8 reasons music is so good for young people...

So it would seem obvious to give our children access to music - both listening and playing - at the earliest available opportunity.

However, in October 2018, Lord Black, chair of the Royal College of Music, told the House of Lords music was 'literally disappearing from our schools', creating an 'existential crisis' for music in the UK.

"Instead of music being a fundamental right of all children, it is rapidly becoming the preserve of the privileged few at independent schools as it dies out in the state sector," he said.

He went on to speak of the 'vital role' music 'plays in the upbringing of children'.

"Every survey shows the incredibly positive benefit that music has on the young mind," he added.

"It improves cognitive ability by up to 17%, raising attainment in maths and English. It boosts mental health.

"By the time children leave primary school, one in five of them will have experienced mental health problems, and music is proven to help ​them find ways to cope with that.

"It benefits children from poorer backgrounds in particular.

"Students from low-income families who take part in musical and creative activities at school are three times more likely to get a degree and get a job.

"Music moulds young minds.

"For all those reasons, music is vital to the proper, successful functioning of our society, our economy and our education system. It is not an add-on, pastime or 'nice to have'; it is a fundamental building block of the country we want to be, as important as engineering, medicine and mathematics."

In April last year, the Musicians' Union published The State of Play, a report which said music education in the UK was in 'a perilous state'.

Then, when Ofsted published the results of its annual parent survey in the same month, just 32% of parents felt music was covered sufficiently in their child’s education.

But children do want to learn about music.

Research by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has shown the majority of children - nine out of 10 - would like to learn a musical instrument.

Band instruments like the guitar (45%), piano (36%) and drums/percussion (35%) were the most popular.

So the announcement this month of an extra £80m for the subject will be music to the ears of teachers, parents and children.

The money, announced by School Standards Minister Nick Gibb, will help fund 'music education hubs', organisations which help give young people access to instruments and support music classes.

The hubs feature subsidised music lessons and ensembles.

"Music, arts and culture play an essential role in enriching pupils’ education, and we want to give as many young people as possible the opportunity to learn an instrument or perform in a choir or a band," said Mr Gibb.

"Our continued investment will play an important role in helping young people widen their horizons and access all the opportunities that learning a musical instrument can provide - whether that be playing for pleasure or performing."

Meanwhile, the BBC has launched Bring The Noise, an educational campaign set to help primary school teachers and parents inspire children to become musicians and see the joys of music-making.

The campaign aims to inspire children to become musicians and discover the joys of music-making and counts the likes of Zara Larsson, Nile Rodgers, JP Cooper and YolanDa Brown as ambassadors.

Award-winning saxophonist YolanDa said: "Music education, and access to good music education is paramount.

"Music inspires, teaches teamwork, is an outlet for expression and a whole lot more. Every child should have access to music-making opportunities to create and absorb music."

She has just launched a new series, Found Sounds with YolanDa Brown, on the Bring The Noise website.

The five-part series is aimed at Key Stage 1 children and demonstrates you don't need fancy instruments to make music, as YolanDa visits familiar locations to discover the sounds made by everyday objects in the environment, which can inspire her team of Mighty Music Makers to create an instrument.

Here, Brown explains why music education is so good for children...

1. It helps them learn

Music can be used to teach so much, from maths to science and even physical education with dance and movement. It's important to be creative when teaching music and to understand that it's also benefiting other areas of learning and development.

2. It encourages teamwork

Playing instruments together, whether in a band or an orchestra or singing in a choir, is one of the most powerful experiences you can have. The idea of working together and realising that your part - no matter how small or large, loud or subtle - is important to make the song work, is so fulfilling.

3. It allows children to dream

Children are the heartbeat of every generation and it's important that we nurture them and teach them to dream. Music provides escapism and allows the listener to dream. Children need to know everything is possible in life and be given the opportunity to dream, before society adds boxes and ceilings.

Especially at a young age, they're free to enjoy music with all its purity and sincerity, before they start to understand chart positions and social network numbers, as that becomes a gauge sometimes to the authenticity of the music.

4. It creates discipline

Learning music, especially if you play an instrument, creates discipline. You learn to look after your instrument, cleaning it after use. It also teaches you to be dedicated to practice and personal development.

5. It boosts confidence

There is such pride and a sense of achievement that comes from learning music to perform in from of family and peers. The feeling is just mind-blowing.

6. It increases coordination

In a similar way to sports, playing an instrument helps children develop their motor skills, with improved hand-eye coordination.

7. It improves listening

Making music requires children to listen to sounds and process them. They have to respond to tempo, pitch, other players and more. This skill of listening will help in all walks of life.

8. It teaches patience

To learn an instrument, you have to be very patient and endure a lot of false starts and overcome the regular, 'I can't do it', that might crop up a few times. The learning process is a lifetime journey, as you're constantly developing and growing on your instrument.

Children learn a lot of patience in the early stages of their introduction to music and the feeling of overcoming a musical stumbling block or nerves at a performance are priceless.

So, it's clear that whatever we may think of the noise, making music is good for young people, good for the economy, and most importantly, it's good for the soul.