Last week we inducted 18 students into the National Honor Society for Music (aka Tri-M.) At our induction ceremony, I asked student Katherine Blobner to share a reflection on a musical topic of her choice. Here’s an excerpt of what she shared:
“What about music is able to unify people? I got to thinking about all of the subjects we study in school (math, science, language, art, history) and how frequently we assume these subjects to be independent of each other, but I realized that in reality all these subjects are just different ways of looking at and interpreting the same world. As individuals we tend to understand the world better through certain lenses—I, for example, don’t understand physics or math all that well, so when I hear the number “262.2 Hz” I have no idea what that means. Anyone know what that number means? Ok, what about this (plays middle C on piano)? They’re the same thing! 262.2 Hz is the frequency of middle C—look we’ve just made a connection between physics and music! I could go on and on with examples of how music connects to different areas of study, but my point is, music is something we can all understand because it is the culmination of all these different subjects we often assume to be different. Music provides an opportunity to bridge the gap between math and art or history and language, and by extension an opportunity to connect with people. That’s why we’re here: to take our understanding and help other people to make those connections. To show people the value of music, not just as a form of art or entertainment, but as a means to better understand each other.”
Our students are so cool.