The Tragic Decline of Music Literacy (and Quality)

From a standpoint of young people and the decline in musical literacy I would disagree that there is a problem....based on my own personal experience. From where I sit it is thriving. I have a niece (9th grade) who plays viola, one niece (11th grade) who plays guitar and clarinet, 3 nieces who sing and whose mother is a trained classical singer. I have a cousin who is an accomplished tenor and pianist, I have another cousin who is an accomplished pianist and singer (musicals) and whose son is studying jazz guitar at UVA. My wife plays the flute. My own kids can both play piano a little but are otherwise musically illiterate.There is no common thread or even location among these people other than some loose family connections. The first niece I mentioned plays in a public school based symphony, the second plays in a private school based symphony.

All of this in the "backward" southern US.

Our community (small southern city) just recently established an excellent symphony orchestra. When forming there were no try outs because there was a list of superb regional musicians ready to step in. This essentially meant a hand picked symphony by request only.

We have neighbors who are in local bands.

From where I'm sitting things are booming.

@schubert  Certainly economics play a role. Where there is no money and in regions where the mobile population is leaving it is going to be hard to fund or even maintain interest in the arts.

Where I live, which is still considered by much of the nation as the illiterate and backwards south, growth has been exponential over the last 20 years and especially the last 5-10. Lots of people coming in. Lots of money coming in. Lots of talent coming in. This increases the tax base which give schools more to work with and local cities and towns with money for arts etc. It also increases the number of people with an appetite and desire for the arts. 

I saw a special on Detroit about funk music in the early 70's and how that was a direct product of black families with high blue collar incomes from the auto industry allowing their kids to buy instruments and play in basement bands.

Money talks. And sings.

For the last three years my wife and I have sponsored our new local symphony at the second highest sponsorship level. Not bragging, she has been active in the organization and its what we wanted to do. And it has been a pleasure to be able to do so.


But that would have indeed paid for some nice audio equipment.

Sadly, the response to COVID may have killed our new three year old symphony. No performances in a year. No ticket money coming in. Sponsorships understandably drying up. I don't know how those musicians are staying afloat. Currently no performances planned and we live in a state that has not had mandatory shut downs since the spring.


Music venues in the region have been shuttered for about a year as well.

No matter where you fall on the politics and/or science of COVID, it is decimating the working musician and venue owners.

mahgister wrote:
"How can you distinguish head and tail in your life in north-america with a so abyssal ignorance?"

Seriously? North America has cornered the market on abysmal ignorance? Where do you suppose the wisdom resides? Europe? That’s laughable. Certainly not modern Europe and maybe least of all modern France. Both of which exist in their current state simply and precisely because the U.S. permits them to do so. If it is important to understand history one of the first things to understand about modern history is that the U.S. is the single determining factor that keeps Europeans away from each other's throats.


And don't get me wrong, I'm not an apologist for modern culture, American or otherwise. Far from it. Nor am I a cheerleader for U.S. policy. I'm just looking at the last 100 years of Western history. Nothing worse than Western European smugness after WWI, the Russian revolution, WWII and the Balkans.

@bdp24 , Are you seriously suggesting that the decline in public schools teaching the humanities began on the right? Even if you could prove such a thing, it would be hard to support that that is still the case. Technology has driven the STEM curriculum. Big tech keeps it that way. Even if not intentionally.

The public school system is the domain of the left. The left drives STEM. The right approves.

Hard to pin the creation of obedient one dimensional worker bees on the the right. That's a whole different ideology and politic there. It is certainly someone's goal right here and right now though.