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Already in ancient Greece philosophers argued about the influence of music on character building. For Plato and Aristotle there was no doubt, that music was crucial in education. But it had to be the “right” music as the ancient myth of Apollo beating the Satyr Marsyas in a musical competition had made clear. Plato’s book “Republic” and Aristotle’s “Politics” describe in detail the authors’ ideas about music and education. It is shown that many of these ancient thoughts still are relevant for today’s debates. But it has to be considered that music can be misused to brainwash children and might have impact on the character in a way that cannot be accepted. Contemporary music (and arts) education has to face new challenges especially in connecting musical traditions to modern music in an attractive and creative way. Music ensembles probably offer the most influential environments for young people to develop character traits such as sensitiveness, empathy, respect. Feature films or the documentary “Rhythm Is It!” among others prove that the expectation that music might influence character building in a positive way is still alive. Keywords—music education; Greek philosophy; character building; Plato; Aristoteles; El Sistema I. ROOTS: ANCIENT GREECE At the first glance it might seem strange to travel back in time more than two thousand years ago. But remember that “music” is a loan word from Greek “musiké” that means “made by the muses” (“musiké techné”). It comprises among others music, play, dance, song and poetry. Music stands in the centre of the arts and has a significant role in Greek mythology. It is linked with the sphere of the gods by Apollo the lyre player and leader of the muses, favourite son of Zeus, the King of Gods. There are many tales connected with music. Probably the most prominent is the one about the musical competition between Apollo and the Satyr Marsyas who played the aulos. This is how the story goes: Marsyas had learned to play the aulos (a double oboe) very well. When he met the god Apollo, known for his mastery of the lyre, he challenged him to a contest to find out who was the better musician. The people around were invited to be judges. Apollo began playing the lyre but when it was Marsyas’ turn, the people judged the music higher. Thus, for the next round, Apollo sang and accompanied the song with his instrument. This time he was declared the winner of the contest. Marsyas claimed it was unfair because Apollo combined two arts – instrumental and vocal – and he himself could not. Apollo replied it was not unfair because both used an instrument and the mouth at the same time. Meanwhile Apollo was so enraged by the quarrel that he hung Marsyas on a tree and tore his skin off the body. Afterwards he was so shocked by his own violence that he destroyed his lyre and all the harmonies he had discovered were lost. This myth is important in our context because it connects music with certain character traits and demonstrates the juxtaposition of the musical instruments lyre and aulos. The string instrument is played by the god who represents artistry, sensibility and truth whereas the wind instrument is played by a satyr, a creature half man half animal. Marsyas is among the mob who accompanied the god Dionysus, half sibling of Apollo, god of wine, dance and ecstasy. Apollo and Dionysus are antipodes. And as the character traits of Apollo seem to be desirable and serve as an idol for education, Dionysus is the opposite, his character traits may be human too, but they have to be defeated by education. As an educational consequence the musical instruments that serve as symbols for these gods the lyre has a good reputation but the aulos has to be rejected. It was in this setting – differentiating between good and bad music, and debating positive and negative aspects of music – that Greek philosophers argued about the importance of music in education. II. GREEK PHILOSOPHER ON MUSIC EDUCATION

From Ancient Greece to Contemporary Music Education (Music and character building – more than a myth?)