Learn To Play Offers Free Lessons as Music Education Funding Tightens

Learn To Play, the national event run by the charity Music For All, takes place from Thursday 8 October to Sunday 11 October. Across four days, adults and young people are invited to try an instrument, develop existing skills, or take a taster lesson with a teacher. Events are organised regionally, and the scheme’s website lists what is happening locally.

The timing is not incidental. Music and arts education in Britain is under visible strain, with many schools failing to meet basic curriculum requirements for young people. Learn To Play addresses part of that gap by putting instruments in front of people who might otherwise never encounter them.

Music For All general manager Sonali Banerjee framed the event against that backdrop. She described the current funding landscape as a “great challenge” for the UK arts sector, noting that performing arts teaching grants have been reduced to zero and that specialist training institutions face cuts of up to 50%. “The pipeline of future talent is under real pressure,” she said.

Banerjee also pointed to the long-established link between playing music and improved wellbeing, citing reductions in depression, anxiety and pain. The charity says it remains committed to helping disadvantaged music makers access the money they need to start or continue playing.

Kenza Blanca, the British Moroccan singer-songwriter and Music For All ambassador, put the case more directly. “Music should be available and accessible to everyone,” she said, describing the confidence and sense of achievement that come with learning to play. Details of local events are at musicforall.org.uk.