Teaching is hard in general, but being in music teaching is extra tough these days.
We tend to get pulled or shut down more often, and many in the secondary couldn’t even play these past years! (Rightfully so with safety concerns, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t tough!)
When times get tough like this, I know many people find it helpful to look at some inspirational music education quotes to help you realize that yes, we do, in fact, make a difference.
With all this in mind, I went through my personal records of quotes (yes, I keep a quote journal) and found 13 of my favorite quotes about music education.
Table of Contents
From The Ancient Philsopher Plato
Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.
– Plato
I love hearing from ancient philosophers like this. It really shows that all these people we look up to and who forged the foundation of civilization appreciated music as much as we do.
This quote talks about music education reaching the soul, which is a powerful theme for me.
Music really does touch something in us that makes us uniquely human.
Look no further than how a simple piece of music will impact us emotionally and spiritually.
Music As An Integral Part Of Society
Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them – a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music.
– Gerald Ford
This quote really touches on how music does something no “academic” area will do as well, which is connecting us to each other and preparing us for the world.
Musicians and those who experience music education are more sensitive and aware of the world around them.
I love how this quote is so direct about music in schools and its importance.
“The future of our nation depends…” It doesn’t get more direct than that!
From Carl Orff On Music
Elemental music is never just music. It’s bound up with movement, dance, and speech, and so it is a form of music in which one must participate, in which one is involved not as a listener but as a co-performer.
– Carl Orff
Carl Orff is one of the legends in the music education world. He has a whole method of his own (although Gunild Keetman was most likely the person who did the grunt work).
He based much of his music education strategies on incorporating movement and the whole body.
He also talks about how music is a give-and-take with the audience. Everyone is involved in the process, whether they’re passive or active.
Peace From Music, Indeed
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
– Berthold Auerbach
I don’t know about you, but the past few years have added a lot of stress and “dust” to my soul.
I finally felt like I was crawling out of the COVID pandemic the first time I was able to play with a band.
Sure, I was playing tuba in a German band, so it wasn’t like it was naturally emotive music.
But the act of music with others and sharing music, even as light as polka music, moved me to tears.
(Gosh, polka music is joyful, though, isn’t it?)
Music Is Critical At Young Ages
Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear that the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it.
– Aristotle, Politics
It boggles my mind how administrators and policymakers will quote a lot of famously wise people while ignoring much of the other things they said.
Aristotle clearly says it’s imperative our young folks get music in their ears, but the first programs cut or pulled are elementary music and art.
I speak from experience. I was pulled 16 times this year so far (and we’re only 110 days into school as of this writing).
Our youngest kids need music; it’ll help them to become more well-rounded human beings.
Ancient Wisdom And Music
Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.
– Confucius, Book of Rites
Human nature and music have been entwined since the dawn of civilization.
Why deny or relegate it to a passive art? Music is active and meant to be shared!
Music Is A Means Of Communication
Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.
– Victor Hugo
A lot has been written and said on how and why we love music as a species.
I’ve read many books on the philosophy of music, and a lot of the ideas may be consolidated into this single quote.
Music speaks to something in us that helps us to convey meaning in a way normal words can’t.
Expecting music education to take a back seat is like expecting your students to only speak with vowels.
You could probably figure out what they mean, but it won’t make as much sense or have meaning.
Music Is Nourishment
With music, one’s whole future life is brightened. This is such a treasure in life that it helps us over many troubles and difficulties. Music is nourishment, a comforting elixir. Music multiplies all that is beautiful and of value in life.
– Zoltan Kodaly
This is one of my all-time favorite quotes.
From music therapy to music class, this quote covers a lot of what makes music so wonderful and why we need it in our schools.
Every time I read it and meditate on it, I’m drawn to a different part of it. Right now, the line, “music multiplies all that is beautiful and of value in life,” is speaking to me.
If this doesn’t hit the importance of education in music, I don’t know what does.
Check out our list of Zoltan Kodaly quotes at the link.
Arts Is Close To The Center Of Civilization
The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of the nation, is close to the center of a nation’s purpose – and is a test to the quality of a nation’s civilization.
– John F. Kennedy
It’s interesting how so many world leaders, especially ones admired through the years, have talked about music’s importance.
It’s almost like we are drawn to those who value art, almost as if we sense the person values the human condition more than others.
Huh.
On How To Teach More Effectively
Tell me, and I forget. Show me, and I remember. Involve me, and I understand.
– Chinese proverb
A lot of teachers look at this quote as an aspiration, but we music teachers know that involving our students is a way of life.
Throughout the past 80+ of education in the West, new teaching practices have come and gone, but the “new” best thing is always to raise engagement, give specific feedback, teach through groups and hands-on work, etc.
They just change the label.
In music, we’ve been doing the same or similar thing and winning at inspiring our students because we know how important involvement and action is in our art and at teaching in general.
What Is Teaching?
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
– William Butler Yeats
Any music teacher knows; there’s only so much we can force our kids to learn.
They need to take ownership to practice and think for themselves.
Lighting the fire will let the kids carry the torch for their own learning and watch how far they run with it.
Sparking Curiosity In Learning
You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.
– Clay P. Bedford
Similar to the one above but with a focus on curiosity.
I LOVE when my students ask me questions I don’t know. I get to model how curiosity leads you to a greater understanding of the world.
Music Is Powerful And Mysterious
Music acts on the whole of the organism like a magic force which suppresses the understanding and irresistibly takes possession of the entire being. To insist on analyzing this force is to destroy its very essence.
– Emile Jaques-Dalcroze