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Music for All (MfA), our industry's charity, has just completed a two-day tour of primary schools in the Croydon area.

With the full support of the local Music Service, each of the schools were identified with a musical ‘need’ and the charity then visited with a range of instruments and teachers so that they could give the children some memorable ‘taster’ lessons.

Approximately 500 children took part in this programme and Music for All received some wonderful feedback from both the schools and the pupils. We will keep on monitoring this with the Music Service to see whether the event translates into extra demand for teaching (and for instruments, of course). This is naturally a key part of measuring the success of such ventures.

Brasswind, violins, guitars, drums and keyboards were all taken to the schools and children were given rotating sessions of ten minutes so that they all had a good opportunity to try all the different instruments and find out which might be best for them.

Special thanks must also be given to Korg, Ashton and Stentor, which kindly supplied instruments and teachers. The Korg and Ashton teams were able to give expert advice and to show the children how to start making music there and then. The teams were also supplemented by local music teachers from the Music Service and ISM.

Music for All would also like to gratefully recognise the support that NAMM has given in helping Music for All go to schools.

The format was relatively low cost as MfA simply took ‘pull up’ display materials, and instruments, which was all that was needed to engage the students.
 
Interestingly, using the industry charity (MfA, in this case) proved a good way to get into the school without it appearing overly commercial. The school did not feel in any way ‘threatened’, because it was dealing with a charity and not an instrument supplier. Not that there would be anything wrong with that, of course.

Having said all that, we still found creative ways to tell the schools about the brands they were using once we were there. As Korg’s Rob Castle says: “Through doing these events, we might’ve inspired 500 kids to have a go and become our customers of the future.”

MfA also gave each school a full range of Get Alive! brochures and the new Quality Instruments for Education booklet to ensure that plenty of additional information was left behind for those who were interested.

There are a number of MIA members who could benefit from repeating this format under the Music for All banner. Please do contact us if you are interested.
For more information about Music for All, please contact Paul McManus at paulmc@mia.org.uk