Leeds-born Musician Al Doyle Goes Back to School in Support of Music Education from a Young Age

On Thursday 9th March Al Doyle from Hot Chip visited Clifton Green Primary school to take part in music lessons and answer children’s questions about being a successful musician.

“I always felt lucky to have had my musical curiosity supported by teachers, youth groups and organisations from an early age,” says Al, “So it’s great to now have the opportunity to help the Foundation and the fantastic work they’re doing with young people in the region.”

The visit was part of our growing schools programme where primary schools in the Tees Valley, North Yorkshire and York areas are receiving subsidised high quality music lessons for all children alongside extra choirs and music holiday clubs. On the day Al joined in with a lesson about ‘Ostinatos’ using the theme song from the ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ – we also got him dancing and choosing star musicians! The children asked him lots of questions about music and his career.

“We think it’s vital for children to experience music from a young age, so we focus our work on primary schools where children can learn the very basics of music and start to gain confidence in, and love for, singing,” said Cathy Grant, Manager of the Foundation.

It’s a timely programme with the Government’s re-launch of the National Plan for Music Education recommending that all primary school children receive at least an hour of music a week.

“There are various challenges in providing a high quality and varied music provision within a school, not least that there are fewer music specialists working in remote areas of our region and it can be a challenge for them to work across several far-flung schools,” continued Cathy.

“Most importantly, we want to ensure equal access to music, so that all children can receive the benefits of participating in music, from the creative skills that music helps young people to develop, to ensuring the musicians of the future are from varied backgrounds.”