Of the many things that I get passionate about, music was probably my first love. I was fortunate because my Father is a musician and ran a music shop for the first 16 years of my life – there was always music to listen to and always instruments to play music on.
My first documented live performance was at the age of 3 when I marched into my Mother’s office, introduced myself, asked if the assembled colleagues would like to hear ‘The Bunny Song’, then proceeded to sing – with all the actions – this song that I have long forgotten! I mastered the recorder, taught myself to play the keyboard, and achieved grade 8 in oboe before I discovered the bass guitar. It was all downhill from there! Aged 13 I had discovered the thrill of being in a rock band and of chasing boys in bands.
Fast forward 20 years and I’m still playing bass guitar, I’m married to the tour manager, and I’m as in love with music as I ever was. I know how blessed I am to have music in my life and am one of those addicts who tries to push my addiction on everyone I know! It’s been the same ever since I would try to make my friends listen to Rubber Soul on my Walkman in the playground at primary school. If I hear something that I think you would like, you will hear about it.
As such, I am extremely passionate about the teaching of music in our schools and wish for every child to have the same enviable access to music and musical instruments as I was given. I was thinking about those heading back to school in September – the students and the teachers – and my thoughts on music and musical education made me think about Mozart. If you are going to get into classical music, start with the stuff with the best basslines.
I’ll confess to being a little bummed out to hear (via the Twitter telegraph this morning) that some schools are dropping GCSE Music, as well as Drama, due to budget cuts. As someone who has benefited more from a musical background than from the GCSE in Business Studies I decided to take for ‘practical’ reasons, which has helped me IN NO WAY with my own business, I cannot stress the importance of allowing children to be creative and appreciative of beauty and culture.
They’ll be far better and more interesting dinner party guests in the future.
The wafer paper flowers on this cake are formed of sheet music from Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (or ‘a little serenade’) en homage to this great composer and his many works. You can learn how to make these in this month’s Cake Decoration & Sugarcraft Magazine.
Stay gorgeous!
Cxx
