Making music improves your life! The UK faces a wide range of social issues plus the challenge of an expanding older population. Playing music can offer society a unique way to break down barriers, educate and socialise marginalised groups and integrate diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. Only 21% of the UK population (aged over five years) plays an instrument...

The Musical Instrument Association welcomes Government’s continuing commitment to music education. The MIA is greatly encouraged by the publication of the National Music Plan and the importance that the Government clearly places on music education in this country, as well as the critical role music plays in our creative and cultural economy. We welcome the...

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Swazz Publishing was started in 2007 by Bob Bernard and is dedicated to delivering sheet music to students and bands of all abilities. Specialising in swing, jazz, big band and concert music, Swazz Publishing is committed to providing quality arrangements of popular standards and original scores. Headed by a team of professional musicians, Swazz Publishing and its...

Learning to play a musical instrument could help offset the effects of ageing, a recent study suggests Middle age musicians excelled in memory and ability to hear speech within background noise compared with non musicians. The study which focused on 45-65 year olds, also compared their auditory working memory, visual working memory and auditory temporal processing-...

In 1954 During his half term break from Salesian College The Benny Goodman Story was showing at Don’s local Cinema in Paddington. After seeing the Film Don went back to School and told the Music Teacher that he wanted to learn the Clarinet. The teacher said I think we have two Clarinets in a draw in the music room. He took Don to the Music room opened the draw...

In 1864, a musician called Henri Selmer, not happy with the performance of his clarinet, made a vastly superior instrument to any other available at the time.In 1898 Henri’s brother, Alexander, took the new instrument to America, where it was a major success, ...