Trying to identify an instrument that you don't see everyday can be like trying to figure out a riddle, so I feel bad for the crew. Nonetheless, pax John Kaboff got kicked off of an American Airlines flight during boarding because the ticketed cello he brought on board was incorrectly identified as an instrument (bass-fiddle) that is only allowed underneath the plane. AA later realized the mistake, re-booked him, and are now in the process of giving him free stuff...

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2017/04/07/ ... 491572215/

Article quote:

"He said the crew incorrectly identified the instrument as a 'bass fiddle,' an instrument not allowed in the passenger cabin during flights, and would not listen when he told them it was a cello.
'The ground personnel and the gate agent said that someone's making an error with this and apologized on behalf of the airline,' Kaboff said.
He said he has frequently flown with his cello and only ever had one other issue, about 12 years ago."

You learn the difference in primary school.
It's not even 1/3 the size. One of them is a lot smaller than a person, one of them slightly larger. It's like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse. It's just common knowledge. Airlines needs to be a lot more humble and attentive when dealing with people's professional life and extremely valuable belongings. A Cello belonging to a professional musician could easily be several hundred thousand $ upwards to a million, and antique and irreplaceable on top of that.
People that buys tickets for their cellos are most probably professional musicians, and those who travel more than almost anyone are the top soloists. Denying them boarding can easily cancel a show for thousands of people, being planned years in advance and incure huge economic losses for innocent parties. It's just not acceptable to not be able to quickly google the measurements of a cello versus a double bass, choosing instead to expose someone else for these risks.

Your reply makes me do this: We never had exposure to anything but the tambourine, the triangle, and those little cymbals, until the 4th grade. Then we got upgraded to the recorder.

M564038 wrote:

...it's like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse. It's just common knowledge.

Eeesh. That seems little bit harsh.

nitepilot79 wrote:

M564038 wrote:

...it's like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse. It's just common knowledge.

Eeesh. That seems little bit harsh.

Haha! Yes, maybe. The tails are quite different after all.

But. Not subtle.

M564038 wrote:

nitepilot79 wrote:

M564038 wrote:

...it's like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse. It's just common knowledge.

Eeesh. That seems little bit harsh.

Haha! Yes, maybe. The tails are quite different after all.

I'm sure there are many people with common knowledge that enjoy listening to music and not playing music. Also, you're more likely to see a horse and/or dog everyday rather than an expensive musical instrument. So yes, your response could come across a bit harsh to people.

M564038 wrote:

But. Not subtle.

I hope they weren't walking through Central Park. I kid, I kid.

Edit: I guess call the instrument on the left "bird shit" and the one on the right "tree sap". I kid, I kid.

Just goes to show the sad state of musical education in this country

M564038 wrote:

But. Not subtle.

Whoa! If those two mate, what will the offspring look like? Or sound like?

nitepilot79 wrote:

Your reply makes me do this: We never had exposure to anything but the tambourine, the triangle, and those little cymbals, until the 4th grade. Then we got upgraded to the recorder.

Don't forget the Auto-Harp or Zither!

Tugg

msycajun wrote:

Just goes to show the sad state of musical education in this country

Not really surprising, as it's not an essentially (or even applicable) function to the vast majority of vocations, and education budgets keep getting cut.... so it's sorta inevitable really.

nitepilot79 wrote:

Trying to identify an instrument that you don't see everyday can be like trying to figure out a riddle, so I feel bad for the crew.

Why on earth would you feel bad for the crew? They chose to disbelieve the passenger, and to not even investigate. They chose their own ignorance, rather than even wonder if they might be wrong. A 10-second google search would have immediately solved this "riddle." The crew made poor decisions, so I don't feel one iota of sympathy for them.

I suspect Mr. Kaboff was feeling a bit irritated with the situation. Even if he was upset in his reaction, I still think the crew should have first given him the benefit of the doubt. He definitely paid full price for the extra seat for his cello, and he likely paid extra (or maybe got a status upgrade) to sit in a bulkhead seat, ensuring that he was in one of the first boarding group, so that he would have time to sort everything out at his seat.

LAX772LR wrote:

msycajun wrote:

Just goes to show the sad state of musical education in this country

Not really surprising, as it's not an essentially (or even applicable) function to the vast majority of vocations, and education budgets keep getting cut.... so it's sorta inevitable really.

As George Will would say.......Well!

I became neither a musician nor a vocalist, and am not in any sense adept at either. But the exposure that I was given to music in elementary school and in Jr. High has certainly turned out to be important to my life. In fact, much more important than algebra or dissecting frogs. I think that an education that is not rounded by humanities is no education.

Specialized education is of course critical after the basics have been taken care of.

I can remember the names of only a couple of my Jr. High teachers. Miss Broussard was our imperious music/choral teacher. She managed to get us on one of the Washington, D.C., television stations where we performed, among other pieces, "Ezekial Saw Them Dry Bones". I had a noise-making rattle and had to shake it when we came to the knee bone. I can still sing it 65 years later.

The sad part here is that neither the pilot and flight attendant could apparently be bothered to take the time to verify the passenger's information. Seriously, a bass is NOT a cello. I learned this in grade school, to parrot another poster. If there was a question, it couldn't have taken but a few minutes to check AA policies to verify that the cello was, indeed, allowed in the cabin. Instead, the man was booted from the flight - leave or we'll have you forcibly removed, and reading between the lines that means probably arrested - and inconvenienced. Seriously, a few minutes of common sense customer service and this wouldn't even have become an issue. But no...........

How did the worlds largest airline (on fleet numbers) let him on with that!

aerolimani wrote:

nitepilot79 wrote:

Trying to identify an instrument that you don't see everyday can be like trying to figure out a riddle, so I feel bad for the crew.

Why on earth would you feel bad for the crew? They chose to disbelieve the passenger, and to not even investigate. They chose their own ignorance, rather than even wonder if they might be wrong. A 10-second google search would have immediately solved this "riddle." The crew made poor decisions, so I don't feel one iota of sympathy for them.

I suspect Mr. Kaboff was feeling a bit irritated with the situation. Even if he was upset in his reaction, I still think the crew should have first given him the benefit of the doubt. He definitely paid full price for the extra seat for his cello, and he likely paid extra (or maybe got a status upgrade) to sit in a bulkhead seat, ensuring that he was in one of the first boarding group, so that he would have time to sort everything out at his seat.

Yes, and this is important, they are effectively making him choose between getting his $400,000(not uncommon cello value) instrument getting damaged in the hold, and not getting on the flight. Not bothering to do a simple google search, and instead boasting their ignorance and sense of power to throw the guy off the flight.

I've seen too much of that s*** during years of touring and tour managing.
Keeping the discussion going until gate closing and tell them "either this guitar goes in the cabin with the ten of us, or you will have to offload all of our luggage and risk being delayed, because without that guitar the show is cancelled anyway, and we can just as well stay at home." is a trick that is very unpleasant to pull, but did work against small, power hungry people from time to time.

Seing a double bass not getting loaded, with the guy supposed to do it shaking his head from the truck without trying, being explained "there is simply not room for a double bass in the forward cargo compartment of this airplane", makes you cherish being an aircraft enthusiast, aswell.
("I do believe you've got 2,4cm to spare, sir")

Ah well, most of the time it's an absolute joy to meet the great people working in the business which do their best to make people get to where they are supposed to get, with what they have to bring, so they are able to do what they are supposed to do.
Luckily most people are not at all like the ones leading to this thread, the culture offerings of the world would suffer greatly if instruments larger than laptops could not be carried unless on a private jet.

BobPatterson wrote:

I became neither a musician nor a vocalist, and am not in any sense adept at either. But the exposure that I was given to music in elementary school and in Jr. High has certainly turned out to be important to my life.

No doubt, but your specific situation is unfortunately anecdotal.

Musical education isn't essential to the overwhelming majority of vocations, nor to entry into most continuing education programs... sad, but true.

Thus it's guaranteed to get the short end of the stick, as primary education programs continue to be squeezed. No real way around that.

He should have stuck to a comb and wax paper.

M564038 wrote:

You learn the difference in primary school.
It's not even 1/3 the size. One of them is a lot smaller than a person, one of them slightly larger. It's like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse. It's just common knowledge. Airlines needs to be a lot more humble and attentive when dealing with people's professional life and extremely valuable belongings. A Cello belonging to a professional musician could easily be several hundred thousand $ upwards to a million, and antique and irreplaceable on top of that.
People that buys tickets for their cellos are most probably professional musicians, and those who travel more than almost anyone are the top soloists. Denying them boarding can easily cancel a show for thousands of people, being planned years in advance and incure huge economic losses for innocent parties. It's just not acceptable to not be able to quickly google the measurements of a cello versus a double bass, choosing instead to expose someone else for these risks.

How about lets assume more people have no music training vs do. If you have no music background it would not be "like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse." The fact you use the term Primary School shows your not from the US or other country that does not require music classes. It's nice you received that training, but large portions of the world do not. Using this analogy was rude to a large portion of those that do not get the chance some of us have had.

rbavfan wrote:

M564038 wrote:

You learn the difference in primary school.
It's not even 1/3 the size. One of them is a lot smaller than a person, one of them slightly larger. It's like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse. It's just common knowledge. Airlines needs to be a lot more humble and attentive when dealing with people's professional life and extremely valuable belongings. A Cello belonging to a professional musician could easily be several hundred thousand $ upwards to a million, and antique and irreplaceable on top of that.
People that buys tickets for their cellos are most probably professional musicians, and those who travel more than almost anyone are the top soloists. Denying them boarding can easily cancel a show for thousands of people, being planned years in advance and incure huge economic losses for innocent parties. It's just not acceptable to not be able to quickly google the measurements of a cello versus a double bass, choosing instead to expose someone else for these risks.

How about lets assume more people have no music training vs do. If you have no music background it would not be "like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse." The fact you use the term Primary School shows your not from the US or other country that does not require music classes. It's nice you received that training, but large portions of the world do not. Using this analogy was rude to a large portion of those that do not get the chance some of us have had.

Okay, then let's instead assume that at least one member of the flight crew owns and knows how to use a smartphone, and is capable of a quick google search. Instead, they just assumed the passenger was lying, and kicked him off the plane.

aerolimani wrote:

rbavfan wrote:

M564038 wrote:

You learn the difference in primary school.
It's not even 1/3 the size. One of them is a lot smaller than a person, one of them slightly larger. It's like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse. It's just common knowledge. Airlines needs to be a lot more humble and attentive when dealing with people's professional life and extremely valuable belongings. A Cello belonging to a professional musician could easily be several hundred thousand $ upwards to a million, and antique and irreplaceable on top of that.
People that buys tickets for their cellos are most probably professional musicians, and those who travel more than almost anyone are the top soloists. Denying them boarding can easily cancel a show for thousands of people, being planned years in advance and incure huge economic losses for innocent parties. It's just not acceptable to not be able to quickly google the measurements of a cello versus a double bass, choosing instead to expose someone else for these risks.

How about lets assume more people have no music training vs do. If you have no music background it would not be "like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse." The fact you use the term Primary School shows your not from the US or other country that does not require music classes. It's nice you received that training, but large portions of the world do not. Using this analogy was rude to a large portion of those that do not get the chance some of us have had.

Okay, then let's instead assume that at least one member of the flight crew owns and knows how to use a smartphone, and is capable of a quick google search. Instead, they just assumed the passenger was lying, and kicked him off the plane.

Keep in mind that the gate agent must have known, because he or she allowed the passenger and his instrument onto the plane. It surprises me that the crew didn't even have the good sense to check with the gate agent.

The crew could have been preoccupied that they didn't have the time to rifle through their belongings to find their phone & start Googling stuff.

Granted they could have handled it better, but we're judging with the benefit of hindsight. In the heat of the moment who knows how we'd react.

TheFlyingDisk wrote:

The crew could have been preoccupied that they didn't have the time to rifle through their belongings to find their phone & start Googling stuff.

Granted they could have handled it better, but we're judging with the benefit of hindsight. In the heat of the moment who knows how we'd react.

When it's the passengers who don't know the rules (as in the recent leggings incident), I'm absolutely prepared to cut the crew some slack. When the crew who doesn't understand their own company's policy, I'm less inclined to forgive.

I will concede that AA may need to clarify their musical instrument. After all, the only time somebody is going to call it a "bass fiddle" is if they play bluegrass, western swing, or honky-tonk.

Straight from the AA site:

If an instrument is too large to fit in the carry-on baggage space, an additional seat may be purchased. In this case, an instrument must travel in a window, bulkhead seat, with the customer in the adjoining seat. Due to their size Bass Fiddles are not accepted in the coach cabin and are only accepted on certain aircraft types, please contact an American Airlines representative.

If only there were some way to quickly access such information to verify it. Some sort of hand held or pocket device that had access to all the knowledge of the world for anyone willing to simply ask.

But alas, this is but a pipe dream, and without a stack of encyclopedia there is just no way anyone could have verified the claim in any reasonable amount of time.

ikramerica wrote:

If only there were some way to quickly access such information to verify it. Some sort of hand held or pocket device that had access to all the knowledge of the world for anyone willing to simply ask.

But alas, this is but a pipe dream, and without a stack of encyclopedia there is just no way anyone could have verified the claim in any reasonable amount of time.

I don't think crews preparing for flight are free to dish out their mobile phones and start Googling

TheFlyingDisk wrote:

ikramerica wrote:

If only there were some way to quickly access such information to verify it. Some sort of hand held or pocket device that had access to all the knowledge of the world for anyone willing to simply ask.

But alas, this is but a pipe dream, and without a stack of encyclopedia there is just no way anyone could have verified the claim in any reasonable amount of time.

I don't think crews preparing for flight are free to dish out their mobile phones and start Googling

So you are actually claiming it's quite ok to risk someone else's livelyhood or their $400,000 Cello, because it's somehow too difficult in 2017, for a major airline, to find the difference between a cello and a double-bass? Seriously?

rbavfan wrote:

M564038 wrote:

You learn the difference in primary school.
It's not even 1/3 the size. One of them is a lot smaller than a person, one of them slightly larger. It's like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse. It's just common knowledge. Airlines needs to be a lot more humble and attentive when dealing with people's professional life and extremely valuable belongings. A Cello belonging to a professional musician could easily be several hundred thousand $ upwards to a million, and antique and irreplaceable on top of that.
People that buys tickets for their cellos are most probably professional musicians, and those who travel more than almost anyone are the top soloists. Denying them boarding can easily cancel a show for thousands of people, being planned years in advance and incure huge economic losses for innocent parties. It's just not acceptable to not be able to quickly google the measurements of a cello versus a double bass, choosing instead to expose someone else for these risks.

How about lets assume more people have no music training vs do. If you have no music background it would not be "like not being able to see the difference between a dog and a horse." The fact you use the term Primary School shows your not from the US or other country that does not require music classes. It's nice you received that training, but large portions of the world do not. Using this analogy was rude to a large portion of those that do not get the chance some of us have had.

Here is a few better ways this could be solved:
-Remembering what you learnt in school
-being a well rounded, knowledgeable human being with some cultured knowledge.
-remembering seeing this before, as it is how every cellist in the world travels.
-doing a google search.
-consulting a co-worker
-consulting your own terms of carriage
-trusting the gate agent
-trusting the passenger
-using common sense and a bit of physics to conclude a >10Kg instrument with measurements in all directions being less than a small person, strapped in poses less of a risk in all concieveable ways than any passenger using the same seat.

There is no way of reasonably concluding that this could be a risk. No way. Only arrogance, proud ignorance and self-importance.
No excuse.

LAX772LR wrote:

No doubt, but your specific situation is unfortunately anecdotal.

Musical education isn't essential to the overwhelming majority of vocations, nor to entry into most continuing education programs... sad, but true.

Thus it's guaranteed to get the short end of the stick, as primary education programs continue to be squeezed. No real way around that.

Learning music at a young age is tied to increased brain functions and intelligence, not everything is about making you into a good worker bee.

AA policy on Cello's require them to be strapped in. According to article it wasn't. If pax was unable or unwilling to secure it with seat belt per AA rules, then the crew was correct.

sagechan wrote:

AA policy on Cello's require them to be strapped in. According to article it wasn't. If pax was unable or unwilling to secure it with seat belt per AA rules, then the crew was correct.

I suspect the article got that wrong.
Every soft-bag for cello, including the one shown in his video is strapable, and as a professional cellist he has flown many, many times before with his cello always being strapped. As it should. In a non-exit window seat.
The airline has confirmed they were in the wrong.

M564038 wrote:

sagechan wrote:

AA policy on Cello's require them to be strapped in. According to article it wasn't. If pax was unable or unwilling to secure it with seat belt per AA rules, then the crew was correct.

I suspect the article got that wrong.
Every soft-bag for cello, including the one shown in his video is strapable, and as a professional cellist he has flown many, many times before with his cello always being strapped. As it should. In a non-exit window seat.
The airline has confirmed they were in the wrong.

True, just pointing out that, according to article, there would be a valid reason for denial. Article also state confusion between type of instrument. I've seen one cello in the outstation I'm at in 12 years, hubs like dca should see then more, but still it's an item that may cause confusion due to not dealing with it on regular basis.

b747400erf wrote:

Learning music at a young age is tied to increased brain functions and intelligence, not everything is about making you into a good worker bee.

I'm not the one who needs convincing of that. Tell it to various depts of education.

aerolimani wrote:

Straight from the AA site:

If an instrument is too large to fit in the carry-on baggage space, an additional seat may be purchased. In this case, an instrument must travel in a window, bulkhead seat, with the customer in the adjoining seat. Due to their size Bass Fiddles are not accepted in the coach cabin and are only accepted on certain aircraft types, please contact an American Airlines representative.

Another interesting take away from the rule is that it is apparently OK for a Bass Fiddle to fly in First Class. They are very clearly stating it won't be accepted in the coach cabin. That is not an accidental statement by an airline, they know specifically what "coach cabin" means.

Tugg

Tugger wrote:

aerolimani wrote:

Straight from the AA site:

If an instrument is too large to fit in the carry-on baggage space, an additional seat may be purchased. In this case, an instrument must travel in a window, bulkhead seat, with the customer in the adjoining seat. Due to their size Bass Fiddles are not accepted in the coach cabin and are only accepted on certain aircraft types, please contact an American Airlines representative.

Another interesting take away from the rule is that it is apparently OK for a Bass Fiddle to fly in First Class. They are very clearly stating it won't be accepted in the coach cabin. That is not an accidental statement by an airline, they know specifically what "coach cabin" means.

Tugg

So, maybe an upright/double bass (or bass fiddle, as AA prefers) is allowed if you purchase two seats in First? That IS interesting. Of course, if you're a professional bassist who flies, you probably own a flight case, and it would almost certainly be cheaper to pay the baggage/shipping charges, and purchase an economy seat for yourself. Though if you make enough money, you might still prefer to pay for the first class seats, and keep it in the cabin. After all, Southwest manage to break this bass, despite it being in a $3000 flight case. http://www.thestrad.com/airline-smashes ... uble-bass/

Just for the information of anyone reading this thread: cellos, violas, and violins are very delicate. Even the best case will not protect them sufficiently. Even inside a case, falling 2 feet from one's hand to the floor can be enough to cause cracks, split seams, detached fingerboards, and worse. The upright/double bass is not unbreakable, but is somewhat more sturdy.

The instruments are constantly under tension from the strings. Loosening the strings is not really a good option either. Loosening can cause seams to open while the tension is released. Plus, when you loose the tension, and then re-add it, the instrument moves and re-adjusts, and the sound of the instrument is negatively affected.

The violin, viola, and cello are perhaps a little like the SR-71 and U2 of the music world. They are made of exotic materials, and they are high-performance devices which require very specific treatment and maintenance in order function at their best. Not to mention, a lot of training in order to play them well, to build them well, and to maintain them correctly.

aerolimani wrote:

So, maybe an upright/double bass (or bass fiddle, as AA prefers) is allowed if you purchase two seats in First? That IS interesting. Of course, if you're a professional bassist who flies, you probably own a flight case, and it would almost certainly be cheaper to pay the baggage/shipping charges, and purchase an economy seat for yourself. Though if you make enough money, you might still prefer to pay for the first class seats, and keep it in the cabin. After all, Southwest manage to break this bass, despite it being in a $3000 flight case. http://www.thestrad.com/airline-smashes ... uble-bass/

Well if the value is high enough ($100,000 and up?) then it would of course be worth it. And whoever would own such an instrument would definitely be able to afford two first class tickets (likely the cost would be in the contract for the performance).

Tugg

Tugger wrote:

Well if the value is high enough ($100,000 and up?) then it would of course be worth it. And whoever would own such an instrument would definitely be able to afford two first class tickets (likely the cost would be in the contract for the performance).

You are making a very large assumption, and in many instances, you are most definitely wrong. Just because a truck driver owns a $150,000 rig does not mean they are wealthy. A musician's instrument is simply the tool of their trade. Given that many musicians are paying off large loans for their instruments, it's even more reasonable to assume that they can't afford the 1st class ticket. A good instrument may be very expensive, but it is not a luxury commodity. Owning one is definitely not an indicator of wealth.

To any airline staff reading this, I hope that you will understand musicians just a little bit more. Most of us are NOT wealthy, and our instruments are literally our liveliehoods. In many instances, they are irreplaceable. No amount of insurance can replace a 18th century Italian masterpiece. Plus, any damage can permanently alter and/or ruin the sound. So… please forgive us for being sensitive about our babies.

Tugger wrote:

aerolimani wrote:

So, maybe an upright/double bass (or bass fiddle, as AA prefers) is allowed if you purchase two seats in First? That IS interesting. Of course, if you're a professional bassist who flies, you probably own a flight case, and it would almost certainly be cheaper to pay the baggage/shipping charges, and purchase an economy seat for yourself. Though if you make enough money, you might still prefer to pay for the first class seats, and keep it in the cabin. After all, Southwest manage to break this bass, despite it being in a $3000 flight case. http://www.thestrad.com/airline-smashes ... uble-bass/

Well if the value is high enough ($100,000 and up?) then it would of course be worth it. And whoever would own such an instrument would definitely be able to afford two first class tickets (likely the cost would be in the contract for the performance).

Tugg

I've had the pleasure of watching many a show where the guy playing upright bass, and the rest of the band, probably were buying half their everything secondhand. Some of these turn into big acts, more into the "musical middle class" who e.g. might do an overseas tour but travel completely by coach+trailer once they get on the ground. I'd be kind of surprised if the upright bass(es) backing somebody like Alison Krauss were near $100K in value.

treetreeseven wrote:

I've had the pleasure of watching many a show where the guy playing upright bass, and the rest of the band, probably were buying half their everything secondhand. Some of these turn into big acts, more into the "musical middle class" who e.g. might do an overseas tour but travel completely by coach+trailer once they get on the ground. I'd be kind of surprised if the upright bass(es) backing somebody like Alison Krauss were near $100K in value.

That would be Barry Bales, backing up Alison Kraus. Here's what he was taking on tour with her back in 2009, in his own words:

*For the last Alison Krauss tour:

100 yr old +/- German carved bass
D'Addario pizzicato strings
Fishman Full Circle pick up
Avalon U5 D.I.

Any 100-year-old handmade (carved, not flat back) bass is going to be worth a fair bit. Maybe not $100k, but somewhere from $20k-50k is not an unreasonable guess. I guarantee you, he's a little nervous every time he opens the case after a journey.

Classical musicians are the ones with the really expensive pieces. You should believe me when I tell you, they're really not in it for the money.

Double basses are more sturdy, less about sound, and more about function than a cello.
For jazz/pop/country/rockabilly, most of these instruments rarely exceedes the $10,000 mark and tracels in a sturdy flight case in the hold. But this was about a cello, which is mainly used in the classical world. I had a cellist do a recording session I was producing last week. He works and travels in a touring symphonic orchestra, he also travels every other week to a different country were teaches as a cello professor, as well as doing soloist work. He plays a $500,000 cello, that is owned by a foundation as a LONG term investment and loans them to talented musicians for more or less free. These instruments needs to be played to stay good.
He himself, 40 year old professional, is broke as a ...fiddle... I had to loan him cash for the bus.
So much for first class tickets.

planecane wrote:

b747400erf wrote:

Learning music at a young age is tied to increased brain functions and intelligence, .

Says studies done by people that want more funding for music programs.......

I'm not anti-music or anti-music education but actually proving this would be very difficult. It may just be that children adept at learning music at a young age can do so BECAUSE they have increased brain function and intelligence, not the other way around.

These things are well documented. Even though the original "Mozart-effect" stuff were a bit of a hyperbole, research has come a long way since that. Music education pays for itself, and believe me, no one somehow managed to overlook a simple chicken or egg variable.