French Horn

The following is a persuasive essay I wrote for English Class.

Competitive VS Noncompetitive Musicianship

By Rebecca Lalk

When music students, who have been learning how to play a musical instrument in elementary school, reach middle school, they have the option to advance their musicianship by participating in either competitive or noncompetitive music events. Competitive musicianship means that the student is receiving private lessons and might also participate in extracurricular music activities, such as choirs, bands, orchestras, or summer music programs. Noncompetitive musicianship means the student is only participating in a school band, orchestra, or chorus and is not receiving private lessons. For many people, it is unclear which approach is best, and, although the best way to approach learning of any form depends on the student, I believe the best advice is to approach music competitively. An analogy can be made between students who are interested in sports and students who are interested in music. If students are interested in soccer, they will not limit themselves to only playing soccer in gym; they will participate in recreational, travel, or school soccer teams. Likewise, students interested in music should hone their talents through extracurricular music events. Competitive musicianship is the best option for most students because whether or not a student wants to be a professional musician, focused participation in music will benefit intellectual, organizational, and social development.

Competitive musicianship improves students’ intellectual development. One difference between great music programs and deficient music programs is whether or not the majority of students in the programs receive private lessons. A recent study of middle school test scores shows that students who participate in excellent music programs have higher test scores overall compared to students who participate in deficient music programs. “Students in top quality instrumental programs scored 32% higher in English than students in a deficient choral program... Students in top-quality instrumental scored 33% higher in mathematics than students in a deficient choral program. (Memmott and Johnson)” This study showed that students who actually focused on their music improved more intellectually than students who didn’t focus as much. A study at Stanford University showed a similar result. The researchers observed that focused music programs helped stimulate understanding of words, and they formulated a plan to help students who struggle with reading improve. “Stanford University research has found for the first time that musical training improves how the brain processes the spoken word, a finding that researchers say could lead to improving the reading ability of children who have dyslexia and other reading problems… ‘Especially for children … who aren’t good at rapid auditory processing and are high-risk for becoming poor readers, they may especially benefit from musical training. (Playing music can be good for your brain)” This exciting new discovery in connections between music and the brain only further proves that great music training can benefit students intellectually.

Focused participation in music improves organizational skills. A study recorded in “A User’s Guide to the Brain,” proves that advanced music programs benefit a student’s organizational development. “The musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, tone, style, rhythm, phrasing, and feeling – training the brain to become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can have a great payoff for lifelong attention skills, intelligence, and an ability for self-knowledge and expression. (Ratey, John J., MD.)” Because great music programs require students to listen and adjust multiple aspects of their music simultaneously, students have to figure out ways to improve the organization of their thoughts, which leads to enhanced organizational skills overall.
Competition in music benefits social development. A portion of social development is emotional stability; if students cannot handle their emotions, how can they be expected to effectively communicate with their peers? Because students are required to be expressive in their music when participating in competitive music programs, they learn how to channel their emotions. “Music enhances the process of learning. The systems it nourishes, which include our integrated sensory, attention, cognitive, emotional and motor capacities, are shown to be the driving forces behind all other learning. (Konrad, R.R.)” Focussed musicianship not only improves educational stability of a student, but it helps them interact with other students. “Learning in the arts nurtures motivation, including active engagement, disciplined and sustained attention, persistence and risk taking. It also increases attendance and educational aspirations. (Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development)” Often people argue that participation in a team sport contributes positively to the development of social and emotional skills; the same can be said of participation in competitive music. Extracurricular music groups broaden the student’s friendship base, challenge the student to interact with strangers, and aids them in learning how to be amiable with competitors.
A music student entering middle school might wonder whether to take private lessons and participate in extracurricular music events, or to only participate in the school music programs.On one hand, private lessons will be time consuming and potentially costly. In addition, popular culture dictates that participation in sports might have beneficial elements in a student’s life, particularly socially. However, research has proven that participation in focussed musical groups and private lessons provides many of the same social benefits of sports, while also enhancing the student’s intellectual and organizational skills.The extra time and money spent honing a student’s musical talents will eventually be worthwhile because the student will be more efficient, better organized, and more emotionally stable than students who only participate in school music events. Choosing to follow the route of competitive musicianship is an investment worth making!