It goes a little something like this:
"There are many things that I believe in: I believe in my religion, I believe that everyone should be treated equally, I believe that what you have in your head is much more important than any part of your physical appearance. However, above all else, my strongest belief lies within in the opening line of the movie August Rush, which states that “The music is all around you, all you have to do is listen.” Now, I realize that, that line might seem pretty corny, cheesy, maybe it’s even a little idealistic, but there is, without a doubt in my mind, a great amount of truth to this statement. Music is everywhere; it plays a vital role in our lives, a role that often gets taken for granted. When you hear about music programs around the world that are dwindling because of a lack of funds, support, or interest, how much of a concern does this present to you? Unfortunately, this is often the response to that question: “Music is something extra, it’s an elective, it’s not as important as math, science, or any kind of physical activity. Why should we care so much, if at all?”
That last question, ‘why should we care?’ is the million-dollar
question, and I can best answer it with my own life experiences. When I was a young
lad, I remember being the awkward, shy kid in the back of the class. I was a
pretty much your average C student, and I never, ever wanted to draw any attention to myself. And speaking in front
of the class? I literally used to make myself sick just thinking about it. Even today, I still
get an eye-twitch from the prospect of speaking in front of people, but
considering where I started from, I’ve actually improved a lot in this regard.
And I owe it all to music.
Because music is powerful.
Just by listening to it, music can make you feel so many emotions. Even more than ‘math and science’, music stimulates
your brain. Or it could have the opposite effect, and dissuade your tension or
excitement. For me, music was a key factor in helping me conquer my debilitating
fear of speaking in front of people. This is mainly because when you’re a
musician, you most often have to perform in front of audiences: sometimes small,
and other times, much bigger than a
classroom full of students. I found that the more I performed, the more
confident I became in my ability to stand in front of an audience and not faint
from the overwhelming pressures of anxiety. I also found, that it helped
increased my brain activity, and the older I got, the more skilled of a
musician I became, the higher my grades got, and the better student I became. You
strive for perfection when you’re a musician, and you also strive to handle many
different tasks at once, which, incidentally, made me a more effective human
being in general. But, that’s just me. By now you’re probably wondering: “Well,
how does music affect the lives of non-musicians? What does all this have to do
with me?”
Well you see, music is universal.
It’s something extraordinary that can unite even the most unlikely of
individuals. Take for example, the Blugold Marching Band here at UW-EC: 300 wildly different personalities that all
work together to provide solid entertainment, not only at your Blugold Football
Games, but also around the world. We all find common ground in a
language that everybody can
understand. Even if you don’t understand the words to a song in a
foreign language: the music makes sense. Maybe it’s not obviously apparent how
music truly does impact your life, but I can assure you, it has a greater
significance than you may give it credit for.
For a moment, just think about a
world without music. Can you imagine a car without a radio? Living your life
without an i-Pod or CD player? What about your favorite musicals? Your favorite
artists? Your favorite movies? Think
about that for a second: no background accompaniment, no horn rips or
cymbal crashes to emphasize a shoot-em-up thriller, or a rom-com without the
poignant string arrangements. Just dialogue and white noise; it doesn’t sound
that appetizing, does it? Going back to some more relevant topics: how about a
football game, or any sporting event, without the national anthem? Do you know
that the half-time performances at the Super Bowl, often receive more
views than the actual game itself? There’s a lot of emphasis placed on sports
and the favorite past-times of American culture, but even then, music prevails
in garnering more widespread attention.
Ultimately though, it all goes back
to August Rush; not because you just
need to listen to music in abstract places, but because you need to experience the total affect of the art. Your
opinion of music may or may not change based on my words alone, so that’s why I
encourage you to actively observe the world around you. Go ahead, I can bet all
the money in the world, that you won’t go more than an hour without running
into music, either listening to it yourself, or seeing someone else do it. Indeed,
music is woven to the world around us, but even more than that, it can be your world too. This, I believe. Thank
You."
