Philosophy Philosophy Music is a profession requiring talent, knowledge, skill, and dedication.
Employment depends almost entirely on demonstrated competence.
Success is based primarily on work rather than on credentials. Experience tells us that music, though dependent on talent, inspiration, and creativity, requires much more to function as a significant spiritual and educational force. Talent without skills, inspiration without knowledge, and creativity without technique can account for little but lost potential. The primary purpose of schools of music is to help individual students turn talent, inspiration, creativity, and dedication into significant potential for service to the development of musical culture in its multiple dimensions. Therefore, the focus of NASM's work is on issues of musical content and educational substance as applied to the preparation of music professionals.