Albert Einstein was not a musical genius but he was by all accounts no slouch either when it came to performing on the violin. In fact much of his intense brainstorming bouts on atoms, the universe and such were interspersed with an hour or so downstairs in the living room playing the violin and he regularly gave performances in a string quartet. Surprised? Well you shouldn’t be because educators have known for sometime now (and obviously Einstein knew instinctively) that learning to play a musical instrument especially during the formative years can help develop reasoning capacity and problem solving skills, maths and language performance and a better memory.

Lynne Compton took on the job of head music teacher this year at the Snowy Mountains Grammar School. She is qualified to the eyeballs both on paper and in practical experience having worked as a multi- instrumental band teacher in the Central West. Not being one to “blow her own trumpet” Lynne has great vision and hopes for the students lucky enough to cross her musical path.

“I try to encourage students to find the style of music that they enjoy”, she explained to me. “This could be classical music in small ensembles such as string groups and chamber groups with woodwinds, rock music in small groups, solo performances of vocal and instrumental music or concert band music for large groups.”

A far cry from my early school music experience I thought, when all we got was some boring old fart whom all the students thought of as a little strange, putting on a scratchy long playing record which sent us off into the land of ZZZ’s.

I was reading with some interest an article that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald (August 27,page 33) under the heading of “Nursery crimes” in which Professor Fiona Stanley says “it’s time for Australia to wake up and look after it’s children”. The piece spoke of

a more complicated world and its detrimental affects on (especially young) children and how it was manifested in an increase in emotional stress related problems and learning difficulties. Children with delayed language, poor letter and number recognition, and inadequate foundational skills were on the back foot from the start and often found it impossible to catch up.

The young musicians of Snowy Mountains
Grammar School

My personal view is that learning a musical instrument and developing a musical appreciation from an early age certainly helps to focus general learning skills.

With this thought in mind I notice that Lynne Compton has listed in her programme at Snowy Mountains Grammar School the objective “to establish SMGS as a centre of excellence for music years Kindergarten to year 12”. Good on you Lynne the children of SMGS are lucky indeed. The programme also offers a wide diversity of musical study and includes scope for the musically gifted too.

Everybody is musically talented to some degree but let’s be honest “It’s all relative”.

Paul Dion