Music tuition - Schools and tuition

Music tuition in schools has become a political commodity and, as such, has become a confusing field of claim and counter-claim. Neil Hoyle unpicks some of the myths.

The intelligent lay person could be forgiven for feeling baffled by the clouds of mystery that surround music teaching in schools generally, and instrumental teaching in particular. A fug of ministerial statements has thickened the already miasmic quality of the debate. Announcements that there has been a bigger take-up of music as a school subject, and that more youngsters than ever are learning instruments, can look alarmingly like Soviet tractor quotas. What really is going on? How, the reader wonders, can I be sure that my child will be given proper tuition at school? Are the teachers good enough? Have they got enough instruments? Are the resources up to it?

The answer, unfortunately, is that ?it depends?. Public expenditure cuts in the 1980s and 1990s dismembered a previously balanced and consistent network of tuition. In recent years, some wondrously diverse growths have sprung from the ravaged landscape. Quantity may now be rising, if we are to believe the figures; but quality can still be something of a lottery. It depends on where you live. It depends on the organisation providing tuition to the schools in your area: whether it is well funded and competent, what its priorities are, and what pressures it is under. It depends on the head of the school, and the importance they attach to music. It depends on the head of music, and their interpretation of what constitutes ?music?. And it depends on the individual visiting teachers: whether they are qualified and experienced practitioners, bargain-basement folk drafted in to help achieve targets against agonising financial constraints, or performers whose primary expertise lies elsewhere than teaching.

A reek of political jargon drifts across the scene. ?Creative industries? are seen as important to the UK?s economy. Researchers assert that music helps children concentrate, behave and get on with each other. Consequently, the word is that the greater the numbers involved in music, the better. Access? inclusion? bums on seats. But music tuition is not a commodity that can be bulk-packed for mass consumption on the move. The process of mastering an instrument is slow and painstaking. There are no short cuts. Industrial efficiency doesn?t come into it. And the whole thing is hamstrung by a chronic shortage of good, qualified teachers.

The right opportunities

Back in 1997, the then Education Secretary, David Blunkett MP, promised that ?over time, every child at primary school should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument?. This has a fine ring. But again, it depends ? on what you mean by ?time?, ?opportunity?, ?learn? and ?musical instrument?! There has been a major upsurge of group musical activities. African drumming has become popular. This has the merits of being highly physical, rather exciting, somewhat exotic, entertainingly collaborative, good for teaching rhythm ? and wonderfully cheap in terms of resources. The problems arise when little or nothing else is on offer. On another front, the group teaching of Western instruments is becoming increasingly prevalent. Some music services swear by it. Against it, though, must be set the rugged defence by conservatoires of one-to-one instrumental teaching, which makes their students far more expensive to train than those in university departments. If it?s good for students, why isn?t it good for schoolchildren?

The story, then, is of a profession wrestling with complex and ever-changing constraints. In many areas, funding simply isn?t adequate. And while there are several evocatively titled national schemes around (?Wider Opportunities?, ?Gifted & Talented?, ?Music & Dance Scheme?, ?Standards Fund?), they don?t add up to the major injection of money that is needed to provide quality tuition across the board. There is also a question of whether, even if it were available, the cash would be used as parents expect, or whether it would come with strings attached. Observers sometimes point to the Scottish Executive?s moves to make instrumental tuition available to all children. That is interesting, but the parallels go only so far. There is a specific cultural dimension, which could not be replicated south of the border. Not only does Scotland have a long tradition of dedicated high-quality, state-funded music tuition, from which stars such as Evelyn Glennie have benefited, but the Scots are fiercely proud of their folk music traditions; children are strongly encouraged to learn clarsach, pibroch and folk fiddle as a way of defining and reinforcing Scottish separateness.

A manifesto for change

So what are those of us south of the border left with? The latest wheeze is the ?Music Manifesto?, brainchild of education minister David Miliband MP. Its supporters claim many things for it ? symbiosis, common goals, and so forth. Yet even its most fervent advocates would not claim that it brings a penny more into teaching. There are other problems too: an inversion of accountability (by posting pledges from signatories on a DfES website, it neatly transfers accountability for the results of the government?s policies from ministers to the profession), and the erosion of integrity (some bodies have signed up in a mood less of idealism than of cynicism, believing that those who don?t sign may be penalised in some way). It is said that the mere existence of the Manifesto will strengthen the case for channelling more money into schools. Maybe, but the Treasury tends not to be easily impressed by gestures. Furthermore, the Manifesto?s leitmotif of broadening access is already having unlooked-for side effects: some local authorities are using it as a justification to expand group teaching (see below), insisting on bigger groups and shorter lessons. No professional music teacher I know would regard that as desirable.

This chequered prospect throws much responsibility back on to the parents. Before you sign up for those school instrumental lessons, check carefully and ask lots of questions. Match the spirit of the age, and be an aggressive consumer! Does the tuition your child will receive sit comfortably with your own ideas of what teaching is about? If not, are there good reasons? You may be pleasantly reassured. I hope so; there are many dedicated professionals out there.

It would be nice to think things were getting better. But that is by no means a foregone conclusion. If, in the end, and despite everything, you still feel uncomfortable, there is always the option of engaging a private teacher ? preferably one on the ISM?s Register of Professional Private Music Teachers ? whose qualifications and experience have been vetted carefully. It may be a little more expensive. But you will get what you pay for.