At least I had a chance to explore any untapped musical skills

I loved music lessons at school. The anticipation you felt when the teacher was handing out the percussion instruments – would you get the coveted glockenspiel? Or suffer the disappointment of being handed the triangle?

How excited we were the day the music department bought a load of Casio keyboards for us to practice on. We convinced our music teacher that we had composed a new song called Eternal Flame.

It was number one in the charts at the time but Mrs Cameron was obviously more into Bach than The Bangles, so we got top marks.

I had the chance to try violin, too. Turns out I was no Nicola Benedetti and after a few painful months (for me and my parents) I hung up my bow.

The point is, at least I had a chance to explore any untapped talent I may have been harbouring.

In this week’s big interview (pages 6&7) Scots singer Emeli Sande pays tribute to her primary school music teacher Mrs Simpson. She said: “She had such a big influence on me because she made learning music so much fun.”

Emeli has produced award-winning albums and performed for global audiences at the London Olympics – but it all started in a classroom in Aberdeenshire.

At a time when Scottish schools are paring back instrument lessons due to budget cuts, it’s good to see big names like her championing music education.

Who knows, there could be a future pop star bashing out a mean triangle solo in a classroom as I type. Let’s hope they get the same encouragement Mrs Simpson gave Emeli.