Thousands of children throughout Scotland will soon be singing or learning an instrument following First Minister Jack McConnell's £17.5 million pledge to provide access to free music tuition for all schoolchildren for a year by the time they are in Primary Six.
 
Covering the length and breadth of Scotland, the first round of grants, totalling £2 million, have been announced by the Scottish Arts Council and Frank McAveety MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport giving many more children the opportunity to sing or play an instrument. 
 
Every local authority in the country was invited to submit details of how they would increase access to music and singing tuition for the primary-age children in their area.  Each proposal offers access to a range of musical styles, as well as using different learning and teaching approaches.  Local authority music services were also encouraged to increase ways of bringing learners together in a band, choir or group, so that children can enjoy the experience of playing with others.
 
Nod Knowles, Head of Music at the Scottish Arts Council welcomed the first round of awards and added:  "This is the start of an exciting future for music in Scotland.  The Executive's financial boost to youth music provision and the collaboration amongst everyone to create a national strategy for the work means that the next generation of musical talent will be given more training and encouragement than ever before."
 
Frank McAveety, MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport also welcomed the news: "I am pleased to announce that the first round of grants, totalling £2 million, has been made to Local Authorities for the Youth Music Initiative. This is part of a three-year funding package of £17.5 million to give more children throughout Scotland the opportunity to sing or play a musical instrument.
 
"The Executive's main target is that, by 2006, all school children should have had access to one year's free music tuition by the time they reach primary 6."

The First Minister's announcement earlier this year followed the
publication of What's Going On: an audit of youth music in Scotland, which was commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council, Youth Music and the Musicians' Union.  The research was carried out by the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
 
The new approaches to music tuition include: Clackmannanshire Council's, new singing teacher who will work across all primary schools in the area; and in the north, Highland Council is teaming up with Feisean Nan Gaidheal to provide traditional music tuition to pupils who presently have no access to it. 
 
In Edinburgh, the city council plans Saturday morning classes in
recorder and strings, a new programme of singing or choral activities across the city and a small pilot programme in music creativity education.  A three-year programme to develop music theatre groups in the city's schools is planned for Dundee, while in Angus the grant will be spent buying 200 new instruments, including cellos, violins, violas, recorders and bagpipe chanters.  Angus Council will also appoint a strings and woodwind tutor. 
 
West Lothian Council is introducing a comprehensive string programme for primary pupils as well weekly singing workshops.  West Dunbartonshire will develop the singing skills of its primary pupils.  Meanwhile, in the Shetland Isles a new instrumental instructor will be recruited and in Orkney new percussion instruments will be bought for early years pupils.  Scottish Borders Council will recruit three new music instructors, including a vocal specialist.
 
In the second and third year of the initiative (2004/05 & 2005/06) more funding of £12 million will be awarded directly to local authority tuition services.  A further £3.5 million will be distributed over the three years of the initiative to projects which will involve other youth music organisations as well as the local councils. 

Advertisements have now appeared for a Youth Music Officer to be appointed within the Scottish Arts Council to liaise with local authorities and with a reference group of youth music specialists who will be brought together to develop plans for the next two years of the Initiative.