compared to us.
In conclusion, music has an influence on people and their lives and future potential. The
increase of incorporating music in schools has a better likelihood of students having higher test scores
and the motivation to want to go to college and get a good education. It can also be argued that the
development of advanced technology and the way history turned out can do, to some degree, with the
types of music that were around when everything was going on. In turn, music will determine the future
of this generation and future generations, and so on and so forth. Music is not just a way to express
emotions- it is a way of determining futures. So join me in speaking out in support of required music
classes as a prerequisite for graduation. It is one of the best investments our country can make for the
education of its students. Music can make all of the difference in our future.



















Bibliography
Article, Arithmetic of the Soul, Joanne P. Cavanaugh, John Hopkins Magazine, February 1998
Article, Comparing School Music Programs and Science Test Scores of Countries Worldwide, NASSP,
February 1999, James R. Ponter
Article, The Connection Between Music and Math
Article, KU professor finds link between music programs, academic achievement
http://www.news.ku.edu/2007/june/28/music.shtml- June 28, 2008- Erin-Curtis Dierks
Article, Math and Music
Article, Math and Music: Are They Connected?, washingtonpost.com, Michael Alison Chandler
Article, Science Daily, Nov. 5, 2008
Article, from vancouversun.com
Book, Music and Intelligence: A Guide for the Science-Minded Parent, Gwen Dewar, 2008-2011
Website, "National Dropout Rates." Boostup.org. N.p.. Web. <http://boostup.org/en/facts/statistics>