Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Music, A Gateway to our Souls




Here is an image of a poster. This poster advertises a foundation called Music Changing Lives, (MLC). What this program does, is giving opportunities to those who are less privileged than us. 'The Ignorance Stop's Here', campaign is designed to help those become more successful, to give them a second opportunity at life. Music should be a part of everyone's lives, and all schools should be able to have music programs to help children express themselves.

Music impacts everyone. Even right now, as I am writing this blog post, I'm listening to music. Nowadays, people spend hours and hours on electronic devices such as iPods, and many other things. Music can be inspiring, emotional, and pretty much anything else, music is my life. Being me, I play three instruments, and listen to music constantly. I seriously cannot imagine a life without music. I play the piano, the flute and the violin. Without these instruments in my life, everything would be so dull. But I believe that music can bring out the best in people. Music can impact you, it can make you cry, laugh, etc.

"For me, singing sad songs often has a way of healing a situation. It gets the hurt out in the open into the light, out of the darkness."
Reba McEntire



The above quote shows that music can also help you heal. Music is important in many ways, it can make you feel better when you are sad, or as 'Reba McEntire' says, it helps you heal a situation.


Some schools dont have the facilities to provide opportunities for kids to develop musical skills. I believe everyone should have an opportunity to be able to choose whether or not they want to get into the arts program. (Same goes for sports, etc.) It's just that some school's dont have the facilities or fundings for these things. That's why 'MLC' accepts donations for these people to learn things they never did.

There are some people who think that the arts are not worth investing in, that they are a waste of time. Well I would have to say that they are wrong. Sure, they can be a little costy, but it is worth the investment. If you invest in a music room with maybe two band/strings teachers, and students buy their own instruments, you would have an orchestra!

ISKL is very focused on sports. What the school doesn't think about are the 'nerds' who play music. Every year, there are so many sport trips in ISKL, but one music one. Why is that? Is it the fact that musicians are less important? No, majority of the people don't want to listen to us 'geeks' and 'nerds' play music, even if we practice hours a week to put on a show. ISKL has a music concert every trimester, but we really don't have anything else. Why is it that for sports there is a Touch Rugby Trip, Soccer, Swimming, Volleyball, Basketball, etc. One could argue that there are different sports, but we could argue that there are different styles of music. Jazz, classical, blues, etc. We could have a trip organized specially for trumpets! But no, we have our three music festivals. For me, music can help me express myself. Playing music is an enjoyable experience, and I love performing after putting in work. During the Trimester 1 Music Concert, Eugenia Kwon and I played a duet, we put in a lot of work for this, and pulled it off. But not many people saw this duet, because not many people bother to watch the music concerts in ISKL.

At ISKL whenever a sports team goes to Phuket for soccer, all teachers and students know about it, since it is announced in homegroup and assemblies about 10 times. But what about when a few selected students are picked for honor band, out of the WHOLE Asia? That is truly an honor, and the school fails to recognize that. Us musicians are not asking for as much attention as the 'Sports Superstars', but being acknowledged would be welcome.

Obviously, becoming a spectacular musician wouldn't just come to you, you would have to work on it. But I believe that if you give a kid from a poor family an expensive instrument (such as a flute lets say) which could cost RM5,000, that child would feel obliged to practice.

I don't think all students should be forced to take music in schools, just the kids who are interested. There are probably hundreds of thousands of people in Africa, India, China etc. who would love to learn an instrument like the clarinet, but never can. Then there are people like us, who have the money to play these instruments, and avoid them. Quitting because they are not 'fun' anymore.

People such as Kenny G, (saxophone player), put in a LOT of effort to become the level they are. If Mr. Kenny G didn't have the opportunity of learning the saxophone, all that talent would be wasted. There could be kids in China right now who have the potential of becoming the worlds best flute player, but never had the chance.

I believe that schools worldwide should be able to have a music program. In this blogpost, I have said how music can impact people, and how it can help you express yourself.

The point is, music should be a big focus for schools globally. Schools who don't have the funds for these things, should really try to get kids involved in music. I believe music is worth fighting for, because if schools continue to cut the funds for this art, it will eventually die out. Even though many schools don't have the funds for the music program, you can still donate to help out.

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