MusiCounts and the case for an inclusive system of music education

Learning a musical instrument in the western classical style has traditionally been a pastime or hobby for middle class or upper middle class children. Going way back to the classical era of Haydn and Mozart, right through the 19th Century, playing the piano, violin or even studying voice was something most parents encouraged their children to do whether they had the aptitude and talent for it or not. As a result, there were plenty of employment opportunities for trained and gifted musicians, because suddenly it seemed as though every moderately well off household had a piano, and the sale of sheet music composed and written for children and amateurs also thrived. 





In one sense, not much has changed since the 18th Century - even today, the poorest families in western countries are not going to be able to send their children to private cello lessons, or ballet or piano classes. Most parents who are struggling to pay the rent or mortgage every month certainly don't have any money to spend on hiring or purchasing an instrument for their child, let alone £20-£60 an hour for private music tuition. Does this mean that only children from middle class or upper class families can benefit from top notch music tuition? What if the next "Menuhin" or "Gould" happened to be a four year old whose parents were struggling to keep up with the cost of sending him to school, or from a single parent home? Clearly he would not even stand a chance - for even if he did show incredible talent and promise, who was going to be in a position to nurture this by giving him the chance to study with a good teacher? And how would his musical talent be discovered in the first place? I'm not even talking about children from crime ridden areas in larger cities, who have to struggle extremely hard to not end up in a gang, because there is no other alternative or social outlet. That is an entirely different problem altogether.

This is why it is so, so important that every child is exposed to music in primary and secondary school. 

Forget private, fee-paying schools for a minute - I'm talking about government schools, where kids from all walks of life spend six to eight hours a day. If they are taught a musical instrument within the school curriculum, or even given the chance to pick up an instrument for fun, chances are that they will thrive both in school and outside it. In North America, most schools have "band" class. So we're talking brass instruments, percussion and music that is arranged and composed for the same. Unfortunately even this gets a bit of a bad name at times, for "band" kids are perceived as a bit square, a bit geeky, and the music itself can be quite restrictive. But at least it is something, and at least kids can get their hands on trombones, trumpets, horns, drums and learn the basics of making music, and interacting positively with one another. In an ideal world, kids in any and every school would be able to participate in choir, band, and even get their hands on instruments of the orchestra such as violins, cellos, violas, oboes, flutes and bassoons. A kid who shows an interest in playing the piano would be given the opportunity to stay back after school and take a half hour lesson on the school piano, and even if his mother is surviving on food stamps, he can learn a skill that keeps him out of trouble!

This is all very idealistic of me - I know! As a former school music teacher, I know that most music departments (again, not talking about fee-paying schools) are totally cash-strapped. Most of the time there is a brutally battered old piano with keys missing and sticking stuck in a room somewhere, broken instruments that have not been played or repaired in years, and a few percussion instruments in a cupboard. There is simply NO money to buy new instruments, or even repair the old ones. As a result, the music teacher has no choice but to teach recorder, or get a keyboard and teach choir, and that is pretty much it. In Ireland, I have come across hundreds of students who have an irrational hatred for the recorder, because all they ever do when they choose music in school, is play the recorder.Some of you might remember the radio feature I did for my Dublin City FM program Offbeat, where I spoke to three students studying music in secondary school in Dublin, all talking about why the system needs revamping and why they don't enjoy it at all.They were so passionate and articulate about the difficulties they faced on a day to day basis, and it was extremely frustrating for me to listen to them speak without being able to offer any solution or alternative.

 As a result, children from low income families who don't have the option of pursuing music outside of school, or privately develop a dislike for "classical" music, music theory, instrumental music, and choose to abandon it completely. Here is where a music education charity is of immense value, to state schools, to children from poor families, to music teachers (there is nothing worse than teaching a class full of fed-up, annoyed children who hate playing broken instruments) and to society in general. I was very lucky to spend some time in Toronto quite some time back, working for a charity called MusiCounts. EVERY COUNTRY NEEDS A "MUSICOUNTS"!!! I'll tell you why. One of the things MusiCounts does is give money to schools across Canada, to purchase new musical instruments for the school music program. Even a school which does not have a music program, or one where the music program has been dormant for many years can qualify for MusiCounts funding. Of course, the grants provided for musical instruments are NEED based, which means that the more hard up the school, the more socially worse-off and deprived the students, the greater the chance of getting $5,000 or $10,000 in funding. I was not even there to witness the applications as they came in, but I did read plenty of applications from previous years, and some were truly astonishing. Schools in areas of very high crime, or schools in the middle of nowhere, where children had very little stimulation particularly where the arts were concerned all wrote about their need for a decent music program, with instruments that children would get excited to play. Music teachers wrote their own personal statements describing the state of some of the instruments they were forced to use, and the challenge that they faced teaching children who were disruptive and difficult, simply because they were bored, or irritated playing broken and out of tune instruments. Some schools sent pictures of the instruments, while others used more creative ways to get the attention of the powers that be at MusiCounts - I remember Mike, who was the Senior Coordinator showing me a violin that a school sent in with their application. I have never seen an instrument in such poor condition, and I have seen some pretty brutal instruments in my time! One of the best things about working with MusiCounts was hearing back from music teachers once they received word that their applications had been successful, or reading emails and letters describing the difference that these new instruments had made to the lives of students.

Imagine what a brand new guitar can do to a teenage boy who is going home to a difficult, disturbed home environment. Suddenly, the guitar that he would never be able to pay for becomes a source of comfort, solace and mental stimulation. The positive effect that learning an instrument has on a child's academic abilities has been studied and proven, so this is just another reason why a charity like MusiCounts should exist in every country in the world. Dr Jose Antonio Abreu's *El Sistema" program of instrumental teaching has become something of an inspiration worldwide, but in many ways, the work of a charity such as MusiCounts cannot be underestimated. The greatest thing about it is that there is no bias, no favouritism and absolutely NO gimmick to it, the bottom line is all about providing opportunities to children that may or may not be able to avail of them outside the school. And even if a child COULD afford piano lessons after school, playing and practising an instrument is such a lonely, isolated pastime (I know that I would have gladly swapped my 4 hours a day piano practice schedule as a child for one hour of playing the piano in school, with friends and classmates) - it is vital to have a more inclusive, collaborative music making activity, and no better place to do it than school!

When I was an examiner for the Royal Irish Academy of Music (Canada has its own equivalent, the Royal Conservatory of Music's Grade exams), it struck me that I rarely examined children from certain areas in the country, and nearly all children were from middle class or upper class families. I always felt this was so sad, and such a shame, because not only did it mean that thousands of children were not even exposed to instruments and playing music, but that this was unlikely to change for a long,long time. Maybe if the Arts Council, Music Network or any of the funding organisations spoke to children and parents from all walks of life, they would realize that rather than offering funding to already well-off artists for their second concert grand piano, or funding lavish concert series featuring celebrities, far more could be done for the musical life of this small country by following the example of MusiCounts (which is NOT funded by the Government, by the way - all the more impressive). And maybe, just maybe, children and teenagers from ALL walks of life, all social and economic backgrounds will be able to avail of instrumental music that does not just include playing a broken, out of tune recorder day in and day out for a year! As Shinichi Suzuki, the great Japanese violinist and teacher summed up so beautifully when asked about the point of music education: "Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. And, they get a beautiful heart."


Find out more about MusiCounts   

Visit " Offbeat with Karishmeh" (Dublin City FM) Radio program website

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