Before I get carried away, I just want to rewind for a second to the weeks leading up to the Garden Party. Sarah (Music Centre Manager) spent the majority of these weeks on her spreadsheet, which was designed to tell every member of staff where they needed to be and at what time. There were many factors to consider; set up, set down, hands on activities, stage management, when were the staff conducting? When and where were they teaching throughout the day? With this in mind, when were they ACTUALLY free to assist the activities? It seemed to be a very frustrating task, especially with so many different and ever-changing factors. I definitely wouldn’t say the day ran perfectly, but I would say it was a huge success.
The ‘Hands On’ session was extremely interesting. I had never before understood when people spoke of young children and said they were or weren’t ‘naturals’ on an instrument. I have always thought to myself, when hearing this, surely if you practice enough and have a decent instrument anyone can be a good musician. This view was changed after the Garden Party! I saw a number of children who could pick up a violin or a cello and although they didn’t understand HOW to play, they were still making such a good sound. Then there were others who couldn’t get their minds around how to even hold the instrument, let alone make a good sound. I don’t say that to be mean or harsh, but it is very true that some children can naturally pick up instruments extremely well from a young age. It got me wondering, was I a ‘natural’? Or did my teachers have to suffer through months of painful
squeaking before I understood how to hold my instrument? In fact, if my current teacher reads this, I’m sure he would immediately argue I still hold my instrument wrong.
And finally, thank you to everyone who came along to support this event. I hope you had as much fun as I did!
Cake Photograph Courtesy of Andy Keith
Nail Varnish Photograph Courtesy of Emma Dally