ABSTRACT
This chapter argues for a closer consideration of the growing impact significant learning experiences in music have on human development, health, and life satisfaction from early childhood forward. From a twenty-first century perspective, humans have evolved to the extent that the near-universal ability to create and respond to music establishes musical growth as an inextricable and therefore essential part of human development. Music is known to have far-reaching benefits neurologically, is ubiquitous culturally, and leads to an integrative understanding of interdisciplinary concepts and symbol systems. Historically, many parents and educators had objected to a policy of using public funds to provide a fully accessible, authentic, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary study of music for all children on the grounds that developing significant musical skill is a poor investment in public education. Children across cultures are born with the capacity to interact informally with their parents using sounds, songs, and gestures to communicate musically.
