When Andre Previn pointed out to Eric Morecambe he was playing “all the wrong notes”, the late great comedian grabbed the shocked virtuoso by the lapels and growled: “I’m playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.” Of course, the collision of these two entirely different worlds of entertainment produced something magical.
It was Morecambe and Wise's hilarious sketch, which will forever go down as one of their finest and made the legendary pianist a household name, that I thought of when I read about Sir James MacMillan’s bold plans to turn his home town of Cumnock into a centre of excellence for learning and teaching classical music composition.
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On the face of it, the sleepy Ayrshire mining town may not be the most obvious place to cultivate a major cultural pillar of Western civilisation. However, it struck me that just like the comedy duo's skit, the unlikely combination of high art in such an incongruous setting could also produce something magical. Why not?
MacMillan’s project, along with The Cumnock Tryst festival he helped set up, are entirely in keeping with the socialist principles championed by Labour Party giant and one-time town resident James Keir Hardie.
Only this time, instead of coal, it’s talent that’s been mined for – one of life’s great levellers. Whether or not there’s a budding Beethoven living undiscovered in deepest Ayrshire who can tell, but by simply exposing youngsters to a world of the romantics a light will be shone into young minds that would have otherwise missed out.
Which is why the introduction of music tuition fees by councils has been such a tragedy for our poorest children and for Scotland’s cultural future as a whole.
The statistics speak for themselves. According to TES Scotland the average annual fee charged by councils is £236.46. Unsurprisingly, this has had a huge impact on uptake, with the number of pupils learning a musical instrument dropping by 5,500 since 2016-17.
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Fears of the creation of “a middle-class culture of music education” are clearly well-founded. For this sad state of affairs to have arisen under a government that claims to be dedicated to preserving our heritage is simply a disgrace.
The pandemic has also taken its toll. Although teachers had been coming up with ingenious ways to adapt classrooms pre-lockdown, they are now restricted to teaching online. The reality is many children will be missing out on the proven benefits of learning music– reduced anxiety and improved mood, mental alertness and memory. Add to that the sense of teamwork and improved social skills that playing creates.
So bravo Sir James, fellow philanthropic musician Nicola Benedetti and the Big Noise orchestra for giving back to the young people. Even if you help just one child on the road to musical enlightenment you can consider your hard work a job well done.
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