In be United States the most popular form of folk dancing has been square-dancing since the earlier days. In those days, men and women worked in groups to build a house or harvest crops. When the work was done, they usually danced merrily and happily in a store or in a farm kitchen.

Nowadays square-dancing is still performed. A square, which has four sides, is formed by four couples. Each couple stands on one side of the square, the man on the left and the woman on the right. That is to say, one square has eight people and they stand facing the center of the square.

Large or small numbers of people can dance together. Sometimes as many as 800 or 1,000 people may be dancing all at the same time.

Costumes are worn by those who do the square-dancing. This makes the dancing more colorful to watch. Men may have colored shirts and western trousers they wear only on special days. Women often wear full skirts of different colors with a pretty blouse. In some country areas, everyone wears their best clothes.

Today in all parts of the US you will find some schools, clubs, or other groups that are square-dancing for fun. They enjoy it very much.

Now a lot of people are paying much money to get their children the music teaching. As we know to learn an instrument such as the violin or accordion takes years. The job opportunities for musicians are scarce and competition is fierce. Then why are more people than ever before paying a lot of good cash to get their children the best music teaching they can afford?

The secret lies in the influence of music on the whole person. It has been found that learning a musical instrument actually increases a person’s IQ over time. Different instruments and different types of music have varying effect, with classical music and the string family coming out on top, potentially increasing you IQ by up to 12 points!

When is a good time to start learning music? Experts have found that even the fetus can benefit from listening to classical music. Surround yourself and your family with good music from the first. The Suzuki Piano Method teaches children from the age of 3 years piano, with two lessons per week. From preschool, children can learn to read music and play from sheet music. Progress in learning your instrument is directly proportional to the amount of practicing.

Is there such a thing as an unmusical child? Shinichi Suzuki proposes that music is the native home language of all human beings and therefore nobody can be “unmusical”. Of course there are exceptional talents, compared to which others may seem to be slower learners.

Is there any benefit for adults in starting an instrument? Apart from the purely relaxing aspect, yes. Learning an instrument can earn even adults additional IQ points, and as added benefit in improves your health by reducing your stress levels. Your social life may benefit too, if you are prepared to come out of your box and join occasions such as Childish (musical get-togethers) or arrange house concerts. It has been established that people who play instruments tend to be more emotionally balanced and more patient with themselves, others and life in general.

So go ahead, sign up for that amateur orchestra, dust off your old trombone or take your first real six-string down from the attic; get out there and play!

When I heard the piano, I walked to Mrs. Windsor’s house and waited outside as I always did. That meant she was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. I stood against the wall and daydreamed what I’d rather be doing. “Almost anything”, I sighed dejectedly. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn’t have a gift for it. It didn’t come to me naturally. I thought back to happier times when I was writing stories and acting them out with my friends, cutting up old clothes to make dresses that performers wear in plays, and building scenery out of old things we found. But Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt my duty to try.

The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music.

“Hello,” I heard a voice behind me say softly. I turned around to see a little girl standing behind me, eating an apple. But before I could make any response, Mrs. Windsor walked into the room in her usual urgent manner and announced, “Jennifer, this is my niece, Pasha. Pasha, this is Jennifer. Pasha will be giving you your lesson today. I’m up to my ears in something else!” she then exited to the kitchen.

Pasha set her apple down on the side table and slid beside me on the piano bench.

“What piece do you like best?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “They’re all the same to me. I don’t know.

“You mean you don’t have a favorite?”

“No, not really.”

Pasha looked at me, rather puzzled, then opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys and studied the notes on the page for a moment. Then I frowned and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I have to admit I was a rather mechanical pianist.

After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. “What are you hearing in the music?” I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn’t know what she meant.

“Like a story. What story is being playing out within the music?”

“I guess I’ve never thought about it before. I don’t know.”

“Here, let me try and you listen,” Pasha advised.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play. “See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?”

Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. “Now the princess appears and she’s picking flowers from the water’s edge.”A carefree, happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha’s dancing fingers. “Oh, but she slips!”The music changed. “And our princess is being carried off by the fast-flowing stream. Quickly, the princess’s horse sees her plight (困境),” Pasha continued, “and races to the river’s edge where he swims out to let her catch hold of him. They make it to the bank and she hugs her faithful horse and swears she will never again wear princess skirts that weigh her down.” Pasha finished with a big smile and then looked at me.

“Aren’t you the girl who tells the stories?” she asked.

“I guess. I do tell a lot of stories.”

“Oh, yes! All the kids talk about them. I’ve heard about you. Well, all you have to do is learn to hear the stories in the music. That’s all there is to it.”

“I’ve never thought it that way.”

“Let’s try another one, shall we?”Pasha smiled and together we played that afternoon, finding the stories in the music and learning that sometimes it takes a friend to pull you out of the river onto dry land again.