Music, one of the original seven liberal arts, is an ideal vehicle for exploring the core values of a liberal arts education. Studying music at Grinnell College not only provides a rich array of performing opportunities, it also allows students to cultivate more diverse skills and modes of inquiry than usually possible at a conservatory. Courses in performance, composition, and improvisation train students in the arts of communication and critical thinking through creative expression and careful listening; they also provide hands-on application of concepts learned in other music courses. Conversely, courses in music theory, history, and culture challenge students to apply their musical skills: to mediate between the spoken/written word and the nonverbal world of musical expression, to use musical ideas to interpret data and solve problems, and to place music within intellectual and cultural contexts.