Music isn’t just for children

Music isn’t just for children

The benefits of learning an instrument for everyone

Music isn’t just for children …

I have to say I have been totally humbled by the commitment to music lessons shown by our parents during this difficult year. It is hard to think back to the rather glum conversations we had when the idea of remote learning first came up. I remember sitting with the peripatetic music teachers in the staff room over our morning coffee last March and trying to get our heads round how it might work; there were so many obstacles it seemed, not least of which was the difficulty of fitting music lessons into family life with everyone working from home, especially in families with multiple children learning multiple instruments, as is the case for many of you. Music, after all, is noisy!

As it turns out, more has been possible than we ever expected. Almost all children have continued with their individual lessons on a weekly basis and thanks to a willingness to be flexible and try new things on the part of parents, children and teachers, we have found solutions to all sorts of problems, including timetabling, accompaniments (a special mention here goes to those children who have had the dedication to copy their accompaniment onto Noteflight so they could play along with the computer!) and of course performances. The weekly online mini concerts have been an absolute joy for me and I know for many others in our wider community.  Of course it isn’t the same as live music, but it does have the advantage of enabling us to share the children’s wonderful efforts with a much wider audience including family members living further away. I know my own mother very much looks forward to her weekly dose of Cargilfield music-making – a definite tonic, especially through these winter weeks!

So thank you to all our parents for the patience, encouragement and goodwill you have shown in challenging times to ensure that your children are still able to progress and learn skills which will be with them for life.  Some of you are motivated by being musicians yourselves, others tell me that you regret not learning or are a ‘lapsed’ musician and still others tell me that you are ‘not musical’ – a claim I always take with a pinch of salt, as in so many cases it is just not having the right opportunities that stops someone from taking up music as a hobby. We aren’t all going to be virtuoso players, however hard we try, but I firmly believe that everyone is capable of music for their own enjoyment if they just find the right thing for them. 

My hope is that the process of being closer to your children’s musical education during remote learning may have inspired some of you to make music a more active part of your life too. I remember, when training as a teacher, a lecturer drilling into us the idea that, if we want children to be enthusiastic readers, we need them to see that reading is not just something we plague children with, but something that adults do for leisure and information. Plenty of role-modelling of reading by family and other grown-ups is absolutely key to their development as independent readers themselves; having a parent who is a bookworm is an advantage!  I would argue exactly the same is true of music. Making music a valued part of your own life – something you turn to for relaxation, social interaction and enjoyment – shows children that they are learning for a reason. Otherwise we are, in effect, giving them the message that music is for children and adults are just too busy; music is a childish pursuit which you grow out of when more important things take over in your life.

Actively valuing music comes in many guises. It may, of course, be as a listener – I remember a turning point for one child, who had started the double bass, was when his dad dug out his semi-forgotten LP jazz collection up in the attic and started sharing and discussing his favourite music with his son. Another family comes to mind who have been committed supporters of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for years, giving their children the opportunity to attend at least the first half of concerts with them from a young age. Or if you have never had the opportunity to learn, or regret giving up, perhaps now is your chance? Nothing could be more powerful as an example to your children as making a commitment to 10 minutes practice a day yourself, and why live with the regret of not playing – it definitely is never too late! 

 Having recently taken up a new instrument as an adult, I will readily admit, it’s a challenge. Yes, it’s easy to feel too busy, and yes, one inevitably wants to be able to play pieces that are far too hard at once – but how nice it is to be doing something about ‘I wish I could play the lute’. My husband, meanwhile, having taken inspiration from the Cargilfield mini concerts, had his first Clarsach lesson last week and is proudly able to play his first tune with two hands. My only word of caution here, is that it can become a bit addictive; I find once I get in the zone it is very hard to put down and attend the household chores! 

Last year we had some wonderful online mini concerts given by former Cargundians. Maybe we could aim for a parents’ concert next?

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