Wesley Peart: Why FCA Frisco is Deeply Invested in Music
“Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable..”
-Leonard Bernstein
I am occasionally asked to explain why FCA Frisco is so deeply invested in instrumental music. After all, these programs are expensive and logistically complex to operate. Like most music teachers, I am tempted to cite studies on brain development, test scores or career readiness. These effects are well-documented and certainly contribute to the conversation, but each frames music education in the context of how it supports other programs or objectives.
We study music for the same reason that we study literature or poetry; it produces experiences and understandings not found in any other means of expression. However, the depth of these experiences depends upon one’s ability to speak the musical language. Simply listening to a symphony may be enjoyable, but lacks meaning without the tools to understand it.
Consider the holistic approach with which we teach English. Students learn to speak, listen, read and write. They practice manuscript and learn to interpret nuance and symbolism in text. Eventually, the student can access and interpret great pieces of literature. This is the result of years of consistent study.
Music appreciation programs may only approach the “listening” component without addressing music literacy at all. Would it be possible to “appreciate” Shakespeare or Dickens without the ability to read, speak or write English?
Music also has other analogs to language. It occurs in real-time and doesn’t give the child a chance to stop and think about an answer. Playing an instrument is the synthesis of thousands of component skills, mastered over a very long period of time. In this way, music is a craft that teaches patient study and practice.
Performing great works of music does not have to be an elitist activity reserved only for professionals. At FCA Frisco, our students are gaining the ability to perform musical masterworks and to extract deep meanings from them. In the early stages, this seems like a lofty goal and the challenges may appear insurmountable, but your children grow when they are presented with a challenge.
Wesley Peart
Orchestra Director
FCA-Frisco