The 'life-changing' impact of free music lessons for adults on this Scottish island
Free music lessons are having a “life changing” impact for a group of adults on a Scottish island.
The initiative is the brainchild of Napier University PhD student Arianna Ranieri, who is a professional violist.
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Hide AdShe told The Scotsman how the idea came to her while she was performing in rural Scotland during a recent tour.


“A lot of the audience members were adults and they told me that they had never experienced lessons before, or there were not teachers nearby, and it just wasn’t very accessible,” she said.
“It really stuck with me because I felt quite sad that this part of my life was not shared by so many people, just because they lived in a rural area and there was nobody there.
“What I decided to do was to think about how I could not only create an initiative that was sustainable, but to do research and find out how we can learn more about community music and the importance of having strong pedagogy and support for that in rural areas for adults who are often left out of these opportunities because of age and geographic barriers.”
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Hide AdShe launched her free weekly music sessions in Millport, on the island of Great Cumbrae, in September. It includes bespoke tuition, teaching group classes, and some individual lessons. Most are beginners but some are more advanced.
“The session in Millport has been unbelievably successful,” she said.
“I thought I’d be pulling teeth to get participants, but it turned out I had to get more instruments that were loaned very generously by the North Ayrshire music service, by Ronan Watson, free of charge.
“We’ve just been thriving. It has been an amazing experience. We’ve been learning basic techniques while also jamming to all kinds of different music so that everyone feels included.
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Hide Ad“I’ve just seen not only friendships grow, but confidence grow, among the musicians, and they start teaching themselves.
“They have even started their own practice group, and have their own ensemble that they’ve started without me. They are having a concert this weekend.
“It has just grown into a part of the island. Some of the participants have described it as therapeutic and life-changing.
“I’m just amazed at how much I’ve learned about the impact and the individual impact that this has had, which is the most important part to me as a teacher.”
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Hide AdThe scheme has been so successful the Cumbrae Forum has decided to fund the project through 2025.
It means Ms Ranieri will be returning for workshops once a month in 2025 teach classes and run jam sessions
She is also going to be in Fife and Glencoe to help start similar initiatives she hopes can be sustainable.
The findings will inform the researcher’s PhD, which is focussed on music pedagogy and community music.
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Hide Ad“What I’m hoping is it goes much further than my PhD. The reason I’m doing it as a PhD is that I wanted to learn more about how this is impactful and meaningful, and how educators can work with adults in the community to make it bespoke for them, and make music accessible for them.
“Because music has become more accessible in schools and music services, but it still not accessible for a lot of adults in these rural areas.”
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