FEATURE:
Strings and Keys
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Why Putting Music Back on All Schools’ Curriculum Is Essential for the Future of the Industry
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NOT to be too dramatic.…
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but there is something worrying happening across schools. Hardly surprising under this Government; it seems music, not a huge part of the curriculum anymore, is starting to disappear altogether. There are inalienable and essential courses and subjects that need to be taught at every school. I think that, as the world becomes more difficult to navigate and politics is making its way to the forefront, this is something that needs to be taught. A basic political course that discusses everything from climate change and protecting the environment, through to poverty and the wealth divide, would be useful. I am not sure whether there is a course like this at primary schools and above (maybe a General Studies thing?!), but you feel like the young of today need to be prepared and educated to thing sort of thing. More equipped and informed about the wider world than I was when I was at school in the 1990s. I was reading the Big Issue . Clare Sawers was arguing why music needs to be part of the solution – the Big Issue did a wider set of features stating why this generation is getting a raw deal when it comes to education. When I was at school, there was an option to take music. It was always part of the curriculum. Rather than it being an optional course, we had access to music and instruments from primary school onward. By the time I got to high school, it was still part of my regular lessons.
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It was only when getting to sixth-form college that it became an option. Even then, it would have been free education. University would have been the first time I’d have to pay for music education (I didn’t take it at university; I started at university in 2001). Having always grown up around music and knowing that it was available at my school, it is shocking to discover that it is being phased out from many. Sawers wrote how playing an instrument could soon become a hobby for the rich. Think about piano or violin lessons. Once part of my education, we will see a day when this sort of access will be available to privately-educated students. That, or children/parents will have to pay for lessons. Something as fundamental and common as the guitar or drums. Unless kids get lessons or they are bought the instruments, then they will not have any option or access. A study from Birmingham City University found that fewer people are taking Music as an A-level course. Whether it is a subject that is being offered to people or whether there is a lack of interest. They found that “The key finding from our research is that A-level music is continuing to decline in terms of numbers of entries and that, if the trend continues at the same rate, there won’t be any more entries for A-level music by 2033”. The fact is that, when you look around the music industry now, there is that divide. So many younger artists have had to take private music lessons. They also may be the last generation of people who have had easy access to music.
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I know that there are online courses and it is not budget-breaking to study an instrument. The fact is, because music was part of the curriculum and was a social thing where kids had easy access from a very young age, means we get to see these great artists come through. Would The Beatles, as working-class people, have made music and got where they were if they could not study it at school and have affordable access?! It would be devastating to think about the consequences! I fear now we are living in a time when potential and promising musicians are either not going to be able to afford to follow their passion; there may be a reduction in working-class artists emerging. A music scene that thrives on diversity and mix will soon be homogenised and exclusive. Potential artists might not take up an instrument and rely on technology. That lack of organic instrumentation and kids applying themselves to an instrument is horrifying! It is a skill and discipline that is so impressive. If we get rid of that, I do fear modern music will become driven by technology to an extent where it is lifeless. Budgets are being slashed around the country. Once considered essential or a key part of education, Music as a course is now more of a luxury. When subjects have to be cut, The arts are the first to suffer. I would argue that there are subjects far less worthy and important than Music that is not even considered for cuts. I shan’t name them!
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Suffice to say, a musical education does a lot more than teaches you have to play an instrument or sing. It is a cultural window into the past and future. By studying music, you are also getting taught about history, geography and other subjects - most of which are seen as mandatory. The music industry now still has an issue when it comes to gender imbalance. I think it is also still imbalanced when it comes to social classes. Fewer working-class artists at the forefront than there has been for decades. Fairly recently, there were plans in Scotland to cut music spending by 60%. This was met with uproar. Luckily, a Musicians Union-backed initiative forced them to reconsider! Also, in 2021, a study by the Society of Musicians founds that 61% of respondents’; music budgets were ‘insufficient’. Teachers topping up budgets through their own pockets or holding songwriters. As the piece from the Big Issue explains, a homogenisation or exclusivity would make the music landscape very boring indeed. The music budget in independent schools is massive compared to state schools. Yearly budgets for authority schools is £1,865, compared with £9,917 for those at independent schools. There are organisations and bodies working hard to ensure that the next generation have access to music without huge cost or discrimination! The likes of World Heart Beat are crucial. They provide free music tuition ands live performances. They have seen kids from deprived backgrounds with broken phones and not much to their name not going to school; they still show up to do music. They may have lost parents recently, or they are torn as to what careers are open to them.
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Music and organisations like World Heart Beat offer a nurturing and safe space. That offers more than education. There are so many skills one can pick up unconnected to music by being around like-minded people who want to pursue music. Music, unlike other subjects taught at schools and colleges, is not restricted and quite niche. There is this higher variation and ripple that one gets when they learn an instrument or bond with music. It influences one’s behaviour and their social outlook. That sense of community and self-belief is key. It seems that there are purse strings being tightened because music is seen as a hobby or something that won’t be beneficial. Maybe the feeling a career in music is rare and it is hard to make a living from it (maybe governments wonder why encourage children to learn music when they can’t do anything without that skill?!). Creative industries make up 12.6% of London’s economy – where it brings in £13 billion a year. The narrowing of the curriculum means we lose the joy and importance of music. You do not have to look too far back to see a time when music was seen as natural and an unquestioned part of education. This caviller approach to cutting budgets and threatening music’s future is worrying! If it is not an A-level subject or something that is reserved for the wealthier, then this will have a knock-on effect throughout the music industry and culture in general.
IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles performing at the London Palladium in 1963/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
The only reason we have legendary artists and bands who changed the world is because music was available to them. Whether a free lesson and part of their education, or they had easier access to instruments and a like-minded group, if we threatened and shrink that, what are we left with?! It is a worrying state of affairs with only small glimmer of hope. It should not be down to charities and organisations to ensure that young people have access to music education and resources. In the same way as English and Mathematics are core to the school curriculum, so too should music. I wonder what the history of music would have been if we rewrote the narrative so that young people had to pay to get access to music education and instruments. The bands and artists we would have lost. The Government’s seemingly uninformed and reckless rationing of funds towards music, coupled with their view that it is a subject that should be nixed from the curriculum, is very infuriating! The only way for the music industry to diversify and spotlight amazing voices from all backgrounds is through consistent funding and ensuring music is left on the curriculum through schools and colleges. Let’s hope that this undeniable and essential fact…
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STRIKES a chord.