Reusing music sheets is a poor idea

By Jared Tse

How many times can you listen to the same song in a row? 10, 20, or even 30 times? I know I can’t listen to the same song more than 20 times before I feel like going crazy.  I just want t0 smash my speakers or rip apart my earphones. Students at Irvington High School’s music department are forced to reuse older music from previous years due to budget cuts.

Every year new music comes out, making songs from even two or three years ago seem outdated. Yet sometimes the music does not even last that long. “After using the same music sheets for a while” said choir teacher Jennifer Olson, “they fall apart making them unusable.” Having a pile of shredded music sheets in the recycle bin may be good for the environment but I think having new music for the music department would be best for our school. Even worse than shredded music is music not suitable for the party playing them. “Sometimes the older music is not even written for a band to play.” band teacher Charlie Rodda explained. If the music is not suitable for you to play then why should you play it at all? Music sheets, just like textbooks need to be replaced, otherwise they become damaged and dated, and let’s be honest we all want new textbooks.

With the deteriorating condition of the music sheets, there soon will not be any music to reuse next year. Maybe it is for the better. I think it is because now the music department will have an excuse to buy new music that is much needed.