How Jamie Cullum became an inspiration during the pandemic
Research conducted by Yamaha has shown that playing an instrument significantly helped people cope with the restrictions posed by lockdowns, with 86% of the surveyed participants saying that playing their instrument really helped their mental health. Nevertheless, not everyone is lucky enough to have access to a musical instrument, and obtaining a good quality one can often be out of reach of many people’s budgets.
Jamie Cullum, a renowned UK jazz musician, saw this as an opportunity to start a fun piano competition for groups with a chance of winning his Yamaha S6 Grand Piano. Schools, community organizations, and charities were encouraged to enter the competition by writing and recording an original song all about how winning this piano would benefit the winning participants.
The goal was to help an inspiring group get access to his fantastic grand piano, which would normally cost £65,000 and be inaccessible to many. The competition alone was a great chance to boost morale amongst music teachers and students, giving everyone a fun project to work on during these difficult times and a welcome distraction.
Personally, I especially liked the idea of targeting the above groups for a competition because, as a music teacher, I’ve seen with my own eyes how rarely schools can get the funding to obtain good pianos for music tuition. I was lucky that when I was doing my GCSEs in school, our head of music placed all the funding for the music department into getting a grand piano. Being able to play on that instrument really influenced my grade, and made a huge difference to my playing.
Unfortunately, the school I currently teach at doesn’t have a decent piano, not in the school hall nor in the music room. I believe that any pupils studying the piano can benefit from playing on a better instrument, in the same way I did, and that’s what makes Jamie Cullum’s project so special. Obtaining a grand piano could really change the way students learn the instrument and fall in love with playing.
Obviously, this competition alone is just one step towards helping schools in deprived areas access good instruments to learn music. I hope that it influences others to do something similar and share the wealth of musical instruments with those who would otherwise be unable to ever play a grand piano. It just makes you wonder, how many companies out there could easily afford to run similar competitions and give away some expensive musical instruments to those in need?
Jamie Cullum has been an inspiration not only for his competition but also for the fun online piano lessons that he’s been offering. Something that also my friends and other people in the teaching community have been praising and enjoying. It all comes down to realising that music playing can positively impact everyone’s life, and shouldn’t be just a privilege for a few.
Ultimately, I hope that having noticed the positive impact that playing an instrument has during such difficult times, can encourage more people to understand the benefits of teaching music in schools and in this case, also how access to a good instrument can really make a difference for pupils.
