I believe it can be said that a consensus of philosophers for more than 2,000 years has defined Music as being a special language for communicating feelings and emotion. But today we do not teach the use of Music to represent feelings and emotion and this is the “missing link.” This subsequent “missing link” is rather alarming if one recalls ancient views of Music.
Plato (427–348 BC), Republic, discussion, 401d.
“Music Education is the true education of the inner being.”
Music is the most powerful agent of education, rivaled by no other, [and it can be shown where music education was missing] that our characters commonly deteriorate if they are left undisciplined, lapsing into base or brutal passions.
And if society chooses not to help students learn to understand their own template of emotions and instead if society parenthetically says to the student, “you must learn about emotion on your own, out on the street,” then can society pretend that education has no responsibility for our violent society?
READ NEXT: Chapter 1, Why does the “Missing Link” in Music Education exist?
