Play it Again, Diane
National Campaign for the Arts News
I had always wanted to learn to play the piano, so when I was offered the chance to undertake an intensive session of lessons during the last summer recess as part of the BBC series “Play it Again”, I leapt at the chance. The idea behind the programme was to challenge six well-known people to take up an instrument of their choice, usually starting from scratch. The programme makers were keen to inspire people to begin to learn an instrument, or to go back to an instrument they had learnt as a child.
Like many people I had always liked the idea of playing a musical instrument, but had never got around to learning to play one. The idea of starting from scratch seemed daunting but I thought if I didn’t give it a go now, I never would. Learning an instrument as an adult is an interesting experience for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is strange to be learning something completely new. As children we are accustomed to taking on new things, learning new skills and starting from scratch. By the time most people reach my age their lives are filled with activities they already know how to do, or at least already have the necessary skills to do. However challenging life may be, it does not normally involve learning a whole new discipline from scratch. I also found the experience of coming to an instrument later in life interesting because I already had a love of listening to music, and a well-established repertoire of music I like to listen to. This adds to the frustration of learning an instrument because you are not able to jump straight in and play the music you love.
Whatever the difficulties that I encountered if asked to do it all again I would without a doubt. Learning to play the piano was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and taught me as much about myself and my family as it did about the piano. I was thrilled to travel to Jamaica and learn about the musical history of my family, it was like discovering a piece of my life that I never knew existed. Learning the piano made me feel part of that history. For me this experience illustrates the power of music to change and enrich lives. Music is a binding force, the enjoyment of which is a common factor almost everybody can relate to. Learning to play a musical instrument connects you to a vast history of musicians and composers and gives you entrance to the current world of music.
I cannot recommend music lessons enough, for adults but especially for children. I think they are a wonderful way of developing confidence, increasing concentration and even improving proficiency in mathematics. The opportunity to learn an instrument should be open to all children but unfortunately it seems at present that it is mostly children from more privileged backgrounds that are given the chance. A large problem is the cost of music lessons. The government is currently trying to improve this by supporting a number of initiatives that offer low-cost or free-of-charge lessons. The Department for Schools, Children and Families also runs a music and dance scheme which is set up to give exceptionally gifted children very high quality tuition, whatever their background. However these initiatives are not enough. Many children do not get interested in musical instruments in the first place, and many more still cannot afford lessons or the other costs that go with them.
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