Amid all the classes to take, clubs to join, friends to run around with and all other sorts of general collegiate mayhem, it can be easy to run out of time for the arts. As midterms rolled around, we put things on pause to make room for studying. Our calendars are booked, and the free time we have we use to relax. As I’ve been writing this column about improving the music situation on campus, I’ve realized that a simple way to build it up is if people just make more time for it.

Give up your studies! Devote your life to your instrument! No—students here clearly have certain priorities. But it’s still useful to think about how the priorities play out. Arguably, we’re mostly here to learn, right? We have amazing faculty who impart all varieties of important knowledge and research into our little heads. We need time to do the readings, to go to lecture, to finish the problem sets. With only four years, we pile up the units each quarter to fit in as many classes as possible. And that’s not even enough—f seniors always bemoan the fact that they ran out of time to take the dozens of other classes that looked interesting. Not to mention that people generally try to get good grades.

But academics aren’t the only way to learn. Though music is a specific subject, playing an instrument is its own satisfying type of learning. Aside from the fun of creating music, instruments can supplement our studies in other areas. Being taught how to manipulate these little musical machines can demonstrate all kinds of concepts, from emotion to physics to culture. And if you join a musical group, you get to deal with all sorts of group dynamics and management issues.

Clearly you can learn from music if you want to add that means of learning into your life. But we’re not just in college to learn; you could learn most things from books. College also gives us a community of friends and peers to enjoy. One of the most exciting parts about showing up at Stanford was the possibility of meeting, knowing and making friends with some crazy-awesome people. Burying yourself in academics at the expense of friends isn’t all that rewarding, and (if you take a cynical career perspective) it denies you a big networking opportunity.

Luckily, having fun with friends doesn’t have to be a reason to ignore the arts and music either. As I’ve talked about before, a lot of students here are pretty amazing musicians. If you play an instrument, you can join a group, or put one together. Even if you don’t play, you can attend your friends’ concerts and performances. I’m not suggesting people aren’t doing this—we have tons of music groups, and we’ve all heard a friend shout, “I see you [insert name]!” at student shows.

But there are several times when I’ve seen music take a back seat. When that instrument sits under the bed, collecting dust. When those two hours during that concert on a Friday seem essential for studying even though the test is Monday. When a full schedule equates to a student group and classes without any music lessons.

There are plenty of good reasons to study, and I don’t mean to suggest sacrificing for the sake of the arts. But all the time spent procrastinating or wasting time out of laziness—f those are prime moments to pull the instrument out of the closet and be creative. Facebook and YouTube don’t need you. When you’re 40, you’ll more fondly remember jamming with your friends or that awesome concert you went to.

I know I’m just another person pleading for more participation and appreciation of the arts. And I know that we’re all ridiculously busy—it’s not like music is neglected on campus. But in college and in life, it’s easy to get caught up in the routine and push some things down the priority ladder. So don’t let music go too much by the wayside.

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