American Music Education Better Than Chinese Music Education

American music education better than Chinese music education

Yinjun Hu

Reading Composition 5C

The University of Idaho

American Language and Culture Program

 American music education is better than Chinese music education

Education issue had become the most important issue in the world, because the country’s development is inseparable from education. With the development of the times, the music education has gradually been mentioned. Do you know why the music education is important right now? Because people began to pursue spiritual enjoyment when they are already get good life. In the world, every country’s music education systems are different, but each country has a common goal that is to perfect the music education system. For example, American music education and Chinese music education system are very different. The United States has very rich music education experience, but China’s music education system has just started to develop. In my opinion, contrast Chinese music education and American music education, I prefer American music education. I think American music education is more developed than Chinese music education, and the American music education has some more professional and standard of in place.

Though the United States has not a long history, it started to develop music education in the early eighteenth century. After around 300 years of development, American music education has formed a complete system. Not only is music education important in the university, but high school, and junior high school also attaches great importance to the music education. On the contrary, China is a big country that has a long history, but China started to develop music education around the 20th century that is the end of the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, music education is still in developing now. Therefore, American music education is better than Chinese music education because of American spent time to develop music education longer than China.

The United States is a religious country, and the development of music in the United States has been integrate people’s basic life. Most families will go to church on Sunday. So the American children learn and sing every Sunday, the church services always sing with a lot of stories about God. At a young stage, there are also many corresponding songs, These song’s mainly themes are incentives, effort and optimistic. Such as “Blessed Assurance”, “God Will Take Care of You”, “Open My Eyes That I May See” and “Love Lifted Me”, etc. That makes people of the United States have a keen feeling about music, because they are able to sing and vent their feel. They can also get confidence from life. Similarly, China’s traditional music also encouraging people to conform to more virtuous living. The Wai-Chung Ho who is Chinese graduate in department of music and fine arts in Hong Kong Baptist University mentions: “Music was considered in traditional Chinese society as one of the four fundamental means towards social unity together with morals, law and politics, and after the manner of Confucius, successive emperors used specially selected music to promote social harmony.” (Wai-Chung, 2003). Music in ancient times is very important, but music only limited to give Chinese noble enjoyed. “Traditional Chinese music was classified into three main types: ‘refined music’ (yayue), which was indigenous to the Han civilization, and became the official music of the court; ‘popular music’ (suyue or ‘uncultivated music’); and ‘foreign music’ (huyue or ‘barbarian music’). ‘Refined music’ was thought capable of bringing social harmony to imperial China by tempering the human spirits so as to unite the interests and manners of the individual and his/her family with those of the social whole.” (Wai-Chung, 2003). But it is a pity that Chinese children can’t sing traditional songs, because those songs are too old. American music and Chinese traditional music both are encourage and blessing people, but the two countries to bring children learn music opportunities are different. The United States can let children get the opportunity to more sing through the church, but Chinese children can only get some information about traditional music from the history book because of many of the traditional music has been lost. So, American music education influence on the children has a bigger than Chinese music education.

As part of a quality education, music education for children is very important. The Global Times that a newspaper form China said: “Many American parents hope to strengthen children’s music education, they also encourage the children to get a certificate in music. Because many American parents think music education is not only to improve children’s skill, but also to improve children’s cultural accomplishment.” (Global Times, 2006). American music education begins from kindergarten to college, and each stage has very good music education. Vern Sielert who is an assistant professor of Trumpet and jazz studies at the University of Idaho  said: “music education is very important, every child from kindergarten to high school should always have some music education. Because music is an important subject improve self-cultivation, the thing that you learn from music can really to change all kinds of thing in your life.” (Vern, 2013). According to the OneDublin American website research: “Harris Interactive poll of school principals, music programs contribute to higher attendance and graduation rates and The College Board reported in 2011 that SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 120 points higher on the verbal portion of the test (reading+writing) and 44 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. SAT scores for those with coursework in music appreciation were 129 points higher on the verbal (reading+writing) and 43 points higher on the math portion.” (OneDublin, 2012). So, clearly music education makes students smarter. And The Global Times that a newspaper form China said: “In the public schools, large and medium-sized violin, flute and percussion instruments are free to learn. For expensive instruments, the school can rent them at a low price for poor students. And the school teaching program requires at least to play one song, not only requiring expressions and the technical skill, but also in difficulty to across several syllable. (Global Times, 2006). The music education of a very big characteristic is through the personal music activities to strengthen music feeling, this can make music more close to life. A lot of American public high school will help students reduce spending for music education, but many private lessons to teach violin and piano, etc. In fact, Chinese music education development time is very short. The Gong Li who is Chinese graduate in department of music in Dezhou University expounds: “Music education in higher normal universities in China has grown out of nothing and has developed closely in parallel with development of modern higher education in China. If calculated from 1920 when Beijing Female Higher Normal School opened the special training course of music education, the subject of music has actually gone through the history of higher universities merely for eighty years or so. In the ancient China, the government to copy western school system, they want to build a new China modern education system. So the Qing government sent students to study in Japan.” (Gong, 2010). After the major reform later, the Chinese people paid more and more attention to development art. The school song development was very successful, and the school song slowly became popular music in China. For example, “Campus folk rock was created by university age youth wishing to assert their own distinct cultural Chinese identities and ‘Sing our own songs’.” (Wikipedia, 2012). Then the western culture had a big influence on China. More music education were introduced to the people. China has a wide variety of music education training right now, and China also produced a lot of music master. But music education has not been in the predominant position, because the Chinese school has academic schools and art school for their entree tradition disciplines. Academic school emphasize Chinese, maths and English and so on as the main course, and art school is specially emphasize on art, the majority of Chinese schools were academic schools. So, music education in China is not very common. As a result, American music education is more professional than Chinese music education.