The conservatory model
People once believed the Earth was a flat disc, or that tomatoes were poisonous and fit only for decoration. We laugh at those ideas today, yet every era has its own quirks, and music is no exception. In our time we have put music-making into a mould: instead of enriching our relationships, we have turned music into a hunt for technical perfection, proven in front of an examination board or a handful of educated listeners.
That mindset is rooted in the so-called conservatory model of the Romantic era, when highly specialised professionals were deliberately trained for the great orchestras. When we try to map a 19th-century model onto the everyday life of a 21st-century child, we quickly hit a wall.
Where does it go wrong?
If only a few students left music school, it would not be a problem. The numbers vary between studies and settings, but the overall trends paint a similar picture:
More than half (between 50 and 65 %) of children stop making music right after music school ends.
As many as 80 % of children who enrol in music school give up before finishing secondary school.
As many as 88 % of adults (aged 30 to 74) who attended music school as children no longer play at all today. Only 12 % stay active.
Once schooling ends, students are left to themselves, so years of investment often remain on paper only. If we want people who genuinely live music rather than paper certificates, we have to turn the page. We need …
A model for our time
Let us try to answer the question: what is the goal of music school in the first place?
We all want outstanding musicians, and at the same time the mission of a school is not only to train soloists but to empower people who will be accompanied by music for the rest of their lives. Our measures of success have to fit the times we live in.
So what do we propose? Our goal is to raise individuals who can actively create with the people around them and carry what they have learned into other areas of their lives.
That shift needs more than verbal agreement: it needs a renewed environment and a willingness to face the concrete obstacles along the way.
Three changes
Here are three concrete steps we have to take if we want a new culture of music-making to take hold:
1) First, we have to make sure the student sees a deeper meaning in what they create. That means having short-term and long-term milestones that act as a guide. Once the student holds a compass, music stops being aimless wandering and becomes an exciting journey with a clear destination.
2) We have to carry the culture of music-making out of the classroom and into the student's home. It is our job as music teachers to empower parents to be active co-creators of that process. Once parents have the right tools, they can weave music-making into family rituals quite easily, even if it is only five shared minutes a week.
3) Waiting for “the right moment” has not been a recipe for success for a long time. In a packed everyday life we have to carve out space for music deliberately and defend that time firmly against other obligations. Only with a clear time structure can we secure real progress for a child. And that progress is what stops music-making from being a source of stress and family conflict in the long run and turns it into a safe space for growth and relaxation.
Small steps
You might be thinking: “This all sounds very sensible, but … how do I start?”
Start with the smallest possible step: take 5 shared minutes this week. You could sing together for grandma's birthday, put on a mini concert in the living room, or take a moment for a simple lullaby before bed.
With small, persistent steps you will find it easier week by week to spot which musical activities fit your family's dynamic best. Over time you will spontaneously arrive at a formula that makes music an indispensable part of your everyday life.
Our mission
At our music house we want to return music to where it belongs: the everyday life of ordinary people. For every family that wants a clear plan and a supportive environment along the way, we created Generalka, a programme in which families build a home musical environment ready for growth, through a guided process and in small steps.