Music--A Human Need, Pt. III

In Part I, we discovered how sound exists in nature, how sound articulates into music, and how humans need music for existence. In Part II, we discussed the role and challenge of music in the curriculum as compared to other subjects. Now let us deal with why music should be in the curriculum.

As a basic human need, music is not quite as necessary as food, clothing, shelter. Little argument there for sure. Yet, as has been established, it is still a vital human need and a regular part of everyday life. But college curricula does not educate the basic human needs. There are no classes on building houses, or cooking, or making clothes. Those skills are acquired through practice and perhaps through some sort of craft oriented class. The college curriculum may allude to the skills needed for successful farming or the economics of the clothing industry, or maybe the ecological conundrum of shelter or perhaps the architectural properties of buildings, but a person attends college to develop his mind and sharpen his thinking skills.

So if music is considered a human need and all needs are skill driven, then music should in fact not be a part of the city (excuse the Platonic reference; Plato recommended that artisans not be included in the city since they generally brought out unwanted emotions and emotions do not have a place in cultured society!). Music, then does not need nor deserve scholarship or cognition, but rather requires craft development and perhaps apprenticeship with the goal being acquired skills to serve the greater societal demands for music. And, whether good or bad, this is in fact true of music. It does use skill and craft and does require practice and experiential application.

Based on music as purely a craft that requires skill and practice, music is certainly worthwhile but probably not meritable as having a valued place in the college curriculum. This makes music similar to auto mechanics or home building or cooking or gardening. All great subjects and all certainly necessary and even special endeavors, but none of which is normally found as programs of study in colleges and universities. But does this really define music? Is this all it requires? Of course not.

Cognition, scholarship, and discernment are some of the goals of the college curriculum and we, as teachers, like to teach students to think and give them the tools to make their own decisions. Many of those decisions involve career choices and career training to an extent. Recall that education is a process of moving from the concrete to abstract. As already established, music is a human need, and is also an abstract art, but in many ways, music is an objective art form as well. In a concrete form, music is a sensing experience similar to taste or sight, and in addition, written music, like the written word, is a concrete, visual application of sound. The sense of sound identifies music objectively and tangibly and gives it a concrete image that includes the human element of performance. While this sensory requirement of music certainly is part of the picture, that alone does not move it easily into a higher role worthy of study.

Because music is its own unique language, it requires deliberate systematic learning to speak and write using symbolic notation. This means that music, like Math or English, is a layering of knowledge that builds upon itself. For example, in music theory, beginning with a Schenkerian theoretical practice for analysis of a Beethoven symphony, skips too many steps for success to occur. We, therefore, begin with the basics of notes and rhythms, and build the knowledge into a more complex and abstract formal structure for music.

While the study of theory is integral to music knowledge, so also is the study of Music History with its cross-discipline examination of culture, sociology, world history, psychology, and of course art. Taking music out of the area of skill alone and adding theory and history moves it easily into the college curriculum, similar to the study of science, math, or general history. Music requires skill and music requires knowledge and the need for knowledge demonstrates its rightful place in the education curriculum.We have arrived at our destination with the advent of theory and history. This should be enough, but in fact there is more--emotions and economics. We will consider these important traits later.