I've been involved in music from the seventh grade. Music has been the focus of my life these past 52 years. I would recommend a liberal arts education to accompany any music education. Music is just one of the tools I use to interact with the world, although I really don't think that I would have learned many of the other tools had I not developed the discipline required to learn music. Mathematics, writing skills, reading skills, communication skills of all forms, astronomy, languages, computers, carpentry, painting, sculpture, poetry, government, and countless others are the tools of my life. Some argue that music, if done well, should be the only pursuit of life. Don't believe it for a second. Music is a language, and Mozart said, "it is the language of God", or was that Saliari that said that? One of my teachers, Harold Worman, taught me to relax when I play music. Now it is like sleep. My interests are so varied now that I often only turn to music when it is sufficiently interesting. I find familiar music boring, barring my favorites. The theater is such a joy. I much prefer to listen to something new, but find my self steeped in analysis instead enjoyment. Music has been good to me, and hopefully my music has been good to others. Don't expect to be paid. A musician's lively hood is not found in the music. True music is a gift to the world, the more given the more recieved. Trained as a clarinet player, I now find the piano keyboard and it's derivatives the most interesting. Synthesizers have a very large pallete of sounds. The people of music are the a true family, and such a joy. Do not pity those who do not learn music. Without them we would have no audience. They are truly blessed, because it is they who recieve the messages of God. The music does not ever have to stop with the last note. Good luck with your students. I enjoyed mine. Some of them became my colleagues, and the others friends.
Thanks for asking,
Paul McBride

posted February 9, 2008

I was involved in music since 5th grade. I played the Alto Saxophone. I am now the Director of Operations for a small business. I look back on my time in music and the reason I am able to view operations objectively. Music requires an intense amount of dedication and patience. You have to keep practicing to make the notes sound better and better. In my business life, I remember those times and apply those lessons to my current position. We keep practicing the business principals repeatedly to make our companies better. The time spent learning my scales, playing them repeatedly, competing is site-reading competitions, marching in half time presentations, competing in the battle of the bands, and playing that first solo in the jazz band laid the groundwork for what it takes to be a dynamic business leader. Music is a major part of my life but I do not perform anymore. I still own my first Saxophone and will encouraging my kids to learn music.

Christopher Hussey

posted February 9, 2008

I was involved in dance, drama, instrumental and vocal music in high school (I attended a fine arts school). While I no longer sing or play instruments on a day to day basis, repeated stage experience has given me the confidence to give presentations to large groups of people (200+), or just do narration for training videos. The vocal training received helped with elocution, projection, and vocal emphasis.

My music training has come in handy when preparing electronic presentations, webcasts and so on. Adding multimedia content, such as background music, establishes mood and adds richness to other content.

Not only did I receive all of this performance training for little or no cost, I was fortunate to have many great experiences performing at school with good friends.

posted February 9, 2008

Music was my entire life from early elementary school through my early twenties. After teaching music in public school for three years, I decided that music was better suited as my avocation, not my vocation. So I got out of music, got out of education, and starting earning a living in computers and marketing.

But I never gave up music -- I just stopped earning a living from it. And I think that's a story that's repeated by many.

A combination of church work and community theatre gives me my musical "fix" and allows me to give back to society the benefits that I enjoyed from my music education.

Music teaches the same kind of principles that sports education advocates have talked about for years. It teaches discipline. Keeping two hundred band members in a straight line on a football field takes more self-control than corralling twelve football players who want to crash into the opposing twelve.

It teaches delayed gratification. Results don't come easily or quickly. Good things are worth waiting for.

It teaches commitment. If you sign up for a musical group at the beginning of a semester, you'd better be there when it's time for the concert or the performance.

Finally, it builds confidence in public settings. I'm convinced that I'm comfortable speaking in public in front of large groups because of my musical performance experience.

Music education isn't just about teaching quarter notes and half notes. It's about building character, developing confidence, and expanding horizons. If everybody would understand this, music education would definitely be here to stay.

posted February 11, 2008

I was involved in High School music, and it had a huge impact on my life.

I later joined the Toronto Youth Symphony, and was a member of Canada's National Youth Orchestra. I traveled to Europe several times with various musical groups. I earned an Ars.D. (artist's diploma) in music and worked as a professional musician for many years, playing with various orchestras, bands, etc. in the Toronto area. Due to an injury, I no longer perform.

I have worked other jobs besides music (see my profile for details), and am currently completing a Ph.D. in educational computing.

Many people don't realize how much music teaches one about perfection. If you take a math test and get eight out of ten questions right, you've done pretty well (80%). However, if you're playing a piece of music and only get 80% of the notes right, you've got a disastrous performance on your hands. Music, and many other things, have to be as close to perfect as it is possible to make them, and music teaches how difficult that can be.

Am I a more rounded person because of music? Absolutely. Through studying music, I've learned a lot of history, a lot about art, and how to really use my ears. I also learned how to concentrate very deeply, something that I apply in many areas of my current work.

Performing live concerts provides many benefits. Being able to walk out on stage and perform is invaluable training for having to present at business conferences or to other groups. Most musicians that I know can present effortlessly, and interestingly, without the nervousness, etc. that one usually sees.

posted February 11, 2008

Hi Bonnie,

My family sang. We sang at every family get together. We sang in the car on trips. I thought everyone sang whenever they got the chance. In high school, I was in A Capella and Madrigal choirs. In college, I was in a musical. For a while, I sang with a line of Diamond Lils between the acts in a melodrama.

When my second grandson was in nursery school, my mother asked him what songs he sang at school. He said, "My Dad doesn't pay the extra money for me to sing, so I can't sing at school." Whether it made him a less rounded person, I don't know but I think telling a child to turn off their song is a horrible thing. I think music is absolutely necessary to make us whole.

I like almost any music, from Wil Smith's hip hop to (yes, Doug) Country and Western to Big Band era songs, the great musicals, and rock.

posted February 9, 2008