Over the many years that I have been teaching music lessons whether in the public schools or with my private lessons, I have learned one very important truth…that music students are GOOD kids! They are in fact some of the finest students in a school who often appear on the honor rolls and are always respected by their teachers. They are valuable assets to school clubs such as debate, robotics and other academic teams. They often hold class leadership positions and are highly engaged in their schools activities. I’ve had school bus drivers tell me that they love volunteering to take the orchestra kids to their concerts and festivals because these students don’t cause problems and because they have a reputation of being some of the best passengers one could hope for.
In all my travels with the many youth music ensembles, I know that I’ve never had to worry that my students were causing problems, that they weren’t in places where they shouldn’t be and I’ve had the presence of mind that they were always respectful of their location, their purpose and to the general population. Not long ago when visiting New York City with my high school orchestras, one of the attending parents commented about how relaxed I was with the students in such a busy city. As I contemplated her comment, I had to ask myself if I was being too relaxed and began to question my procedures. And yet, I knew these were not just any group of kids from a high school. These were the high school orchestra students! I knew what kind of character these students had and as a result was able to trust them – far away from campus and far away from home.
As a Masters Degree student focused on violin performance and music education, I created a list of words that would describe the characteristics of music students. Obviously, it takes a good teacher with high standards and expectations that helps shape youth by providing great learning experiences while also being a mentor, however I will always be a firm believer that the characteristics that music students develop as they also develop their music abilities are far better than many of their peers. And, while this list is not conclusive, it’s a good start for anyone to understand the value of music in the lives of youth. I have found that youth involved with formal music training tend to develop these characteristics through their formative years:
- Friendliness
- Poise
- Kindness
- Caring
- Well-rounded
- Sensitivity
- Thoughtfulness
- Well-Mannered
- Mental Agility
- Good Personality
- Good Musicianship
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Stage Presence
- Leadership Abilities
- Organizational Skills
- Efficiency
- Balanced Sense of Self
- Strong Aesthetic Sense
- Strong Sense of Values
- Good Problem-Solving Skills
If you are a parent looking for ways to help foster these traits and characteristics in your child, then I strongly encourage you to consider music training as the method to achieve these and many other desired results.