The old axiom is penny wise and dollar foolish. I don't think that there is any place that can be more applicable than your child's music education. I typed "positive benefits of music education" into my search engine of choice and I got 135,000,000 results. Here's a composit of the top two results.
Self-esteem. Music allows students to try something new and develop confidence as they master singing or playing an instrument.
Listening skills.
Math skills.
Making the brain work harder.
Relieving stress.
Creativity.
Helping special needs children.
Enhanced language capabilities.
Improved memory.
Strengthened hand-eye coordination.
Powerful study habits.
Teamwork.
Mental processing & problem-solving heightened.
These finding are based on decades of research and testing.
Let's get ground level pragmatic about this. Nationally, a college education costs an average of $35,000 per student per year. Up that to $75,000 for an Ivy League school. Wow. So do you think that anything you can do to enhanse your child's chances of getting a scholarship down-the-road would be a good idea? So do I. And many parents agree because they are willing to spend $2000 or more annually for private music lessons. Yet so many will turn to eBamAzon to find the absolutely cheapest violin possible for their kids to take their lessons and practice on. These instrument are typically very low qualtity, poorly set up and very difficult to play. I've seen quite a few parents take these instrument to their child's first lesson only to have them rejected by their teacher.
My wife and I are musicians and we believe in the power of music in lives of children. You can buy a decent, well set up student violin for $400 to $650 or rent one for $20 to $30 per month. If you don't come to us please go to one of the other good violin shops in greater Portland/Vancouver. Someday down the road you're kids will probably thank you.
Keep Practicing,
Craig Birchfield for Allegro Violin and Music