Music lessons assigned as character building. None of these kids were going to grow up to become professional pianists, but they were going to grow up to be the type of people who played piano. It’s a skill that shows a cultured upbringing. Plus, maybe at a cocktail party one could bang out a Cole Porter number or two? I don’t know, I don’t get invited to many cocktail parties, and don’t even know if cocktail parties are still a thing 
I can play a little bit, and I credit this to a total lack of piano lessons. I learned to play by ear from recordings, because I listened to a lot of music. I can just barely read music, but I can pick stuff up by ear pretty easily. [quote=“Donald_Petersen, post:36, topic:91922”]
But man, nearly everyone I know owns at least one guitar. Sure, they’re a much, much more modest investment than any new acoustic piano, but guitar playing (with or without lessons) up to the point of joining a band was more popular than piano lessons even when I was in high school
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Guitars are fun, portable, and more closely associated with free spirited music making than rigorous classical study. That’s why. However, a lot of people own guitars, but I know few who can play them competently. I know almost nobody who plays guitar well who hasn’t studied music in some form or another, even if they might not have had formal guitar lessons.
I’m a fan of all types of music, so I like classical as well as rock. On the other hand, I’m not a big fan of regimented music lessons for the sole purpose of proving one comes from the “right” socioeconomic class.
