Musically Trained

Discipline manifests itself in various ways in our lives. Forcing kids to discover it sooner rather than later will save them from poor habits later in life. I’ve become a more disciplined writer in part because of the understanding that I don’t need to feel like doing something to get it done. Music was oddly my inspiration.  

I had a music appreciation class in college and unlike most college freshmen, really appreciated it. It wasn’t called music appreciation by then; I started college in the late nineties just as the educators were starting to show signs of over-labeling the courses. It had a pseudo-intellectual title like “Classical Theories of Structure in 17^th Century Arias” or perhaps “Music You’ll Never Listen To After This Class”. Ok maybe not, but it was more technical than I remember and I was sure it would hate it. 

My relationship with music is complicated, it’s sort of a ‘It’s-not-you-it’s-me’ thing. I don’t, or rather can’t play any instrument. I guess it makes me a little like those kids who hate gym because they get picked last when kickball teams form. Anyway I signed up for the required music class and to my surprise--loved it!

The teacher, an incredible cellist in his own right, had that magic teacher ‘soil’ good educators can cultivate in their classrooms. He started by describing classical music through history, examined the genius of Mozart, the style of Vivaldi, the pacing of Tchaikovsky, and the slickness of modern composers. I don’t remember specific lessons now and I probably couldn’t pass a competency test on various types of operas. The giant lecture hall seemed too impersonal for an engaging style of question and answer, an easy room for disinterested students to sleep in given the vastness and soft lighting. I was never tired, took spectacular notes, and had visions of playing violin in a concert hall ….just for a second though. The professor gave a performance midway through the semester at another venue, the class was invited. I don’t know the piece they performed but to my untrained ear it was perfect. The sound filled the hall so full I thought the roof might crack. I discovered a love for classical music in that moment.

I am not a musician and since about second grade have been scared to death of learning to play any instrument. We had recorders then. Second graders performing on stage sounds a bit like a fat man rolling onto a set of bagpipes forcing the wind to screech its way through the tubes in all directions. The squeaks and honks filling the elementary gymnasium from a proud class who learned a couple of …ahem…’songs’ was not for me. I wasn’t invited. They snubbed me. I was overjoyed. I didn’t want anything to do with music that involved, well being involved. But music is a requirement in elementary no matter how many kids show ZERO aptitude and ZERO interest. Just myself and one other kid weren’t invited. His family had just moved to the US and his command of English was shaky. He couldn’t read the notes on the page so naturally, no invite. What was my excuse? Was I really going to foul up the performance? They told me there weren't enough chairs.  

If I learned anything from those days it was that life is full of learning that isn’t cleanly filtered from all the nasty bits you happen to dislike. It isn’t orange juice after the pulp has been removed or apples with the skins peeled off and covered with caramel to make it taste better. You need to do the required stuff if you want to move on. Math and Science and even Music serve a purpose in the development of a kid’s educational arc whether kids understand it or not. Critical thinking requires broad based knowledge and an increased stream of sources. Few will become masters at any of it but realizing how individual skills fit into a society of different thinkers is enough of a directive. I am glad I had the music class later in college when I really could appreciate it.

 I did eventually learn to play the recorder sufficiently to get into third grade (Yippeee!). I didn’t learn much about the notes on the page or how to interpret flats or sharps but it does remind me that even difficult, sacrificially boring things are necessary. From music I got discipline and from discipline I got to writing. Where will discipline bring you?