Speech: Ahmed

Ahmed Hamad Mr. Logsdon AP English Language and Composition 13 December 2015 I am going to play an excerpt from a song for you, I want to see who here can recognize it. *Play The Star Spangled Banner* I could of sung that for you, but I wanted you to recognize the song. Now, Through a show of hands, who can name this song? So, I can safely say that everyone in this class, (except for ______) knows that song. What is it? The Star Spangled Banner. We’ve all learned this song through our music teachers. What does this song do? It unites us, Americans, as one. So Music does many things. It can be argued for how it fosters creative thought, or to how it unites us all, or to how it makes us well rounded people. What do these things all have in common? They make us better… stronger people. And what we strive for, right? So it makes sense that we'd prefer to play music. Alright, let me give an example of how music’s important to us. When babies are born they use their “music processing networks” in their brains to understand and recognize their mothers and their voices(Source). That’s kind of insane. That means, we are all born thinking musically. I could go into a tangent here about how this makes us all the same. But what it really does is show how of an influence music has on us, from right after our birth to when we are on our deathbed. SO what else does this mean? It means, That we are all the same, and that music unites us because it is universal. That music shows how we are all the same because it breaks down through every wall, from language barriers to social barriers. I mean look at it this way, Every civilization everywhere throughout time has made music. Why? Because Music isn’t something hidden behind a language, because it isn’t something definable, because it isn’t something definite. Music can be portrayed through raw emotion. As in it can communicate without using words our feelings, and replicate them inside of someone else. There are songs, that can bring tears to my eyes, they were made for that purpose. There are songs that motivate you immensely, they were made for that purpose. Music reveal our true emotions, because you can’t lie through Music, there are no any words to manipulate. “Music is worth teaching for its own sake,” argues Richard Gill(not to be confused with Mrs. Gill’s husband), why does he believe that? Because Music teaches us patience, it grows our memory, and most importantly it develops our perseverance. All of these define a strong person, Don’t get me wrong you can gain these skills through other paths. For example my father has never played an instrument, unless you count when he used to blare on my recorder, but he has gained all of these skills throughout his life. So does that mean that Music doesn’t need to be taught? No, because while my father may have gained these skills, it took him a lifetime to gain and perfect them, but a musician can do the same before the first two decades of his life are over. When you are playing an instrument, that you love, you enter this zen state of mind, and I have felt a similar feeling of connection only once while not playing an instrument. I feel as though it is a crime to hinder children, no, people from ever experiencing it. So, We should make more people have access to instruments and proper instruction. Because Music promotes creative thought, unifies us, and just ‘Cause of it’s plain awesomeness. Brown, Laura Lewis. "The Benefits of Music Education." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. Collins, Anita. "What If Every Child Had Access to Music Education from Birth?" TEDxTalks. TedxCanberra, 3 Nov. 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. Gill, Richard. "The Value of Music Education." TedxTalks. TedxSydney, 7 June 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. Key, Francis Scott, and John Stafford Smith. The Star-spangled Banner. Carr Music Store, 1931. MP3.