Music teaches discipline.  Kids learn to practice daily and diligently in order to improve.  Music teaches expression.  Kids learn to express feelings and emotions in ways other than words.  Music teaches fine motor control.  I can think of no other activity that requires such fine motor activity.  The movement to create a steady, beautiful vibrato…the bow control to produce a delicate sound one moment, and a fierce sound the next…the rapidity of finger motion when playing a very technical passage of music.  Music teaches reading.  Kids learn to read using a complex symbol system which has been proven to aid children who are also learning to read the written word.  Music teaches listening.  Kids learn to listen to a very high degree when studying music.  Music teaches concentration.  Kids have to concentrate to practice, read music, coordinate their muscles, and express themselves musically.  Music is intrinsically rewarding.  Kids learn to play because they enjoy it.  Music teaches history.  Kids learn about and experience the Baroque culture as they learn to play a dance written from that time period.  Music is social.  Kids enjoy playing together in groups and learn to communicate in ways other than spoken language.  Music engages many different kinds of learning: aural—when the child is listening to the sounds s/he is making, learning to improve the sound quality or intonation; visual—when the child reads music, or uses visual cues to aid in finger placement, bow technique, etc.; and kinesthetic—when the student learns to coordinate all the complex body movements needed to play a stringed instrument.

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