Features

Youth Music column: Tablets and tambourines

Matt Griffiths, CEO of Youth Music, explores compelling research from its Sound of the Next Generation report and makes recommendations for the controlled use of digital devices in music education and early years – to equalise access to music-making
Groundswell Arts

Toddlers are now reaching for tablets as much as tambourines when it comes to music-making. According to Youth Music's Sound of the Next Generation (SONG) report, nearly half (48%) of pre-schoolers that are currently making music are doing so on phones and tablets.

The research, commissioned to mark Youth Music's 25th anniversary, explores young people's relationship with music. It found that the music-making habits of the youngest of our society (0- to 5-year-olds) are shifting away from more traditional forms and moving rapidly towards digital methods, due to barriers to access and increasing digital opportunities. Rapid changes in technology over the past six years have changed perceptions around what it means to be a musician, with over 75% of young people believing you don't have to play an instrument to be a musician.

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