Psychologist Howard Gardner put forth a theory that all human beings have eight different intelligences. It is possible for an individual to have more strength in one intelligence than another but still possess all eight. One of his eight intelligences includes a special intelligence for music. Since every student naturally has the intelligence of music, there needs to be a place for music in a school’s curriculum.

            Music is encountered in one’s everyday life. This could be through a live performance, walking in a department store, or on the radio in the car; music is always present. Since music is part of everyday life, students need to be able to develop an understanding and appreciation for music. By implementing music into the curriculum, one can guarantee that students will gain an understanding of music, which can be developed throughout their lives.

            Through music, students are presented unique opportunities that will foster their creativity. Musical creativity is not developed during a lecture, but rather through active participation. By actively participating in music, a student has the opportunity to explore their musical skills. Without music as part of the school day, some students will be denied opportunities they might not have available to them elsewhere.

            Music is a very important part of every culture. In many cultures, music is used in marking important events. Religious festivities and political elections are a few aspects of a culture’s unique expression. With music as part of the curriculum, students not only gain an appreciation for their culture’s music, but they gain an understanding of other cultures as well.

             Music may also foster skills and supplement knowledge learned in other classes. Through learning music students are also learning history, cultures, and even languages; all of which can be seen in just one musical work. When performing a musical piece, students are learning the history of the piece, the musical elements from that time frame/culture, and how to translate different languages into the music since many markings are in a foreign language. Through exposure to different pieces of music, a student can build upon their musical knowledge.

            Music can help develop a student’s creative thinking skills. Through listening to or performing various genres of music, a student can begin to compare and contrast the different aspects of each. When given the opportunity to improvise, a student is applying musical knowledge in order to express themselves. From this they can develop their own style and appreciation of music.

             Through musical education, students must be able to apply their knowledge of music to experiences in life. They should have the experience of performing music from different cultures, whether by singing or playing a musical instrument. In order to expand on creativity, a student must be able to improvise melodies and rhythms. One should also be able to compose melodies and rhythms that others can perform. Every student must be able to describe the music they listen to by explaining what they hear and the feelings that are evoked. A music educator must provide all of these opportunities for students in order to foster their musical intelligence.