Pupils prefer electrical to the classical

ELECTRONIC KEYBOARDS and electric guitars are taking over from classical instruments in the classroom, according to a national survey of music in schools. The study, by the opinion pollster Mori, found that the number of schools teaching "hi-tech" instruments had doubled in the past six years. More secondary schools were offering electric guitar lessons than teaching piano.

The survey of nearly 1,000 primary and secondary schools found that traditional instruments like the trumpet and violin were, however, still dominant in schools. At primary level, the humble recorder was the most common instrument to be taught, while secondary schools were most likely to teach woodwind instruments like the clarinet and oboe.

Less than a third of schools said that they were meeting the demand for music teaching, in spite of the figures showing that a slightly larger proportion of pupils was learning an instrument. The number of orchestras, bands and music groups wasdown. Only 55 per cent of schools said they had an orchestra, down from 66 per cent six years ago. The number of wind bands and recorder groups has also slumped.

The survey comes a week after David Blunkett, the Secretary of State for Education, doubled to pounds 180m the funds for school music. Bob Kelley, secretary general of the Music Industries Association, said: "We should have been doing this a long time ago. I bet there are a lot of kids playing the drums or guitar in their bedrooms or in the garage, rather than being in an orchestra or a wind band at weekends."

John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads' Association, said: "There has been a revolution in school music. It is now a much more exciting subject and has much more variety. Electronic instruments have really contributed to music in schools, because they are very good for bringing in children who are not brilliantly musical. "But it is still an area of huge concern. There is not enough money for music and it has been one of the big casualties of the past 10 years. Good music is absolutely vital to a school. All the best schools have very active music departments."

The survey, commissioned by the Performing Rights Society and the accountants, Price Waterhouse Coopers, found that more parents were being asked to pay for music lessons - at 80 per cent of schools, compared with 33 per cent six years ago.

On average, parents were paying pounds 61 a term, and nearly a third of schools felt parents were having difficulty finding the fees. The report said: "The evidence suggests a substantial reduction in the level of overall public funding of instrumental/vocal tuition and ancillary services... Parents are now bearing a much greater proportion of total tuition fees."

Likes and

Dislikes

Instruments taught in classrooms

Primary schools %

Recorder 69

Strings 67

Woodwind 64

Brass 52

Acoustic guitar 37

Piano 37

Voice 35

Electronic keyboards 31

Percussion 30

Saxophone 27

Electric guitar 10

Ethnic instruments 4

Harp 3

Secondary schools %

Woodwind 91

Brass 87

Strings 85

Acoustic guitar 76

Percussion 76

Saxophone 74

Electric guitar 61

Piano 53

Electronic keyboards 52

Voice 48

Recorder 32

Ethnic instruments 9

Harp 7