A new signposting campaign from subject association Music Mark has been launched to celebrate the benefits of musical learning and connect young people with services and Hubs for the first time.
As well as providing a new ‘Find my local music service’ function for families, Get Playing will also provide member Hubs and services with student recruitment resources to supplement their current activities, including digital assets, posters, a web page, and a marketing pack.
Created to counteract the limitations placed on student recruitment during COVID-19, the campaign aims to encourage service engagement from young people across the UK, whether through singing, playing an instrument, or exploring other musical opportunities.
Music Mark hopes that Get Playing will alert more families and young people to the existence of music Hubs and services as the ‘go to’ places for musical opportunities and learning.
Bridget Whyte, CEO of Music Mark said: ‘Over the past 18 months, it has been fantastic to see so many young musicians engage with online tuition, recording their parts of multi-track performances and coming together as ensembles for social gatherings and activities despite not being able to play together online due to latency.
‘However, it’s been hard for music services around the country to introduce youngsters to the instruments they might want to learn, get them signed up and subsequently get them started. There have been some great projects across the country to try and drum up interest in musical learning, but the whole process of picking an instrument and getting started has been hard to replicate online.
‘We are hopeful that as we return to face-to-face learning and visiting music teachers are back in schools, Get Playing will help parents and families understand why learning an instrument, singing and composing or producing music is such a great thing and can then find the support they need to engage with the network of great music teachers that work across the country.’
The resources, which explore 10 benefits of musical learning, will also be available in Welsh in the coming weeks. All illustrations are by designer Esther Shelley.
