Sir, The wider benefits of music education are not limited to school age (letter, May 31). Some years ago I was delighted but surprised to discover that the music department of which I was head had the best record for employment within the university.

When my colleagues and I questioned employers of our graduates, several stated that they rated highly the methods used in practising an instrument or voice. Students learn to:

• identify a problem;
• isolate it;
• apply or invent an exercise to overcome it;
• work at it;
• replace it in its context;
• then move on to the next problem

— a sequential process as valuable outside of music as within.

Yours faithfully

GEORGE PRATT

(Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Huddersfield)

from The Times (The Times content is behind a pay wall) 3rd June 2004