Why it's worth it

On the SuzukiChat list Julie (of LivingMath fame) asked if there were other parents of multiple multi-instrument Suzuki children expending as much time, money and energy as she is, and if so, what we felt the deeper value of the musical experience was that justified all that sacrifice. Her question got me thinking. Here's my partial list of things of deep value that my kids have got through their music studies:

• the experience of committing to something over the long-term
• the experience of small incremental gains resulting in impressive overall progress
• experience breaking large overwhelming tasks into small achievable ones
• a long-term community of fellow-learners
• a meaningful daily chore / routine
• an appreciation of the fact that everyone learns differently and at different speeds, and that there's value in all that learning, no matter the pace
• guided experience with the supportive appreciation of others' good work
• meaningful, authentic and non-competitive involvement in 'teamwork' endeavours -- like working towards an ensemble performance
• the abiding knowledge that they have something they can do very well
• something that they are expected to work very hard at ... especially important for children to whom much comes very easily
• an arena in which to work the kinks out of the parent-as-facilitator/child-as-learner relationship
• something to do as teenagers besides hang out at the mall or the corner store
• a common language with children and adults from other places, other walks of life and other cultures
• a ticket into non-age-stratified groups where they are valued for
  their contributions as much as anyone else, adults or otherwise
• meaningful, long-term relationships with adult mentors
• copious exercise for the "memory muscle"
• a place where their [homeschooling] parents can figure out what makes them tick in terms of learning style and motivation
• the chance for the child to figure out what learning strategies and learning modes suit him best
• a window into history
• a creative / emotional outlet
• opportunities for travel
• a positive visible profile in the larger community
• a useful marketable skill ... and one that can be used to contribute voluntarily to the community, whether by participation in fundraising concerts or simply by playing a few pieces at the nursing home at tea-time
• experience with preparing and executing a performance/presentation in the public limelight
• a cohort of similarly-committed peers to draw on for friendships during adolescence and beyond
• an intuitive appreciation of the mathematical patterns inherent in music
• the sense of being part of a family 'culture' of music