Music is to be heard. Art is to be seen. A long awaited outing to hear my friend’s choir concert, under Luke Jerram’s GAIA installation, poignantly brought this message home. No matter where we are in our musical journey, whilst we ourselves should enjoy the journey, let’s remember to share the journey!

The pencil is a musician’s best friend, for both performance and music theory. If I see a completely clean sheet of music I doubt if it’s been played at all - but it should be used judiciously. There are some things you just shouldn’t do!

If we play the right notes, but using incorrect fingering, does it matter? Typically the answer is both yes and no. Not only is this a massive part of piano playing, but the principle of correct fingering is appropriate in many other instruments. In my case woodwind (flute and recorder) can equally suffer from lazy finger technique. However, we can sometimes ignore or change suggested fingering patterns - the big question is when?

Why do we bother to play an instrument? What motivates us to keep practising to improve our musical skills? We always have a choice about whether to create or to consume - in every endeavour. When it comes to music (and other ventures too!) I’m drawn to want to engage more deeply. I’m not satisfied to be passive and just let it all wash over me! From my young childhood I had a longing that I couldn’t articulate - I wanted to be involved in music at a deeper level. Each of us choose to create or to consume. When we choose to play an instrument we involve ourselves more deeply and we get a greater sense of satisfaction as a result.