Aristotle, in Ethica Nicomachea, discusses at some length the relationship of the quality of a man and the quality of the music he listens to, for example, “A good man is one that delights in virtuous actions and is vexed by vicious ones, as a musical man enjoys beautiful melodies but is pained at bad ones.” Aristotle in fact makes this one of his basic principles of music education.
This general topic would be present for the next 1,500 years and finds an echo in William D. Revelli’s famous observation,
A boy who blows a horn will never blow a safe!
Should indoor music education today be concerned with developing character in the student?
