Last week I spend almost 3 days with over 40 high-school students as a chaperon on a trip to a musical competition in Chicago (the group included my youngest son). I came away really impressed with the richness that is being added to these students' lives through the beauty and power of music. This reminds me that the smartest thing I ever did was to marry my wife, among whose many fabulous attributes is a deep love for music that has resulted in all four of my sons being skilled musicians. She also knows how to encourage young people who don't always want to practice enough. I feel that the musical experiences and discipline they have all had form an important part of their lives and make them more well-rounded, fulfilled, and capable young people.

On the other hand, there's me. My sweet mother tried. At age 8, she got me signed up for piano lessons. I took them off and on for about three years, typically not practicing enough. One day we had a recital at our church. I thought I did OK. But the next time I whined and said I didn't want to keep taking piano lessons, she said OK and that was it. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I learned that my "OK" performance was so horrific that she was mortified in front of her friends and happy to pull the plug. Ouch. My bad, of course, but today I feel regret for having been so dense and quitting.

I shared this story with a musician friend recently who said, "I've never heard an adult say that they regretted being pushed by their mother to keep taking piano lessons." Any counterexamples out there?

Music not only adds richness to one's personal life, it can be a powerful tool to serve and inspire others. The skills of an organist or pianist, for example, are in demand in so many parts of the Church. The ability to sing or teach others to sing is a wonderful gift that can bless children and adults in the Church and beyond.

My observation of teenagers in the Appleton area is that the kids who are serious about music are generally well above average in terms of character and "classiness," in spite of all the problems they may have and all the temptations they fall into. There may be multiple reasons for this, not necessarily cause and effect, but I can't help but suspect that music and its rigors do something good for he individuals that is reflected in other aspects of their lives.
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