Cultural Apathy and Learning Music

8/13/2019 Cultural Apathy and Learning Music

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Cultural Apathy and Learning Music

With all sorts of unreasonable extra expenses being foisted on South Africans, such as the

unconstitutional e-tolls, the Wonder of Nkandla (one doesn't have to wonder where the

funds for this private homestead were embeled!, sk"-rocketing food price hikes and the

ever-climbing fuel price (of which a heft" proportion is levied to #recover# the e-tolling

s"stem!, $ noticed something ver" sad among parents and school-going students%

&ultural apath"%

Schools push for sport, sport, sport $ suspect this goes paired with heft" subsidies for

#winning# schools% usic, drama and art have been s)uished, via our govt, into one single

sub*ect and minimied as far possible+ #Arts and culture#% ooking at the s"llabus of the

various grades (alread" for "ears!, $ spot a lot of costume-making, African dance, collages

and making up rain songs in this sub*ect (nothing wrong with an" of these! but as to

classical music theor" and practice, close to nil%

$ would like to alert m" fellow uropean and African citiens of South Africa to an

interesting development in &hina+

80 million classical concert pianists.

ight" million% .hat is, /%0 .$S as man" concert pianists as South Africa has%%% people%

$f "ou ask these eight" million whether the" find the classical music too #urocentric# the

response will probabl" be loud laughter% &hina is fast becoming (or is alread"1 2pdate me

pls! the wealthiest nation on arth% .he" have the highest amount of graduates, well-educated people professionals etc% And of course concert pianists%

A concert pianist is someone who makes a professional living (and not a bad one! b"

pla"ing public concerts% 3e is also a person who has invested /4 444 practice hours or

more into his art%

$f eight" million &hinese people invest /4 444 hours of their "outh (because the" are

professional at the latest b" age 54! into the urocentric art of pla"ing classical piano,

3ow can "ou defend uropean-descended South Africans letting go of their inherited

culture1

3ow was &hina closer to classical music than 3olland, in the /644's1

7ou need to understand that classical music is not uropean heritage an" longer (though

we can still be proud it originated in our countr" of origin!% $t is b" now World heritage%

And the &hinese, with their brilliant minds, are helping themselves to their fair share of it

with gusto, because the" understand its merits%

$t isn't onl" prett"%


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&lassical music, and learning a classical instrument, has merits far be"ond aesthetics%

anfred Spiter, a 8erman neurologist, highlights the importance of learning a musical

instrumentearl" in life% (.hose of "ou who understand 8erman, $ linked to the 7outube

presentation%! .here are various points he makes, the most pertinent being+

$t strengthens the self-image, and therefore the #$ can# attitude%

What do children mostl" get in school1 .ests, and marks% ore importantl", the marking is

usuall" negative% .his leads to a general feeling that one cannot ever achieve it all,

especiall" in children who are fairl" #average#% A '&' means that "ou have onl" understood

about half of what is going on or that "our brain keeps tripping "ou up b" making

mistakes and costing "ou that mark - and that recognition from adults that children crave%

(.he" do crave it% 9on't be fooled b" the teenage #$ don't care# culture%!

:la"ing those little concerts before friends, famil" and others, at the end of the short

performance the child harvests applause% What is applause1 $t is approval from adults%

.he child gets the feedback+ $ can do this; .his works; $ can achieve this%

.hat alone spurs "oung musicians to doing better in all other sub*ects% .he apath" #$ can

never win# that the negative marking s"stem in schools breeds, is con)uered b" the #$

can do this if $ tr" harder# attitude%

.his is perhaps the most important point anfred Spiter makes to this topic (he also

shows, in related videos, neuronal growth in brains!%

3owever, what remedial teachers, occupational therapists, ps"chologists, speech

therapists and man" other professionals all know+ usic is a fantastic remedial tool for

an" kind of disabilit" - and a wonderful booster for those who have none%

Some of these benefits, summaried in the


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Emotional:

$ncreased resilience

astering nervousness > stage fright

$mproved self-image

=etter emotional balance

=etter expression to emotion$mproved communication skills

?vercoming sh"ness

Other commonly observed effects:

$mproved marks in school

eadership traits

$@ measurabl" increases (up to even /5 points!

Such are the benefits of music on a child practising% $f "ou could wrap /5 $@ points into a

package and give them to "our child as a gift, would "ou1 $ bet "ou would; .hat is exactl"

what learning music, and specificall" the bowed strings (violin, viola and cello! do for "our

child%

=ut it goes be"ond this% 3ow do "ou, as an adult, nurture "our culture1

9o "ou have paintings (or at least prints! of the great masters around "our house1 9o "ou

read the great writers and occasionall" even the poets1 9o "ou listen to great music

around the home and in the car (/45% is &lassic B, b" the wa" - encourage them to pla"

more music and have fewer talk shows, we can get talk shows on an" channel!1 9o "ou

visit the local concerts and pla"s when the" are going, and at least tr" to get a ticket for

Andre

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Cultural Apathy and Learning Music