When I first signed up for Music 225, I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of writing musical compositions, learning scales or studying musical notation. To be honest, I was taking the course to get my music requirement out of the way. After reading Caroline Lu ’15’s article on the music requirement at Andover, my first instinct was to agree with her point that music should not be required, and that there should be a general four term arts and music requirement. After giving it some thought, though, I started to realize the importance of these subject areas for a the growing intellectuals that Andover students are. I want to stress that I am not the most musically or artistically gifted person in the world. I have never taken music lessons or art classes outside of what has been mandatory. That said, I strongly support Phillips Academy’s policy that students have to take at least one term of music, one term of art and two additional terms of art, music or theater. Music essentially teaches the same ideas as more traditional humanities classes. In my experience with music this term, the skills involved in writing a musical composition are very similar to those required for an analytical essay. You have to create very specific, purposeful parts in your piece to produce a strong result. Isn’t that the same idea we are trying to perfect in our analytical humanities courses, and even in more logic-based courses such as Geometry? These subjects, while all unique in their own way, teach the same idea of effective and logical self-expression. On a more fundamental level, musical experience is beneficial for standardized testing. In last week’s article, Lu mentioned that musical information is not on the SAT. While this is true, Kansas University performed a study that found a direct correlation between high schools with high SAT scores and strong music departments. This study makes it clear that, contrary to Lu’s opinion, the study of music does have a tangible effect on SAT scores. Additionally, music fosters more direct creative thinking. Contrary to analytical essays in English and History, where most essays are based on a specific text or event, musical pieces are started from scratch. This forces students to develop creative skills that extend beyond those needed in more traditional classes. Not only do music and art classes help us hone skills needed for other classes, they also provide a mode for self-expression which much of the rest of the Andover curriculum lacks. In truth, I gradually came to enjoy my music class. I began to put more effort into my pieces, wanting to create masterful final products. If music had not been a requirement, I would never have found out that I liked the subject so much. If it were not mandatory, I would have stayed with the classes that I felt I was the best in and never discovered this passion. In my case, my requirement led to my inspiration. Thanks to Music 225, my intellectual curiosity was nurtured and my horizons were expanded as I was pushed to learn something new. And isn’t that what school is really meant to do? Justin Curtis is a Junior from Boxford, Mass.