The Value of Music in Basic Education “Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.” Herbert Jeffrey Hancock, famed American musician, defined music’s transcendental nature very aptly. Music is now widely recognized as a learning medium, an educational tool, and a means of expressiveness of creativity. Modern education emphasizes the importance of using learning methods that will effectively teach children having a variety of learning needs. The old “one size fits all” education system is rapidly being overcome by a more flexible and welcoming system that caters to each child’s individual learning needs. Elementary education is the first level of learning children are exposed to so it is imperative that their foundation is concrete and long lasting. Contrary to rote memorization techniques of the past, modern teaching techniques let children learn at their own pace. In some cultures inclusion of music as a learning element from an early age is not an alien concept at all, e.g. in ancient Indian, Chinese, and even African American cultures. It has been a part of everyday cultural and religious learning for young children. In his paper “The History and Development of Multicultural Music Education as Evidenced in the Music Educators Journal, 1967-1992”, Terese M. Volk sheds light on how music educators were initially encouraged to adopt a multicultural music perspective and include all kinds of music in their curriculum. The paper describes in detail the struggle for American teachers to implement multiculturalism in their classrooms and their eagerness to attain good results with it. The primary reasons educators are eager to include music as a learning tool is because the elementary age is ripe and perfect to enhance mental development. Research like “Music Therapy in Obstretics: A Review” by Cathy H. McKinney shows that music therapy works on unborn