It's a rite of passage that virtually every self respecting Asian American kid has to undergo, the musical recital. Whether it be the piano, violin, cello, or some other musical instrument, most AA children take up some sort of musical education as part of the normal childhood process. There is an innate feeling among AA parents that mastering music will make their children smarter and better disciplined. In fact, studies have shown that kids who study music do indeed test better.
But as I sat through another one of my children's piano recitals recently, I can't help but wonder if the education they receive from hours of practicing at the keyboard is the right type that will allow them to succeed in America. As all the parents listen attentively to the children playing studiously on stage, I began to ponder who is the real genius on stage, the seven year old who can master that Mozart sonata or the composer himself?
The fact is, musicians are a dime a dozen. Millions of people know how to play a Mozart sonata. But there is only one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. These Asian kids were performing the equivalent of an American Idol contestant. They were essentially doing a karaoke the way Idol singers belt out their rendition of a Beatles tune while trying to make it their own. But no matter how good the musician, it's pretty clear the real prodigy is the composer, not the player.
As multitudes of AA parents shepherd their prodigies through piano and violin classes, are we then commoditizing musical proficiency? In the meantime, white American children are encouraged to take the less obvious path, forming their own bands and writing their own music. This is where the real riches lie, not a ten year grind of musical lessons just so they can get into an Ivy League school. By the way, an Ivy League admissions officer would take more notice of an AA applicant if the kid actually formed his own rock band than if he can claim to have played violin all throughout high school.
Is it any wonder that white people don't think Asian Americans have any originality or creativity? We assiduously force our children to play music created by other people while discouraging them from pursuing truly artistic outlets for their developing minds. It is this line of reasoning that leads to recent studies showing AA's are a large portion of the work force in Silicon Valley but dwindle dramatically in the management positions.
To all the AA parents out there. It's okay if your children don't want to take any musical lessons. The path to genius doesn't exclusively involve rote memorization of centuries old dead white Europeans' music.
