Music has been with us as human beings since the very beginning. The first drum we marched to was the one residing in our own chest. Music has just become a part of us all. It has woven itself into the fabric of every culture around the world, and integrated itself into our everyday lives.

What would life be without that one song that gets stuck in your head?

Everyone is exposed to music at a very young age, and some choose to make music of their own. Starting with the basic miniature toy piano or plastic guitar, and eventually moving on to bigger things: grand pianos, cellos, saxophones.

And some do not, whether it is because they don’t have the money to buy the instruments they want to learn, private lessons, sheet music, or they do not have the time outside of school and family to learn.

One remedy to this situation was instilling music programs that would provide free lessons to students of the district, giving every single one an equal chance to learn any instrument they please.

These programs have changed countless lives for the better, giving them an outlet for their pent up creativity, and becoming a tight knit community. Districts take pride in students’ musical talent, entering them in competitions and putting on performances for their peers.

Unfortunately, this can all taken away due to a lack of funds. Large budget cuts sweep the rug from under students’ feet in a seemingly simple solution to save money.

But why spend so much on something that costs so much for the school district as a whole, you may ask? There’s more money going in than coming back, and there are other far less expensive Fine Arts than Orchestra, Band, or Choir. All of those field trips, instrument replacement and care, sheet music, entering competitions, they aren’t helping the students in any fundamental way, are they?

This is what the Hazelwood School District thought, and moved to cut the music program, if not totally, then reduce their funds to a devastatingly low amount. The backlash?

The students and teachers from all around the district attended school board meeting in large numbers, telling their stories. How the music programs helped them through dark times, how it gave them a community, how they couldn’t live without it. Petitions circulated Facebook, getting hundreds of signatures.

The result? Hazelwood kept music in high schools and middle schools, and moved elementary lessons to after school.

Well, research shows that districts with well funded programs have higher attendance and graduation percentages than those who do not.

Students who participate in music programs tend to have better time management, creative thinking, and motivation to produce good quality work. The study of music seems to have a direct correlation to the way someone carries on throughout their day.

These same students also generally feel a sense of achievement, with all of their concerts, learning new techniques, songs, improving in something they love. It’s a stress reliever, and makes them happier to be at school to keep learning and improving.

So why is it that when the dark shadow of budget cuts looms over a district, the first to be sacrificed is the music program? It is just as important to the students involved as sports.

It is a community. One that thrives both under the spotlight and behind closed doors. One that, even when left behind on graduation day, leaves its legacy in calloused finger tips and song snippets that play on loop in the back of our minds.

It leaves its legacy in our future achievements and memories, of which will never be forgotten.