Practice room etiquette aiding academia

I have taken private instruction with a musical instrument ever since I was a wee one: around 6 years old. Those 13 years have not only helped me be a better musician, but also a better student in the classroom.

I have learned many good habits like how to retain a new piece of information for extended amounts of time. I learned how to push myself to study the instrument in depth. Not only that, but I learned the importance of working with new information alone. It is very rare that you'll have a person with you every waking moment of your practice time telling you what to do and how to do it. There is a lot of self discovery in the practice room.

I not only learned how to be self-efficient, but I learned how to relate to other people in a learning environment. In music there is a lot of ensemble play, and a musician must be good at working with others. I learned how to communicate with other students both musically and with my words. It's helped with my social skills as well.

Music directly relates and helps students in general. I believe that it is a crucial part of a child's education. As it is, music education is in jeopardy in many schools across the country. We need to do our part as educators to see that this does not evaporate from the system and be lost: it would mean a decrease of performance in other areas-not just music.