Music gives life to students

Photo taken by Evan Steidtman

By Evan Steidtman, Staff Writer

Evan Steidtman

We all know about a thing called music, right? Some may listen to it, some may play it, or anywhere in between. But everyone is at least aware of it. That said, some people, myself included, have a very strong attachment to music. 

Some people here at Indian Trail utilize the band and orchestra programs to satisfy their muse and others reach that state of satisfaction in other ways. Band and orchestra are a great way to get kids exposed to an aspect of creativity that they may not have seen previously, but it’s still a bit of an abstract way of interacting with the parts of our brain that are attracted to music in the first place. 

You won’t learn about the Great American Songbook in these classes or how to construct the perfect radio hit, but rather a traditional way of viewing and composing music. I had a few years of experience in orchestra many years ago, but never felt a draw to perform that style of music. It wasn’t until years later when I picked up a guitar and started playing every day for hours, not missing a day of practice to this present moment. That’s when I was hooked on music. 

Playing, listening, recording, performing, I wanted to do all of it whenever possible. That obsession to be a relentless explorer of music was developed regardless of a formal education in that field. All that said, lots of people I know who are musicians are also in the district’s band or orchestra programs simply to keep busy and even to meet other musicians who are like minded. 

It’s been shown that music has many positive effects on our mental wellness and even physical health, so any kind of involvement that challenges our brain to explore new things and broaden our horizons is a task that I believe we should all expose ourselves to. 

The right side of our brain controls the creative drive we harness that can be tapped into whether you’ve tried to or not and maybe music is what you’ve been looking for.