Venezuela has a revolutionary and inspiring music education program, which aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and their families. El Sistema-mening'the system'-is a total-immersion program that bring children together to play music every day. Preschool children sit on their mothers' knees to sing,play rhythm games,or play with paper instruments that they make themselves.At age five,children start to play a real instrument,which is a thrilling experience for them. As soon as the children are good enough,they teach the younger ones. The program is highly successful. By high school, students are tackling some of the most difficult pieces of classical music. However, the program is demanding, and participants need to be committed; they practice after school every day and on weekendsare .