I winced as I read of the desperate attempts of some scientists to explain how and why our musical brain may have evolved, in spite of the fact that music doesn't seem to help us survive and reproduce. It seems so unscientific to try to force some stubborn fact to fit into one's presuppositions. Unfortunately those experts are simply looking in the wrong place. The Psalmist writes: Sing for joy to God our strength; shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. Raise a song, strike the timbrel, the sweet-sounding lyre with the harp (Psalms 81:1,2). Music is the response of the human soul to our Creator, who placed within us the capacity to appreciate beauty in all its manifestations. I thank God that human life has meaning and purpose beyond mere survival.
GLADYS CLARKE ~ Colts Neck, N.J.
Having published music education resources for nearly 15 years now, I know what every music teacher knows: that music is anything but irrelevant to a child's life. Isn't it just possible that every culture in our world engages in music making because it provides some kind of mental or spiritual healing (regardless of religion) for the stresses of everyday life? As part of an annual contest that one of our publications sponsors, I've read thousands of essays from students across the country about what music means to them. All you have to do is read how music helps a student get through a parent's death, or through loneliness, or through anger - or how it helps students find their own unique voice or a kind of creative high they've never experienced before. Music is relevant to all children whether rich or poor, male or female.
RICHARD KALLER ~ Editor-in-Chief, Cherry Lane Magazines, New York
|
