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Music fees and “payable to” information vary from school to school.

Congratulations!

Your child has chosen to start woodwind, brass or strings instruction this fall! This is exciting! But naturally, you are also apprehensive – “Will my child like it?” “How do we choose the right instrument?” “Will my child stick with it? After all, he’s tried karate, gymnastics, piano, and soccer… and has quit them all.” “Does my child even have any musical ability?”

A survey done a few years ago showed that 45 percent of parents responding would not buy a musical instrument or pay for lessons for their child unless they “knew that their child had some musical talent.” But how do you know if your child has musical talent if he’s never held an instrument or been taught how to play? How could you possibly know? Would you refuse to give your child golf clubs and take him to the driving range unless you knew that some day he’d be a scratch golfer? And even if your child never becomes a symphony musician (the musical equivalent of playing in the PGA), he may still be able to enjoy a lifetime of involvement in playing music, at whatever level – and that’s certainly an endeavor worth supporting!

Parents often ask: “Will my child like it? Will my child stick with it?” A child’s success in music is directly related to four factors: Support; Attitude; Consistency; and Openmindedness.

Support

Parents who are encouraging, especially through the difficult times, teach their children to reach out and to take risks, to rise to challenges, and to pursue their dreams with confidence. In contrast, parents who say, “My child never sticks with anything,” are being unfair to their children and laying the groundwork for a pattern of discouragement. This is true for any endeavor, not just music; but it is one of the reasons that studying music in school can have a lifelong benefit on a child’s psychosocial development.

Attitude

Parents who understand the value of music in a child’s education and the lifelong benefits of studying music will be thrilled that their children are participating in strings or band, and will give this endeavor their full support. Their enthusiasm will be contagious and their children will approach
their musical studies with excitement as well. For parents who may not have seen the research on this, please know that it is both plentiful and irrefutable.
Here are just a few examples:
• Middle school and high school students who participated in instrumental music scored significantly
higher than their non-band peers in standardized tests. University studies conducted in Georgia and Texas found significant correlations between the number of years of instrumental music instruction and academic achievement in math, science, and language arts. (University of Sarasota Study, Jeffrey Lynn Kluball; East Texas State University Study, Daryl Erick Trent).
• Musical training appears to dramatically enhance a child’s abstract thinking skills and spatialtemporal ability – skills necessary for mathematics and science – even more than computer instruction does (Dr. Frances Rauscher, Univ. of California-Irvine).
• Students in school music programs show an 11 percent improvement in academics after one year of music study, a 14 percent improvement after two years, a 17 percent improvement after three years, and a 23 percent improvement after four years.
(Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser, Attitude Concepts for Today).
• High school music students score higher on SATs in both verbal and math than their non-musical peers. In 2006, SAT takers with four years of coursework/experience in music performance scored 100 points higher than students with no coursework/experience in the arts. (The College Board, Princeton, N.J.).
• A school band or orchestra is a microcosm of society. It teaches cooperation, respect, listening skills, analysis and synthesis, creativity and expression, personal responsibility, interpersonal communication; all the psychosocial skills most sought after by Fortune 500 corporations in future employees. In short playing a musical instrument teaches life skills that are adaptable (and applicable) to every personal and professional challenge.

You can go to our music advocacy page for many more reasons that your child should continue to study music throughout his/her entire school career. Studying music benefits a child’s education in ways that no other subject can, as the skills needed to excel in music are transferable to every academic subject.

Consistency

Music can contribute great value in every family’s daily lifestyle, and in recognizing this importance of music in every child’s education; your child an “catch” this attitude early on. If parents consider music an academic subject (rather than co- or extra-curricular), they will give performing music classes the same priority they give all other academic subjects. They will insist that their children do their music homework (i.e., practice) just like every other academic subject’s homework, and will enforce the same consequences for not doing music homework as for neglecting other homework. If children do their homework regularly, they will progress, just like in every other academic subject.
Once they progress, and begin to play well, playing will be its own reward. We all love to do what we do well. On the other hand, we all hate falling behind or not being “as good as everyone else” at something. Because performing music requires neuromuscular and psychomotor development as well as intellect, doing daily music homework is usually necessary before a child can progress enough to “like it.”

Open-mindedness

Encourage your child to keep his/ her mind open about choosing an instrument until he/or she has learned about all the instruments at the school recruitment program. Mom may think it’s a great idea that her son play saxophone, but the child may be too small even to hold the sax correctly or to reach around the palm keys. Also remember that instruments are not gender-specific. James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal, and Tadeu Cohelo are all worldfamous (male) flutists. Deanna Swoboda is a professional tuba player. The instrument(s) that a child is best physically suited to play, and that offers him/her the best opportunity for success, are the instrument(s) they should be encouraged to play. After the learning about instruments in the school assembly program, many students decide on a totally different instrument than they’d originally planned on . . . and they are happier and more excited about playing than ever! It’s a great opportunity for your child to see and hear all the instruments offered to beginning students; rather than simply choosing what looks the shiniest, what all the “cool” kids are playing, what Mom or Dad or an older sibling once played, or what’s been sitting up in Grandma’s attic for 40 years, because “it’s what we already own.”

As far as violin/cello sizing, it is crucial that your child is properly sized for the instrument of his/her choice. Instruments that are too large or too small can cause discomfort, and even pain. If playing is uncomfortable for your child, you are dooming him/her to failure in music class. Even if you’ve found a “great deal” online, or have a family “heirloom,” if it’s the wrong size for your child, it’s unfair to ask him/her to play it.

A Financial Investment

Participation in elementary instrumental music classes does not have to be expensive. Many beginning instruments can be rented or leased for very reasonable monthly rates. Parents may try to save money by buying an inexpensive instrument either online, or at a big box discount store that is not a true school music dealer, believing this to be the least expensive way to get an instrument. Some might say they don’t want to spend money on a better quality instrument “until we know the child likes it.” But some of these instruments are not at all suitable for school use – they are not made for durability, parts may not be available should they break, they may not even play in the correct key. This is unfair to your child, and not less expensive, either – you may spend more money on repairs than you did for the instrument itself.

Brands and models have changed a great deal from when we were in school band. New brands from a variety of sources are springing up practically every day, some suitable for school use and others not. You may want your child to play the instrument you loved so much when you were in school, but that is not always wise (or inexpensive). Your child maybe uncomfortable with a tarnished old instrument, in a case that looks (and smells) nothing like anyone else’s, and is probably significantly heavier to carry around. The fact that the instrument you once played “looks too old” to your child is not nearly as important as the fact that parts may no longer be available for that instrument, or that the re-pad it needs would cost more than the instrument is worth. Sentimentality is a great reason to have your old instrument made into a lamp or displayed on the wall; it’s not a good reason for your child to be at a disadvantage in his/her music class.

In the long run, the least expensive way to obtain an instrument for your child is from a reputable school music dealer who carries brand-name instruments and backs them up with warranty and service. Our official supplier is The Instrument Place and they offer all these things plus free delivery to school for the first day’s lesson.

With your support and encouragement, your child will succeed in music class. He or she will love it. He/she will learn skills that will benefit him throughout his life. Whatever investment you make will pay huge dividends in your child’s cognitive, academic, social, and creative development. And your whole family will benefit from being involved in music as well. Please allow us to wish you and your child great success in all of his/her musical endeavors.