This article focuses on role of music education. If the society has changed how it values music, it is certainly worthwhile to reevaluate the role music should play in the education and development of a child. Children are not predisposed to be able to understand one style of music over another. Rather they learn traits of the style of their culture, just as they learn the grammar and syntax of their native tongue. In fact, the parallel with language, at least on this developmental level, is quite appropriate. Very early in their lives, infants are able to distinguish subtle differences in pitch and timbre (the qualities of a sound). At the same time, though, that a child's brain begins to focus on the sounds produced by what will become the primary language, his ears also become attuned to and accustomed to the content of the music of his society. Above all, it is important to remember that a child's brain learns how to process the sounds that meet his ear through repeated exposure. There are three models commonly used for bringing music into the classroom. The first is the most traditional, teaching music as a subject with the hope of turning out young people proficient in performing music. The second model is a more recent development, the result of much research into the neuroscience of learning that suggests that music can aid the brain in acquiring new information. The third model has traditionally been reserved only for younger children, and it involves music in the classroom as a kind of entertainment or diversion. Each of these models has value and deserves a place in the educational system, but each can be reevaluated in light of new perspectives on music. Any effects music can have on a developing brain are dependent on previous exposure, on a child's having begun to learn the syntax of the music he has heard. And any aesthetic and emotional power music can wield is dependent not only on the performers, but also on the listeners having a shared musicabulary. In short, music has beneficial effects only to the extent that music is shared: Active music making must be a part of daily lives if it is to have any long-term effects.