Ricky Kej bats for teaching music in school: 'Understanding of music becomes better'

Three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej opens up on measures he’s taking to get the next generation ready for the music industry

Towards the close of the year, Ricky Kej hopes to kick off music courses at Bengaluru’s Chanakya University. By 2025, he intends to commence his “flagship degree program” that aims to give aspiring musicians solid training before they venture into the industry. Conversations with Kej are never lackadaisical. However, prod him about matters relating to the environment, and educating kids in the arts, and the three-time Grammy winner pours his heart out about projects that appease his heart.

Educating the next generation, he admits, is certainly among them. “Music education is extremely important, especially in schools. It’s not just about [providing] higher music education but about delivering basic education in the arts because, in doing so, the art form gets lifted. When you teach children physics and mathematics in school, not every child must become a professional mathematician or physicist. But providing that basic knowledge is important so that everyone understands the world better. That’s also how music is. If you provide kids with basic knowledge of music, everybody’s understanding of music becomes better. 

So, professional musicians like me do not need to constantly dumb down music while playing to audiences. If we play something that is sufficiently complicated, or something that I would love to present, I can be certain that people will understand it,” he says, citing that an aware society will subsequently continue to demand more from its artistes. 

Educating young kids, he is certain, is essential in a country where love songs and item numbers gain prominence. “That will change. People will start looking for better quality music, and that way the art form itself across the country will [improve] because people will appreciate better music and will crave quality.”

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