This Just In: Kids Enjoy Rock Music More Than Piano Lessons?

We’ve already reported on the sudden, shocking rise of the ukulele taking over British schools, but it turns out that guitars are actually what’s “becoming the instruments of choice in the classroom,” while “orchestral instrument lessons are in decline, according to researchers from the Institute of Education in London.” Apparently Jack White is to blame? And also this means Britney is dead, according to the guy who wrote Cats.

Susan Hallam, who led the team, said it was likely the guitar would soon overtake the violin as the most widely taught instrument, with children being inspired by bands such as the White Stripes…

The study found that 19% of primary school pupils having specialist music tuition were learning the violin, down from 24% two years ago.

There were also falls for the recorder, specialist singing lessons, flute and clarinet. But the proportion of pupils learning the guitar is now at more than 18%, another year on year rise… The composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is backing the campaign to raise music standards in schools, said: “The day of lip-sync manufactured pop is dying. Now everything is about live performance.”

Sure, these numbers might be all kinds of different if voice-correcting, manufactured pop-assisting ProTools was part of schools’ music-related curricula, but keep the dream alive, Andrew.

Violin Losing Out To Guitar In Music Lessons [Guardian]