Popular Music (to include jazz, blues, rock & roll, soul, country and western, and many sub genres) and the entire music industry as we know it, was created and invented first in America and has become an important export around the world—frequently copied, emulated, and admired. Other countries look to American musical artists as experts in these musical art forms and it is important for American
s to embrace this leadership role in the world artistic community with proper intention, integrity, and creative vision. American Popular Music is more than just sounds, poetry and entertainment. Jazz and American Popular Music represent the very freedom upon which our nation is founded—not just the best of what it means to be an American, but indeed what it means to be a human being. We do not live in a vacuum where disciplines are separate and isolated. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM subjects) are enhanced when combined with music and the arts, and this process of cross-pollination has led to some of our country’s greatest scientific innovations. Popular Music and Jazz are wonderful indigenous American art forms worthy of much more study and research. Lives and livelihoods will continue to be devoted exclusively to music—commercial, educational, and the more esoteric and artistic forms. Furthermore, through music (art) and technology, students can be encouraged to explore and participate in STEM careers. The benefits resulting from relating artistic and musical skills to other academic subjects will be apparent in academic curriculums and cultural systems nurtured by the innovation of the Musical Institute for Knowledge and Education. The Musical Institute for Knowledge and Education will increase awareness, understanding and appreciation of our national treasure, American Popular Music and Jazz—something that is in danger of being lost due to budget cuts for music and the arts in public schools, community colleges and universities—and will foster innovation and originality to emphasize the significance of blending artistic and musical skills with other academic disciplines, especially the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).
