The power of music

Music is a means of communication and this quality benefits us right from birth when as babies we are soothed by a sing-song voice. Music can be used to convey a sense of community - think of crowds singing at a sporting match. Music can unite us in times of sheer elation or profound grief. So when you learn to play sounds on your instrument, or sing with your voice, you can organise seemingly disparate noises to communicate, to make your feelings known, to bring joy or comfort to others. For me, that is the power of music.

Practice is its own reward?

Learning to play an instrument is an investment, both financially and in terms of time spent. However I believe the rewards are many and varied: importantly, they are life-long. We can all understand the educational benefits of "doing your practice", but is that enough? What about the satisfaction of deciphering a mysterious code of dots? Or of learning how to manipulate your fingers to move as you command? Imagine discovering that you are in control of making your own music.

About me

I love music! I love playing it, listening to it, being in awe of it, being moved by it. Music has highlighted the best moments of my life and been a comfort to me at my worst. As a child of the seventies, my love of music developed through the pop-world of the eighties: it’s still what I would choose to dance to in my kitchen and now my children know the words. My other obsession was the nineteenth century composer Tchaikovsky. I can clearly remember the first time I heard his Symphony no. 6 performed at the Towngate Theatre in Basildon and how it absolutely blew me away. Being able to play an instrument and produce sounds to recreate music that has been listened to and enjoyed throughout history is so fulfilling I would want everyone to experience it.