Anti-depressant properties of being a brass player

[Kingfan]

I've always thought music has given me a much-needed escape from "real life" for at least a few hours a week and helps me stay centered. Turns out I was right!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/1 ... 4qxh4Uqbs4

[Bach5G]

Nice.

[Kingfan]

and much cheaper than a therapist. Oh, wait, how many trombones do I have and how much did they cost? Never mind...

[Schlitz]

.

[timothy42b]

Then on the other hand, listening to a recording of yourself could CAUSE depression!

Probably best never to record, just spread your efforts to everybody nearby.

[Bach5G]

A comment once made about a local radio celebrity: I didn’t know Rafe suffered from depression; I thought he was just a carrier.

[trombonedemon]

Not sure why music is being deleted from criteria in public schools. Its been prove time and time again that the arts improve math, science, and english test scores. Our government is depressing.

[BGuttman]

Not sure why music is being deleted from criteria in public schools. Its been prove time and time again that the arts improve math, science, and english test scores. Our government is depressing.

I think you are preaching to the choir.

I prefer giving my tax dollars to support arts in schools and Military music operations.

[norbie2018]

Not sure why music is being deleted from criteria in public schools. Its been prove time and time again that the arts improve math, science, and english test scores. Our government is depressing.

It is up to local communities to make certain music is alive in their local school districts. All it takes is one administrator to kill a thriving band program.

[RoscoTrombone]

Not sure why music is being deleted from criteria in public schools. Its been prove time and time again that the arts improve math, science, and english test scores. Our government is depressing.

It is up to local communities to make certain music is alive in their local school districts. All it takes is one administrator to kill a thriving band program.

That's all too true. The way it works here is that there is a team of instrumental instructors employed by the local authorities who go round various schools teaching heir respective instruments,running bands etc

It all boils down to budget and perceived value. In the last year there have 3 attempts to get rid of the service all to save circa £600,000 per year. Being told that you may not have a job once is bad enough but 3 times takes the Mickey!! This was led by our esteemed Director of Education nonetheless! Thankfully it is for the moment okay after a huge kickback from parents. If it had happened then other authorities would have followed. Once lost it wouldn't have come back and then it becomes something for those who can afford a private lesson.

So they reintroduced a charge for lessons and for the kids taking a music qualification who get a lesson from an instructor, they charge the school £750 per pupil which has resulted in tens of thousands of pounds coming out of the school budget.

There is a target income which would require 2000 paying pupils to be taught in a week which is simply impossible given the fact that it's a small authority with only 6 high schools!! Why do all the muppets end up in positions of such power!

Music is not valued as such by the people in control of finances. Because there is no perceived obvious outcome as such then they don't care. They don't get that the fact that a child's music lesson could be the only thing that they engage with in a week. They don't care about the mental health elements etc. They only care about budgets and finding ways to save.

Ross

[norbie2018]

You're right that once it is gone it is gone. As I stated and you affirmed by your story, it is up to local communities to make certain their administrators know they are watching and won't tolerate their music programs going away. It is up to them to hold their administrator's proverbial feet to the fire.

[brtnats]

Not sure why music is being deleted from criteria in public schools. Its been prove time and time again that the arts improve math, science, and english test scores. Our government is depressing.

(Not sorry to further hijack this thread)

With all due respect, this kind of thinking is part of the problem we’ve created for ourselves. I’m a music educator and advocate with degrees in education and musicology. Music education totally misses the boat when you’re arguing improvement in math, science, and language. Yes, substantive music education absolutely DOES improve cognition in those areas. But from an administrative standpoint, that’s a terrible argument to make. You know what else improves math, science, and language? More practice at math, science, and language, which they’ll have time for after they fire the music teacher.

If the argument for the existence of your subject is that it will help another subject, you’ve already lost the fight and the funding. We should all take a minute and consider that.

The primary argument for music programs in schools cannot be interrelated with other subject materials; that’s a losing argument to a bean-counting administrator. Music has to fill a role that nothing else in the curriculum does, and which is deemed critical enough to be non-expendable.

I make the argument like this: Music is the only subject in school that actively teaches anxiety management, grit, practice skills, socio-emotional awareness, and group body awareness. It’s the only subject that requires personal responsibility within collective action. It’s the only subject where emotional awareness truly matters, and where mood-modulation is actively taught. And Yes, it does all those things within the frameworks of mathematics, language cognition, and science.

That’s a winning answer.

[RConrad]

I've always thought music has given me a much-needed escape from "real life" for at least a few hours a week and helps me stay centered. Turns out I was right!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/1 ... 4qxh4Uqbs4

Getting back to playing has actually been part of my therapy. Part of it is that it is an escape from all the other things I have to deal with day to day. It also helps me with my concentration as it gives me something more specific to focus on. As for anxiety playing a bass trombone more or less forces you to have relaxed supported breathing.

[Kingfan]

RConrad gets it perfectly.