Music: How important is it to
your child?

Dr. Wilson also compares learning music skills to athletes who learn sports skills. "There are more similarities between musicians and athletes than differences," he says. He notes that most sports players do not intend to have professional level skills after the first year of practicing. However, it is common for young musicians to feel discouraged when they don’t sound professional after a year of training. Dr. Wilson says that for music lessons to succeed, the student must take pride in every step of his success, every step that leads him closer to sounding like the professional.

Margie Kersey, director of the Tucson Girls Chorus, says that research shows that when children are exposed to music education from a young age (such as 2 or 3 years of age on), that they improve other cognitive skills. "These children are also better students. They can determine and decipher information better and they are better readers. Personally, they are better children too. The discipline it takes to work with music, the continual effort and determination and follow through builds self-esteem," she says.