@surftohealth88 Classical music has an unfortunate tendency to impose perfectionism on kids. In hospital, I had one nurse who had dropped out of a university music performance programme and taken up hospital nursing because she found it less stressful (!!!). My own spouse has had a lifelong struggle with the perfectionism imposed on her by ballet classes and violin lessons when she was young.

It doesn't have to be that way — both dance and classical music can be joyful — but adults insist on crushing that in children with exams, competition, and constant criticism. Ballet is especially evil, because of the body shaming involved for tween and teen girls ("you're too tall to be a chorus dancer, and not good enough to be a prima").

It makes me furious every time I think about it. 😡 I guess I'm lucky that my parents couldn't afford a piano *or* lessons when I was 9 and begging for them; I played cello at school (and later the city youth orchestra) starting at age 10, then mostly taught myself classical guitar starting at age 17. At age 61, I haven't lost an iota of my joy in it (in fact, I think I love it even more). Everyone should have a right to that, if they want it.