‘My one word of caution is that a cow chewing
contentedly in a field, once you have looked over the wall and seen what is out
there, chewing the same old grass never seems quite so satisfying again.’ –
Nigel Twinn
At one of the schools in which I teach they have
introduced a scheme through the pupil premium where the pupils can have music lessons
to develop their self-esteem. I am teaching either guitar or singing and there
is also a drum teacher.
This seems to be an enlightened idea and I know that
if they are able to acquire a skill that means they achieve something, maybe performing
or passing a grade they will have something different and positive in their
school lives which quite honestly they are not getting at the moment.
Over the years that I have taught I have often heard
from past pupils that music has been something very special and it has really
changed the way they view the world. For some they realised that the teachers
at school who told them that they were spending too long on music and should be
working on their science had got it wrong. In one case this was viewed from the
stage of the Hollywood bowl and he reflected that the best thing he ever did
was to stop doing science.
I have also a number of pupils who would say that music
has become a religion or certainly a spiritual experience which informs them
about life on a deep level. I spend a lot of time listening to great musicians
and I would say that this is something that figures significantly for many
deepening their experience and adding something that ordinary life does not
give them
So maybe they need to heed the warning that music will
change one’s life in ways that you cannot see in this moment making you realise
that you are special so special that you are a musician.
Vic
check it out!
