A few days back, I was at a school, talking to the school principal and explaining the Baithak Foundation’s work to him. This school, located in a semi-urban setting, caters to children from modest backgrounds. Some children travel a fairly long distance to reach the school from nearby small villages.
The principal was an up-to-date person, involved in social activities through other social work organisations. He was comfortably discussing app-based education, e-learning, and other related topics. He also had a zeal for writing poetry.
When I explained our APT Project, which introduces various music and dance forms to children and then matures into regular training, he was excited to have it in his school for the children. At the same time, I could also sense an uneasiness in him.
“You know, I am worried about how AI is going to affect everyone in general and musicians in particular,” he said.
I looked at him with curiosity, prompting him to go on.
“A few days back, I wrote a poem. I wanted one of our students to put it to a tune and sing it, but I thought, let me ask AI to do it. And you know what, in six seconds, I had a song ready- with tune, instruments, and vocals, everything done by AI without involving a single human being.”
He played the song and we listened to it for a few minutes.
“How are our musicians going to survive?” He asked with a genuine concern.
We did not face the question here, but soon, we will be asked – ‘Why should children learn music now if AI can generate top-notch music in seconds? Should they not learn Gen AI instead?’
The answer to this question revolves around two key facets of any activity – ‘practice’ and ‘performance’.
Let me give you an example.
There are two persons, let’s say A and B.
A is learning Hath Yoga to be a certified trainer. A learns it for over a decade and finally becomes a certified trainer. Unfortunately, by the same time, Gen AI has also become a Yog expert. It can observe postures from the camera of your mobile device and provide you with real-time feedback. A feels frustrated and useless. He still has a few individuals who understand the difference it makes to be in the presence of a ‘real’ teacher, who can observe your state of mind, body rigidity, breath, etc., and instruct you based on that. He is able to survive, but AI has significantly affected his earning prospects.
On the other hand, B is learning Hath Yog for her own benefit. She does not aspire to be a trainer in the future. If she becomes one, that’s okay, but that’s not the only reason she is doing it. In case of B, she is learning Hath Yoga to gain embodied experiences and wisdom. She is doing it for what it does to her. Professionally, B can pursue anything in her life. She can also be a Gen AI prompt engineer; that doesn’t matter. Her embodied wisdom will enable her to be a more effective prompt engineer and lead a more fulfilling and meaningful life. If life throws her into an unexpected situation, her practice of Hath Yoga will help her navigate the problem, minimizing the impact on her mind and body.
In case of A, AI can drastically nullify the value that Yoga adds to A’s life.
In the case of B, AI will hardly affect the value that Yoga is adding to her life. On the other hand, AI can be used by her to enhance the value that Yoga adds to her life.
Music & Dance in schools: Everything has a place
J. Krishnamurti would often discuss the limitations of thought as a tool for inquiry. Some of his listeners would immediately jump to the conclusion that he is against thought.
“If we don’t think, how will we do our day jobs?” They would ask.
“Thought has its own place in our lives,” Krishnamurti would reply.
To design a poster, I will have to think. To chalk out a session, I will have to think a lot. What Krishnamurti was discussing was the limitations of thought when it comes to inquiring into our true nature.
Everything has a place. When we forget that, problems multiply.
Photo credits: https://www.jkrishnamurti.in/
Whenever we visit a school, one of the first questions we are asked is, ‘You will be doing this only for musically talented children, right?’
The next question is – ‘Will you prepare our children for talent shows?’
The third question is – ‘Will they get extra marks in board exams?’
All these questions indicate that we ‘misplace’ music and look at it as a tool to achieve something!
Teachers expect us to enable children, with no prior training, to master singing and perform at a national level (while continuing to excel in their academics) with just a few months of training.
Or they think students who do not show considerable progress in mainstream academics may excel in extracurricular subjects like sports and music, and can expect to start earning comparable livelihood opportunities by pursuing music. (I will be the most happy person if this happens. Unfortunately, surviving as a musician is much more difficult than surviving as an engineer, teacher, or even electrician for that matter.)
At the least, schools expect the children to excel in group singing competitions and fill up the school cupboards with trophies.
There is nothing wrong in any of these expectations. That being said, when we look at a music intervention from point of view of a limited outcome like ‘jobs’ or ‘winning competitions’, we are essentially ‘misplacing’ music.
At Baithak Foundation, we continually ponder the question, ‘What is the place of music in our lives?’
Knowingly or unknowingly, we start taking children for granted. Everything becomes outcome-driven. Everything has to show immediate impact. This mindset is ingrained not only in many supporters but also in teachers and parents. When they encounter a music intervention, they immediately view it through the same lens. When we view music as just a ‘skill,’ it becomes an additional ‘stressor’ for children, on which they are compared and judged.
So when someone asks why children should learn singing if AI can do that, the answer should be – ‘why do you teach children to speak? AI can do that anyway.’
Language is not just a skill or a utility. Language enables expression and connection. Language opens the door to wisdom, which otherwise remains inaccessible. Language is closely linked to emotional development and much more.
We should consider music from a holistic perspective, just as we do any language. We interact with the world through words and language; in the same way, music lets us communicate with ourselves. It helps us communicate with nature and with individuals who do not understand our language.
Music impacts our emotional development, our cognitive wellbeing, and social bonding. Of course, AI can now tune and sing a song, but AI singing a song will not lead a child to express themselves creatively. For that, the children will have to sing themselves. Or AI singing a song will not create new neural pathways in a child’s brain.
AI can disembody the ‘skill’ and ‘utilitarian’ aspect of music, but if we look at music as a tool to nourish ourselves, the greatest value one can get from music is by embodying it through practice.
If we look at music as a ‘practising’ art form for nurturing what makes us human, in the age of AI, it is more important than ever that every child learns music.
About the author
Mandar Karanjkar is a co-founder of Baithak Foundation. He is a Hindustani classical vocalist, a composer, and a communications consultant. He has authored 4 books and has given 3 TEDx talks.
Mandar also conducts trainings and capacity building workshops for corporates as well as not-for-profits.
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