Joanne Lipman recently interviewed industry leaders from fields as diverse as business and marketing to the film industry and journalism... what they all have in common was music. They all claim that music helped them learn to focus, taught them discipline, allowed them to discover new ways of thinking and communicating, and even allowed them to problem solve. Other claimed that it made them see the value of working together on a project (an ensemble) while also showing them that at times they need to branch out and express their opinion and individuality (a solo).
Considering this, it is amazing that when budgets need to be cut, the music and arts are among the first programs to have their funding removed. Music programs along with the arts and sports are normally not seen as vital to the education process and are thus expendable....
Thoughts?