As we wait to see how thinly the Toronto District School Board can doll the financial dough before its music programs crumble into insignificance, British cellist and experimental composer Peter Gregson has formulated a justification for music in the classroom that really resonates.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
I have to admit that I’m tired of all the studies that show how music lessons improve overall learning. We’ve known that for years, and school boards still keep cutting music education. Clearl,y the argument is not persuasive enough.
So why not appeal to the most pervasive form of instant entertainment we possess — the video game? (If you doubt this, look around your subway car or streetcar at the people playing Candy Crush on their phone.”
Gregson argued in an interview in yesterday’s Observer magazine in the U.K. that music, like computer coding, takes an awful lot of work before there are tangible results and that the purpose of coding a video game — the ability of a player to get an instant adrenaline fix — should never be confused with the act of making music.
“I don’t think [an equivalent to] a computer game has the ability to inspire a child in the same way an enthusiastic, patient teacher can,” said Gregson to interviewer Tom Lamont. “If a computer game gets too difficult, you put it down. But in music that’s the point when the real learning starts. The notion of software democratising musical education leaves me cold. I get cold feelings when I see: ‘Log on to our website and learn to play the violin.’ ”
The interview’s concluding paragraph says everything we need. And even the most un-musical person in the room should be able to grasp how important this is:
It’s a holistic thing. It’s team-building. It’s about sharing. The best thing about music education is simply that it teaches you to think and listen in a sensitive way, and not jump to conclusions in exchange for instant gratification. Real life doesn’t give you 10 points when you cross a bridge. And that is a super-important thing. If we game-ify an art form, we risk losing its most valuable facets.
You can read the whole interview here.
The latest petition to pressure the Toronto District School Board to abandon its planned cuts can be found here. As of this writing, it was 351 signatures shy of 10,000.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
