Ella Beck
Member
I was lucky enough to learn the recorder at school, to have regular singing lessons, and to have the chance to learn the violin thanks to a special scheme run by my local education authority.
Now, though, with a much bigger official curriculum to deliver, I often read of teachers saying that music education is not as good as it could be in the UK.
This has led to greater inequality - if you want to learn an instrument, your parents need to be motivated and to have or to find the money to get you private lessons.
Even in the 1980s, when I was teaching in Nottingham, the local orchestras were dominated by children whose parents could afford to buy them independent (i.e. private) schooling.
Now, though, with a much bigger official curriculum to deliver, I often read of teachers saying that music education is not as good as it could be in the UK.
This has led to greater inequality - if you want to learn an instrument, your parents need to be motivated and to have or to find the money to get you private lessons.
Even in the 1980s, when I was teaching in Nottingham, the local orchestras were dominated by children whose parents could afford to buy them independent (i.e. private) schooling.