THE Royal Scottish National Orchestra has joined the chorus of voices calling for an end to music teaching cuts.
The prestigious company says reductions in provision for pupils across the country are impacting on its outreach work.
And, in a week where young people told MSPs that poorer learners are being priced out of lessons due to classroom charges, the internationally renowned company has appealed for music to be given prominence within the curriculum.
Bill Chandler, RSNO director of artistic planning and engagement, told The National: “Budgets are under pressure and the adults who are making these decisions still seem to view music as an extra. It’s an add-on, it’s expendable.
“We are beginning to see a very strong argument being made, with more research all the time, how music is a mechanism for increasing attainment across the curriculum.
“We really need to be fighting that corner, and saying if we can include this we are going to see development and attainment reach new heights.
“I know the pressures are enormous but I would add the RSNO’s voice to that argument with full force.”
EIS, Scotland’s largest teaching union, says the number of music teachers has fallen from 1100 to 640 in the past ten years.
And earlier this year it emerged that all but 10 of the country’s 32 councils charge for music classes.
Prices vary between areas, with Clackmannanshire setting the bill at almost £525 per year for many pupils.
In West Lothian, this is set at £350 and the national average is around £212.
On Wednesday teenagers Alice Ferguson and Catherine Mackie – both members of the Scottish Youth Parliament – told MSPs how youngsters from worse-off families are unable to join school bands or study for music exams in some areas as their parents are unable to pay costs levied by councils.
Ferguson said: “A lot of my friends have now dropped out of music just because they can’t afford it, which is ridiculous.
“By introducing a charge for instrumental service, you are denying young people this opportunity depending on how much money they have, which just shouldn’t be the case.
“It is only the privileged that are getting to do music now – it’s like Victorian times, where only the elite get these opportunities. This increases inequality.”
Music provision varies across the country, with local authorities responsible for teaching budgets in their areas.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, pictured above, has said that while she believes tuition should be free, the Scottish Government does not direct councils on the matter.
However, Greens education spokesperson Ross Greer has hit out at a “decade of council cuts”.
Earlier this year prominent composers and musicians including Phil Cunningham and Sir James MacMillan signed a joint letter warning against “frightening” increases in fees for musical tuition in schools.
They said: “Fees in state schools exclude children, particularly those from less well-off backgrounds.
“Our world class Instrumental Music Services in Scotland’s local authorities are being dismantled.”
Chandler, who has been with the RSNO for almost 25 years, says he has witnessed a “gradual decrease” in the number of youngsters able to play instruments.
The orchestra has a number of outreach projects geared towards young learners, including a new concert series beginning next month.
RSNO 360 Live will introduce pupils from primary three to five to a live symphony orchestra in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee.
Performers will also take part in this weekend’s Big Music for Minis event at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
The two-day event, which involves others including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and National Youth Choir of Scotland, is aimed at babies and children up to the age of seven, and includes both free and low-cost sessions.
Chandler said: “In the past we would come to a school and do a multi-visit project and there would be quite a few people playing instruments already.
“We are seeing a gradual decrease in that.
“We can still do effective projects but we have to be very creative about how we engage and on what level.
“We can go in and people may come away inspired and want to learn an instrument, but it’s very difficult to create a pathway for them to do so in certain areas.
“It is increasingly difficult to see how we can maximise everything we do when we feel it is not as well supported at grassroots level.”
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