"Music helps the mind develop and grow," my dad often says, and I have found this to be very true. It is a proven fact that participating in a music program in school will help develop your brain to a higher level and faster than other students. Music actually improves communication between the right and left sides of the brain, allowing you to gain better comprehension and memorization skills.

So, why do we need music in our schools? Well, because music is everything.

Music is science. It is exact and demands acoustics. The conductor's score is a graph that contains volume changes, melody and harmony, all the while keeping the group at a constant pace.

Music is math. It is based on the rhythmic subdivisions of time, done in a split second.

Music is history. The music you hear or play is usually an indication of the time and environment in which it was created.

Music is physical education. It requires an immense amount of coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lips, cheeks and facial muscles. Not to mention control of your diaphragm, back, stomach and chest muscles to make sure every note comes out clearly and in pitch.

Music is a foreign language. Its terms are usually in Italian and the music is not in any language known to man. It is its own language and uses symbols to represent ideas.

Music is the universal language that everyone understands and can relate to. Music is what brings everything together. It is something that everyone knows.

Most of all, music is art. It is the greatest form of art that allows a human to take boring notes on a page, and transform them into an emotion and feeling you cannot measure.

Music is just as important as all the classes you are required to take, and it is critical that music classes remain in schools. Not only to provide a place for students to belong, but also something that will help their minds grow and develop like no other class. Music is a very important part of our life, and if we take it away, who knows what the world would be like.