In order to be successful musicians and successful 21st-century citizens, students need to have experience:

1. Creating music.

2. Performing music, as singers and as instrumentalists, in their lives and careers.

3. Responding to music, as well as to their culture, their community, and their colleagues.

4. Connecting personal interests, experiences, ideas, and knowledge to creating, performing, and responding.

--2014 National Association for Music Education (NAfME)