Poor teaching takes the magic out of music, says Benedetti

VIOLINIST Nicola Benedetti has said that not every child should learn a musical instrument, as bad teaching doesn’t bring any benefits.

The musician had once called for all pupils to have access to music tuition as part of their education. But she now believes that forcing children to take up an instrument can do more harm than good due to indifferent teaching in schools sapping the “magic” out of music.

Benedetti says being taught badly will demoralise children and potentially put them off learning to play.

“I differ with a lot of other classical musicians, who will say every child should be playing an instrument,” she said. “I don’t think it is necessarily desirable for every child to learn an instrument because if you are taught really badly, it is certainly not fun, but it is also not necessarily teaching you something informative or positive.

“I would love to see a progression in violin teaching … it teaches you a phenomenal number of skills that are undoubtedly golden for a young person. But I think for every child there are other things regarding the magic of music that we could teach successfully and actually deliver to everyone.”

Benedetti, who was made a CBE last year for her contributions to music, told the Last, Past and Blast podcast that young people would be better served by understanding the language of music and l earning about pieces through listening sessions.

Two years ago, my daughter requested an electric guitar for her birthday. She was only seven, and left-handed, so finding the right kind of instrument involved extensive research and a sizeable price tag.

But it’s so important for children to learn an instrument, isn’t it? Not just because making music is a pleasure in its own right, but because it builds character and brain power. According to a new study by neuroscientists in Chile, in fact, learning an instrument increases the “functional activity” of the parts of the brain associated with literacy, creativity, organisation and memory.

So my husband found a tiny, back-to-front electric guitar in America and had it shipped over, and my daughter said it was the Best. Present. Ever. She spent a whole day strutting about with the guitar and a snarl, like a miniature Courtney Love. Then she propped it carefully on its brand new stand, and never picked it up again.

The fault is entirely mine. Getting a child to practise an instrument is, I now realise, ninjutsu-level parenting. It’s impossible to remember, and a torment when you do. The practices that must be completed are boring and repetitive, and the resulting noises dystopian in the extreme. And it stays that way for months and years – perhaps forever. It is the most extended exercise in delayed gratification you could ever put before a child. Which, of course, is precisely why it’s so good for them.

The more I try and fail at it, the more fascinated I become by those who succeed. Kadiatu KannehMason is, in this respect, the world’s most high-achieving mother. A former university lecturer herself, she has seven children ranging in age from 11 to 24, and every one of them is a garlanded classical musician. (Sheku, the third child, is probably the most famous, having played his cello at Harry and Meghan’s wedding.)

I read Mrs KannehMason’s recent memoir, House of Music, in search of enlightenment. But all I could find was an incredibly tired and modest woman who adored her children. “Night after night, in the relentless after-school routine, I sat with each of the children in turn, listening and helping them with their music practice,” she recalled. “I often found myself waking up with a jolt, mid-breastfeed, to find one of the girls calling me, exasperated, to pay attention.” Perhaps, I console myself, that is the missing ingredient: a child who actually wants to play.

Anyone who loves cats already knows the power of the slowblink. This is the body language – a narrowing of the eyes, combined with a complacent smile – that says you are acceptable to his or her highness, and may approach the throne.

Researchers at Sussex University have now demonstrated “for the first time” (pah!) that this gesture really does amount to a form of communication between cats and humans. Tests on 45 cats found that they were much more likely to approach a stranger’s hand if the stranger first performed a courteous slow-blink.

It is often said that cats are enigmatic, but they have an almost human sense of personal dignity. No other pet gets so visibly affronted by unwanted touch, or so embarrassed by their own missteps. No other pet conveys hurt feelings with such quiet effectiveness. To understand cats, you only have to watch them – through respectfully lowered eyes.