It is not unusual for people to cringe at the shrill sound of string instruments hitting the wrong notes. Yet, those mistakes made by new players is just the start of their musical beginning.

There were a few of those heard this week at the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra’s Ovation and Strings Attached summer camps as young students learned how to play music for the first time.

Playing music at a young age helps develop cognitive growth. It is just like learning another language. The more children learn at a younger age, the easier it is for them to retain it all of their lives.

As Raylene Carter, executive director for the orchestra, pointed out, learning music, not only impacts what kids will learn musically, but also gives them skills for life. As part of an orchestra, they learn patience waiting for their part to come in. They learn discipline needed for life as they learn the right notes. They learn that nothing comes easy and hard work pays off from their own practice. They learn the value of teamwork in playing in groups. Most importantly, they learn that just because something is hard, it is still achievable.

Mastering an instrument takes years and years of practice.

What the orchestra does for these kids is not only give them the chance to play, but to also help them keep continuing on with the instrument, no matter how challenging.

Kids make mistakes all the times in arts and sports and other extracurriculars activities, and it’s OK if they do. The important thing is to keep encouraging them so they can be at the level the need to be at to succeed. The LaGrange Symphony Orchestra knows that and is applying it to their students.