Young musicians, as well as other young artists, often have to work in groups. Playing in a small ensemble is one of the best possible ways to learn how to work with others. It requires listening, responding, and asserting your own “voice” while supporting the voices of your fellow members, in a way that contributes to the beauty of the whole. Research tells us that one of the most important reasons Japanese education produces such productive workers is not the many hours in classrooms, or rote learning, or longer days, but the fact that children are taught in school how to work well in groups. The arts provide a natural place for learning to work in groups.