Learning Music in the time of the pandemic

The abrupt lock-down has been much easier for children practising and enjoying music, and makes for a strong case for more children (and indeed adults!) to take up a musical hobby writes Nirupama Sekhri

Sarod maestro Amjad Ali often reminds his audience of how blessed he is to communicate in the language of music that transcends words and creates a world of its own. The reason, perhaps, many educationists insist that children be introduced to music as early as possible.

In that spirit, music forms an important element in the Waldorf curriculum as its founder Rudolf Steiner had believed that “the human being is a musical being, and the making of music is essential in experiencing what it is to be fully human ….. it awakens and nurtures the deep inner life of the child.” Indeed, many subjects in Waldorf schools are introduced through rhythm and movement.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle was of the belief that till age eleven children should be schooled in only sports and music: the former to build a solid, strong foundation for the body’s development, and the latter to clarify the soul!

All these ideas have been reinforced in a very pragmatic way during the pandemic for many of us, when housebound, we find our children reaching for music as a natural, effortless and enriching way to spend time.

Like for Sansha Sehdev in grade 11; her piano is not only her go-to stress buster, but has become an exuberant expression of passion and creativity, with her  composing and playing the background score for a short environmental awareness video.

My son spends hours strumming theme songs of films he’s enjoyed, pounding away on the tabla …. and composing his own music inspired by no less than John Williams and Andrew Lloyd Webber! 

It isn’t just the children who are kept usefully occupied, but it livens up the house too, as notes and voices echo and bounce around the house, with grandparents, parents and siblings forming an entertained audience, or singing and humming along.

Studies have proved that regular musical practice sharpens academic skills – comparisons between children who have a musical hobby and those who don’t, show a higher academic achievement level among the former.

However, that need not be the overriding reason. The happiness and keenness it generates – not only in the person playing music or singing – but in others, irrespective of language and culture is sufficient return for the time, effort (and money) invested in its pursuit.

But, a word of advice that music educationist Zoltan Kodály had insisted on that is worth heeding: it is much more important who the music teacher for children is than who the director of the opera house is …for a poor director fails once, but a poor teacher keeps on failing for decades, killing the love of music in multiple batches of children!

So, one useful take-away from the pandemic certainly is to become more musical!