1. Rebecca Latham
Music Scholarship
Musicians across the world vary in style, instrument, and opinion. However, there is one
fact that we all agree on, and that is that music is essential. I was sitting in my second period
Music Theory and Harmony class for the first day of my senior year when the band director
whipped out the very important question of why music is essential. He skipped the frivolities of
asking about the essentiality of music and went straight for the deeper question of why. Of
course, as high school students do, all fourteen of his students froze and none of us could answer.
All of us had to absorb exactly what he meant by the question before responding, which took so
long he moved on to a topic we could handle.
Looking back on that day, I still ask myself the question of why music is essential. In my
own personal life, music is essential because I have always been surrounded by the art of music,
but it goes deeper than that. Music is my inspiration, my motivation, and my consummation.
Writing poetry is one of my many hobbies, but often times I find myself with lackluster
metaphors and elementary rhythms. At this point, I am frustrated at myself and use a variety of
music to calm down. Whether it be lyricless classical music or meaningful indie songs, I find the
words flow out of my mind and onto the paper because of how inspired I have become.
Everyone has bad days, but when mine get especially taxing, I seek out a quiet place.
Most would bring their music with them to calm them, but my goal is to find the music to calm
me. I listen for the rustle of the trees, the cry of a bird longing to find a mate, the distant mew of
hard work, and even the canter of a young deer. The music of God-given nature calms me. It
reminds me that I am not alone and that I can continue to strive towards a better day. If my quiet
place happens to be inside I listen for the hum under my mother’s breath, the gait of my father’s
step, and the scratching of a pen. All these sounds are music and all of them are motivators to

2. Rebecca Latham
remember the simpleness of our lives and to remember that there is more to live for than the hard
times.
While music is the beginning of me, it will also be the end of me. My life has been and
will remain to be devoted to the art of music. And just like I will make music until the day I die,
so will the world. I heard an anonymous quote once that struck a chord in me and it said
Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to
the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything. It is the essence of
order, and leads to all that is good, just and beautiful, of which it is the invisible,
but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form.
Although I have no earthly idea who said this particular quote, I have thought over it several
times. Music is eternal and it is essential for the simple fact that it helps everything.