Practice Games for Beginner Pupils

Back to music lessons means back to music practice. A dreaded word by some students, a cherished one by others. Then again, what does it mean to practice your musical instrument?

My understanding of the term has evolved from playing to remember to play to enjoy. Imagine learning your times tables once and never revising them again? I doubt many people would remember them or enjoy doing maths problems without knowing them. Practising a musical instrument is similar because it helps you develop instrumental skills, consolidate your theoretical understanding and promotes creativity and self-expression through musical performance. If you don’t play scales or pieces between lessons, your love for the instrument might start to fade. You won’t be able to move onto new material and you might miss out on opportunities to listen, learn and grow as a musician.

So, what can we do as teachers and parents to induce some much-needed enjoyment into practicing? Play games!

Teaching piano and flute to hundreds of students across London has highlighted the importance of keeping play central to instrumental tuition. As a result, I play these practice games in lessons with my pupils and encourage them to incorporate these into their weekly practice sessions. I would encourage you to experiment as the year commences and devise your own as a result.

1. Crossing the Bridge

A short game involving repetitions with a twist.

Materials Needed

3 objects that are small enough to fit on a music stand or edge of a keyboard.

Instructions

1. Place 3 small objects on the left-hand side of your music stand or keyboard e.g. bracelets, erasers or pencils.
2. Select a goal for a particular piece and say it out loud e.g. "I'm going to play Bar 1 to 6 of Berry’s Smoothie without stopping.
3. Play your chosen section of the piece.
4. Move Object No. 1 to the right-hand side of the music stand/ keyboard if you achieve your goal.
5. Repeat the passage.
6. Move Object No. 2 to the right if you achieve your goal. Return Object No. 1 to the left if you make a mistake.
7. Continue until all 3 items have crossed to the right-hand side of the "bridge."

2. Soft Toy Tuition

Get Bunny and all their friends to be the audience of your child’s performance.

A firm favourite with my beginner pupils. It can be particularly useful when students are struggling to regulate their emotions in lessons or practice sessions.

Materials Required

A soft toy preferably with long arms and legs.

Instructions

1. Put your soft toy next to your music stand or keyboard.
2. Select a section from your student/child’s piece e.g. Bar 5-8 of Rigadoon.
3. Show the soft toy how to play this section of the piece. This could involve playing the finger patterns on a woodwind/brass instrument or pressing the correct keys on a piano with their paws. Repeat several times.
4. “Ask” the soft toy to be an audience member while your student/child “performs” the same section for their “practice assistant.”

3. AMP (Adagio-Moderato-Presto)

An important practice technique for students struggling to play pieces at different speeds. Use Stage 1 with pupils who have not used a metronome in lessons and/or practice sessions.

Materials Required

Stage 2 will require a metronome.

Instructions

Stage 1

1. Select a section of your child/student’s piece.
2. Play this passage Adagio.
3. Perform the same section Moderato.
4. Play these measures Presto.

Stage 2

metronome

1. Choose a comfortable tempo.
2. Play your chosen section at this speed with a metronome.
3. Increase the tempo by 5 bpm. Play the passage again.
4. Repeat the above step.
5. Return to the previous speed if you make a mistake.
6. Continue until your child/pupil can play the section at a suitable tempo.

Note: BPM = Beats per Minute

4. Tappin Time

Materials Required

Enthusiasm😊

Instructions

Option A: string, woodwind and brass instruments.

1. Select 4-8 bars from a piece your student/child is working on e.g. Bar 3-6 of Sakura.
2. Clap the rhythm steadily.
3. Tap the rhythm steadily.
4. Clap the rhythm with your child/student.
5. Play the rhythm on a note of your choice e.g. C.
6. Play as written.

Option B: piano players.

1. Clap the rhythm of the right hand.
2. Clap the rhythm of the left hand.
3. Tap the rhythm of both hands together.
4. Play the rhythm on 2 repeated notes e.g. RH plays G G G G while LH plays C C C C in the correct rhythm.
5. Perform this section as written.

5. Dancing Dice

An excellent practice game to encourage pupils to start their pieces in different places.

Materials Required

A die (one dice) from a board game.

Instructions

1. Place the die (one dice) next to your keyboard or music stand.
2. Write the number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 above different bars in your music. Number 1 should be at the beginning and number 6 should be near the end. Teachers should be able to assist with this if the need arises.
3. Roll the die.
4. Play from the number shown on the dice to the end of the piece.
5. Repeat several times.

Happy practicing😊

BY SERENA SHEANE BMUS ATCL

Fun Musical Games for Parents & Children Over the December Break by Pelican Team

The holiday season is finally here! Whether your family celebrates Christmas, another cultural tradition, or simply enjoys a well-deserved winter rest, this is the perfect time to reconnect, slow down, and make beautiful memories together.

Music for many is a huge part of the festive period, and throughout history has been a way that we come together and celebrate the closing of the year. Whether that be carols, Christmas concerts, or even the countdown to Christmas no.1 most people have a piece of music or song that is synonymous with Christmas for them. The main reason for this I think is that music truly embodies togetherness which is something many crave at this point in the year. Even just picking out Jingle Bells on an old family piano with one finger, can bring a smile to the whole family's face.

On this month's blog, instead of a long article, we just wanted to give you some simple ways to bring music into your Christmas traditions at home, and help your children connect what they’re learning with family fun over the festive period.These are fun, simple, and totally pressure-free musical games you can enjoy with your children at home. No particular musical level needed by anyone, just a bit of creativity and joy. We’d love to hear how you get on!

1. Christmas Rhythm Charades

Christmas Charades Game

If you are looking for a “goofy” family bonding non-competitive game which can bring lots of laughter at the table, living room, or wherever you all are - try Christmas Rhythm Charades. A game which can be combined with different elements such as humming, tapping rhythms, or miming instruments.

How it works: All you have to do is tapping or humming any type of rhythm, song, and your child needs to repeat it back.

This is a great game to entertain and encourage children's creativity and imagination, it will also help them to reinforce their knowledge in music and rhythms, as well as their listening skills. Lastly, and not least important, it will also encourage collaboration and teamwork, as they need to be ready to listen and communicate.

2. Musical Hide & Seek

Could I ask you to take a moment with yourself and go back in time? Can you see yourself hiding behind that tree, or bush, underneath the table, bed, or behind a door (whichever you chose was the best place to hide in the whole world, wasn’t it?).

Playing Hide and Seek it’s a great game that contributes to a child's development in their early years and encourages problem-solving, critical and flexible thinking, memory and creativity. Moreover, it helps to promote life skills such as communication and teamwork.

What about when we add MUSIC into this game? We will help to improve concentration, memory and focus through active listening.

How it works: Hide a small item (a soft toy, bauble, or anything safe). As your child searches, you guide them using sound:

Louder → they’re getting closer

Softer → they’re moving away

You could even try this using their instrument of choice!

3. DIY Family Band

This suggestion might be the least favorite one for our neighbors (haha), but it’s definitely a great one for the days when we all are a bit more energetic and we need to shake it off a bit.

Let’s create our own orchestra at home! This will bring a lot of creative thinking and imagination to the whole house. It will definitely help boost teamwork and energy, making it great for families and ideal for kids to learn and grow together.

What can you use? Use household items to create your own orchestra:

How To Make Musical Instruments At Home

Jar with rice → shaker

Pots & wooden spoons → drums

Keys → jingle bells

Cardboard box → cajón

Two spoons → castanets

Choose any song and perform together as a family band. It’s chaos. It’s loud. It’s perfect!

We hope you enjoy these games at home, and we’d love to hear from you.

Merry Christmas from everyone here at Pelican Music - and we’ll see you in 2026!

By Pelican Team

Ensembles: Building communities by Christian Miller

Frederich Chopin is often cited as saying of my instrument that “nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, save perhaps two.” As with many quotes this proves slippery to track down, but the idea of the poetic master of the piano reflecting on the beauty of two acoustic guitars playing together, perhaps informally in a 19th century drawing room, gives a resonant image - although perhaps today we might relate a twin guitar line up to the music of indie rock and progressive metal bands.

Christian Miller.

Guitar Teacher

It also focusses us onto something that I think is very special about the guitar that has informed my approach to teaching, which is its natural propensity toward being played socially, and in ensembles. While we might think of the lone figure of the classical guitar recitalist playing virtuosic and complex music on a single instrument, there’s no doubt that for most guitarists at all ability levels, this inexpensive and highly portable instrument has always lent itself to being played in groups. This is something we can very much appreciate in pop and rock music where the instrument played in ensemble is also most often a vehicle for song, songwriting and improvisation. There is also a tradition of classical guitar duets and ensembles.

For me, encouraging guitar students to participate in ensembles solves a simple practical need. It’s a less stressful gateway into performance. Rather than the spotlight being on a single performer, the student is part of an overall group, meaning that there is less pressure. It also allows me to mix ability groups. A less experienced player can be doubled up with someone more experienced. This can be highly effective with a group of players simply playing the exact same thing in unison – which can add legitimacy to a simple, beginners, part. With the right repertoire there’s also the possibility of combining simple and more complex parts so that performers of different levels of instrumental ability can play together, including myself.

Once a player has more confidence, they can consider performing a solo piece, although in practice almost all of these pieces are accompanied with another guitar, the piano being very much louder.

Ensemble playing also teaches a number of key skills that are distinct from solo performance.

First is learning to feel time in a group of players. As a simplest level, we have to focus on playing the piece in time. You can’t double back on yourself or hesitate in a group, so ensemble playing mandates a discipline in mastering the material – however simple – so that it can slot into place like clockwork. Often, students lose their place – persisting to the end of the performance and getting them used to ‘getting unlost real quick’ as sax legend Cannonball Adderly put it – can teach them important skills that will help them play with other musicians in other settings and be more robust when playing with others. This counts for any approach to music making – sight reading, playing practiced material or improvising.

This is something that is best taught, in my opinion by doing.

Secondly, many students report the enjoyment of being part of something larger than themselves that sounds good.

Thirdly, and perhaps even more importantly for me, is the potential of ensemble playing, from duet to orchestra to teaching students about the deep and intuitive aspects of music. Although we often think of teaching as being a verbal affair – the transmitting and understanding of information, so much of music is based on what the philosopher Michael Polanyi called Tacit Knowledge.

Children are sponges for experience and tacit learning. I’m often struck by children’s natural tendency to jump in right away – often they want to learn by doing and join with the teacher immediately. While this isn’t always helpful, having the teacher play with the student early on can teach the student a tremendous amount even without anything being said. I like to focus the student’s attention and reflections with questions in the lesson and rehearsals, to encourage the development of their own listening and musical awareness while playing.

We can most effectively communicate the tacit elements of music such as phrasing, micro rhythm (such as swing) and through demonstrating and playing with the student. When we move from the one-on-one music lesson to the group, this becomes even more the case. Beyond this point, a group of players will start to feel time together, as unspoken communication, and this is one of the most rewarding aspects of music for me – in jazz and rock/pop this relates to the all-important concept of groove. This also applies to other aspects of music such as dynamics (louds/softs) and phrasing (the way a musical line is played).

As a chordal instrument, the guitar is well suited to this, but this may be less immediately practical for instruments such as the voice, clarinet, violin and so on. This can be helped by using backing tracks – which I do use a lot in fact, when I want to double the student’s part.

Lastly, I’ve talked a lot about teacher/student duets and groups on the same instrument, but the most rewarding experiences have for me always come from mixed ensembles. Aside from the musical rewards, there’s also a social aspect to this type of music making which can become a life long interest. Most will not choose to go into professional music, but many people find the ability to play in amateur orchestras, chamber groups, choirs, rock bands and jazz bands enormously enriching and a great means for self-expression in their adult lives.

With that in mind, one of my few regrets about choosing the guitar is that it is not an orchestral instrument. However, we do have a role in big bands, pop orchestras, musicals and occasionally, classical chamber ensembles. Even small rock bands feature a mixture of instruments, including at least vocals, bass guitar and drums and possibly extending to keys, sax and many others. The important thing for any instrumentalist working in mixed ensembles is what the shared understanding of music is between different instruments. For me this is where learning musicianship really enters the picture.

This could be aural – learning to play back ideas sung or played by another musician, for instance. Another might be notation based. This is keenly felt on the guitar, because much guitar music is written in tablature, a form readable only on the guitar. The universal language of (Western music) is staff notation. I always felt glad I had some basic knowledge of staff notation and that it was never alien to me, something I try to pass on to my students so that they can access these broader areas of music beyond the guitar. I would imagine there are different, but similar, considerations for instrumentalists looking to play in mixed ensembles.

I’ve only really scratched the surface of this subject – I hope these reflections may be of interest and help to others looking to incorporate more ensemble playing into their music lessons.

By Christian Miller

How You Can Help Your Child With Their Music Practice by Serena Sheane

1. Help your child organise their practice – set up a regular routine. Younger children will need lots of support and encouragement.

2. Find a comfortable spot for practice that works in your home, even if it’s a shared space. Minimise distractions where possible, but don’t worry if there’s background noise — just do your best!

3. Make sure the instrument is in good working order. Your child’s teacher can advise if any maintenance is needed.

4. Children under 10 may need help reading the teacher’s notes or instructions. Sitting with them during practice, especially in the first year, can be really helpful. Aim to give positive feedback, primarily praising effort over “results” e.g. “well done on trying the tricky part – you’re getting closer!” 

5. Start with short practice sessions, around 5–10 minutes a day, and gradually increase to about 15 minutes over the first year.

6. Staying in regular contact with your child’s teacher helps ensure their learning and progress are well supported.

7. Meaningful practice is both engaging and hard work. Sometimes, your child won’t feel like practicing. Chat to them. Pick a suitable time to practice. Avoid attaching it to activities that are tiring or seem more “appealing” initially e.g. straight after school or when playing with friends in the neighbourhood. If your child is finding a task particularly challenging, suggest they break it down into a series of tiny challenges. 

8. Practice can feel challenging and sometimes messy — repetition is normal, and progress comes gradually. If a section is tricky, break it into small steps. Find a time that works best for your child, when they’re alert and ready to focus.

9. Most importantly, be patient. Learning an instrument takes time, focus, and persistence, but small, consistent efforts make a big difference.

BY SERENA SHEANE BMUS ATCL

Serena Sheane. Piano teacher

Starting your children with music by Agnes Hamilton

Starting a musical journey

Lots of us want our children to access music and a musical education, but getting started can be a real challenge and quite daunting—especially if you yourself are not musical. This is where I’d like to offer some guidance and ideas. There are many different ways to bring music into children’s lives, but for this September blog I’ll focus on the very early years of learning.

The most impactful thing parents can do for their children’s musical interests is to expose them to a wide and varied range of musical styles. It can be as simple as playing music in your kitchen every morning and asking them about their reactions to it. You can have a sneak peek to my little session with Alfie, my oldest one on Instagram.

• How does it make them feel?

• What type of movement do you think works with it?

• Is it spiky or smooth?

• What does it make you think of?

• Can you make up a story about it?

It’s also really good to challenge your own musical preferences. As with all things in life, our own tastes will inevitably influence our children’s, purely by exposure. However, the more you can introduce a wide variety of styles, formats, and instruments, the more likely your child is to be open to a varied musical education.

Musical styles you could try:

• Jazz

• Film Music

• Choral

• Classical Orchestral

• A cappella

• Rock

• Merengue

• Indian Classical

• Early Music/Baroque

• Folk

• Flamenco

• Samba bossa nova

The list can go on and on…

There are many musical events happening in London throughout the year aimed at young audiences and their families. Many of the major venues host performances and events specifically designed to engage and inspire young listeners. We encourage you to explore these events, and we will also keep you updated in our monthly newsletter, highlighting both these performances and those featuring our teachers, so you can attend and enjoy them too.

When to start?

This is a controversial subject, and one that lots of people differ on. My personal opinion is that starting as young as possible with an instrument is a really positive thing. This is for a number of reasons, one of the biggest being that when starting a skill between the ages of four and six, children’s brains are in prime sponge mode. They don’t worry about something being “hard” in the same way as we “adults” do. They are learning new skills every day from scratch, so learning an instrument doesn’t feel like a challenge to them at all. It also means that quite often they don’t remember the “beginner” stages of learning and, if they continue, will most likely just remember being “able to play”.

What this does mean is that as a parent, the responsibility for the success of this instrument learning lies fairly heavily with you. You will have to be a very active part of their learning, as they haven’t yet developed the skills to self-govern their practice at home—an absolutely vital part of learning an instrument.

It’s so important to remember that enjoyment in learning is strongly linked to a child’s sense of achievement. Let me be clear—that’s not to say they need to be playing recitals within a year, but the feeling of coming to a lesson having improved on the last week is one of the biggest motivators for young students. It’s all very well saying, “I just want them to love music and playing for themselves”, but until they’ve learnt enough to do that, it’s almost impossible for them to get that musical feedback from the mechanics of learning! I can say from experience that however you dress up an open-string violin piece, it is not going to inspire anyone musically!

Another reason for starting early, and maybe one of the most fascinating ones, is that going through those first years of learning makes switching and even trying different instruments at a later stage so much easier. By the time a child has a strong opinion on what instrument they want to play, they are already set up with the foundations of music. Things like note-reading, theory, and even how to practise are already ingrained, which means they can progress much more quickly on their chosen instrument than if they were starting completely from scratch.

This is all to say: providing you are able to be involved in your child’s learning, starting early is, in my opinion, a really good way to establish a lasting relationship with music.

What should my child learn?

This is a really tough question and ultimately a very personal one. Choosing your child’s first instrument is a big decision, but remember—they can always change once they’ve solidified the basics of music learning.

A lot of people choose piano as a first instrument, and there are many positives to support this choice. Children learn both clefs (treble and bass) when learning to read music. They can pretty much choose any instrument later on and already be able to read the music. They also develop good dexterity between two hands, and it’s a very accessible instrument, meaning they can sit down almost anywhere and play. It’s also relatively quick to feel as though you can “make music”, although actual fluency may take longer than with other instruments. Piano does, however, give more immediate feedback than most as well as any people also having access to a piano or keyboard at home or with family. Even if you don’t, you can now pick up weighted keyboards with 88 keys for under £300.

However, the negatives are that piano is not (at least initially) a particularly social instrument. Largely played alone in the first few years, it doesn’t immediately create a sense of community, which I’ve found really helps motivate young learners. Before any pianists come for me, this is mostly down to logistics—there’s often only one place for a piano or keyboard in a school orchestra or ensemble, as opposed to lots of spaces for other instruments.

String instruments like violin, cello, or guitar are fantastic first instruments, especially for four- or five-year-olds. They grow with children (you can get truly tiny beginner instruments), they’re easy to handle for small fingers, and—perhaps more importantly—they are very social. There are so many opportunities for children to make music together on string instruments, even from a young age. Even just playing with their teacher in lessons, the act of making music with someone else can be hugely motivating. This was a major part of my motivation for building / creating Pelican Music, because I wanted children and young musicians to feel part of a community and to have music and friendships that lasts a lifetime.

This goes for many other instruments too, and I don’t want to upset any instrumental teachers! However, instruments like flute, clarinet, trumpet, or trombone—while also highly social in ensembles—require a bit more maturity to begin. That’s why I would always recommend starting with something like piano or strings first. Even if children ultimately want to switch later, by then they’ll already have a solid musical foundation to build on, making that initial stage of learning much quicker.

Final advice

The final piece of advice I would give is: give it time! Don’t expect your child to be a virtuoso in the first year—trust me, it’s harder than it looks! It’s really important that you, as parents, set your child up for success with their instrument.

You do not need to read music or have any musical experience at all to play an active part in your child’s learning. The single most impactful thing you can do for your child’s musical success is simply to be present and engaged with their practice at home. Just 10 minutes a day, every day, going over what they have done will make the biggest difference.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter if it’s not “perfect”; helping them get into the pattern of regular practice is the best support you can give. By doing this, you’ll see a snowball effect in their learning: each week they’ll arrive feeling confident and prepared, the feedback from their teacher will reinforce this, and their own sense of improvement will build an enjoyment that carries them through those early learning years.

10 Years of Pelican Music: A Journey of Passion, People, and Purpose by Agnes Hamilton

10 Years of Pelican Music

Unbelievably, this year marks 10 years since I started Pelican Music – a decade of highs, lows, and everything in between. We’ve gone from me teaching Violin in my living room to 30 schools and over 100,000 lessons taught to well over 1,000 children at this point. Countless concerts (one with 500 students!), numerous scholarships, conservatoires through to university orchestras - we’ve supported countless musical journeys.

However, it’s not been an easy road. Brexit meant losing excellent teachers to visa restrictions. A global pandemic did its best to close us down for good. An ongoing cost of living crisis continues to affect families and music teachers alike. Personally, I’ve had to navigate significant health challenges and in recent years, balance building Pelican with becoming a mum of two. To say we did things on “hard mode”, would, I think, be a bit of an understatement.

If you’d told 18-year-old me – just starting out teaching violin and piano in Shepherd’s Bush – that we’d be here today, through all of that, I would have just laughed. I’m not sure what I’d have found less believable, that, or that I’d be comfortable navigating my way around a spreadsheet. And yet, here we are.

I thought it’d be nice to reflect on where my love of music education came from, why it means so much to me, and why I’ve dedicated over a decade of my life to it. Whether your children have been learning with us for many years, or joined us only recently, I hope you enjoy learning more about our journey.

Filling big shoes

I come from a long line of strong female role models, especially in music education. My granny single-handedly brought music to rural Cornwall through wind and brass ensembles and honoured her cousin’s legacy by running The Radford Trust, which supports aspiring young musicians in Cornwall. My mother was an exceptional violin teacher in West Sussex, where we grew up on a boat (The Pelican) in Shoreham-by-Sea. Despite not having studied violin professionally, she showed me that the greatest skill in teaching is understanding children – not being a virtuoso.

Through her Montessori training and instinctive understanding of how children learn, I saw her create opportunities for ensemble playing, performances, and music courses from the moment a child opened their violin case. Despite attending the top junior music conservatoire in the country, I played with musicians of all levels growing up, which, in hindsight, laid the foundation for my passion for joyful and community driven music-making.

Watching her arrange music for whoever was in front of her meant nothing was off-limits. Vivaldi with open strings? Why not? Peter and the Wolf for beginners to Grade 8? Absolutely. Music was always for everyone.

Igniting the spark

My own musical education was tough. Like ballerinas attend the Royal Ballet School, young musicians often attend music boarding schools – and I spent my teenage years at one of the top ones in the country. It was there I learned that teaching is a skill – and a rare one. Over four years, I had two of the most eminent teachers at the time, who were, sadly, also the most damaging. Whilst that definitely sparked the beginnings of my passion for good teaching, those years were not all negative. I also saw examples of truly inspiring teaching in the form of a German teacher who managed to get me from Zero to GCSE in 3 years and a music theory teacher who truly altered how I approached music.

In part due to these experiences, I always knew I wanted to teach as well as perform. I went to the Royal College of Music at 18 and moved permanently to London. I quickly found work with a local teaching agency in West London, which sent young teachers into homes and schools. Almost immediately, I was placed in a school to teach the whole of Year 5 the violin – at the same time. No training. Just me, 18 years old, introducing music to 8- and 9-year-olds. It was daunting.

But I used everything I had watched my mother do. By the end of the year, they performed at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith – a surreal and joyful moment. That being said, ultimately I felt unsupported at the agency and decided to leave. When I handed in my notice, the headteacher of that school asked if I would stay and work directly with them – and I did. That school was St Stephen’s CofE Primary, which would become Pelican’s first school.

Over the years, I’ve learned that the success of extra-curricular music in schools rests hugely on the headteacher and senior leadership. You need someone who understands that a thriving creative community benefits not just the pupils, but the whole school. Michael Schumm, Head of St Stephen’s, is one of those people. A “yes man” at his core, he took a chance on a young 19-year-old to lead music in his school, where there had been very little previously.

He let me grow. We started with violin and piano lessons in an IT suite. Then came more teachers, more instruments, orchestras, quartets, a switch to 1:1 lessons – and today, one in three pupils at St Stephen’s learns an instrument. He taught me that making your workplace a positive community benefits everyone – committed, fulfilled teachers stay longer and give more, and ultimately, the children thrive.

Taking the leap

At St Stephen’s, I built a teaching studio from the families I worked with. I formed a string group based on my mum’s approach, hosted in students’ front rooms. Friendships were formed that still exist today, even as those students head off to university.

For me, success isn’t about creating professional musicians – although some have gone that route. It’s about giving children something that enhances their lives and brings joy. If my students form life-long friendships and a love of music, I’ve done my job.

After five years at St Stephen’s, the school office was increasingly burdened by the admin of a growing music department – invoices, freelance payments, parent communications. I felt I was ready for a new challenge, and proposed that I run the music department independently. Michael agreed, and Pelican Music was born.

In the early years, it was essentially an extension of what I had already been doing – just with more spreadsheets. My boyfriend (now husband), a software engineer, helped me modernise. From day one, my non-negotiable was high-quality instrumental education for everyone. Business decisions were always second to educational ones – a strength, and maybe also an achilles heel.

Soon after, we were asked to bring our programme to three more schools. I was excited but nervous. Then, at 24, my life changed dramatically. Within a month, I went from being fit and active to relying on a wheelchair and full-time care. I won’t go into detail here – that’s another story – but Pelican gave me purpose. Having to keep going, keep running my company, keep turning up for my students, however that looked, meant I couldn’t spend too long grieving the life that had changed so much. And children? They don’t see disability in the same way. My students never looked at me with pity, they just carried on and kept learning, which was the greatest medicine of all.

That time also showed me the importance of team. Pelican survived because of an incredible group of teachers and parents who carried us through. I’ll always be grateful.

Taking a stand

When I started teaching in London, I was shocked by how many unqualified people were teaching instruments. One person I met claimed to teach four instruments – two of which they didn’t actually play. Unlike schoolteachers, instrumental tutors aren’t regulated. Anyone can say they teach the violin, so how were schools meant to know what was good and not?

I wanted Pelican to stand for quality. We only hire teachers after observing them teach – something shockingly rare in the industry. We also fought back against the snobbery that says “those who can’t, teach.” Teaching makes you a better musician. Always.

Here’s how we’ve supported our teachers:

• Transparent pay and rates.

• Direct email contact with parents – fostering trust and communication.

• Guaranteed payment, regardless of whether we’d received the money.

• Social opportunities and a sense of community.

• Strong admin and pastoral support.

It's one of my greatest pleasures that some of our teachers have been with us since before Pelican even began. They aren’t just part of the Pelican family, they are part of my family.

Focussing on the future

I recently got asked to be a mentor for the Business Programme at the British Library,and it really made me reflect on what it means to be a young woman in business. For all my hard work and passion, I’ve also been lucky – in my supportive partner, the schools that took a chance, the teachers who believed in me, the parents who understood the changes and the students who made it all worthwhile.

Recently, I had two full-circle moments. Two students who started with me as children have come back to Pelican – one as a teacher, the other having worked with our office team before university. Their stories are deeply meaningful to me, and they encapsulate what Pelican is all about.

Pelican Music at 10 isn’t just my success. It’s the success of a community – and for that, I am endlessly grateful.

Building a performance by Fiona Williams

As musicians, performance is at the heart of what we do. We want to share our music making with as many people as possible. But building a great musical performance is about more than just knowing which notes to play. We all know how a piece of music can transport us emotionally and make is feel happy, sad, at peace or giddy with joy. And at Pelican we know that a perfectly plucked open string piece played on a half-size violin can move the audience to tears of joy just as a Bach can pull your heart strings, Beethoven can stir the soul and Bernstein set your toes a-tapping. 

So how do musicians build to a brilliant performance.

* Practice - know your piece. This isn't just about learning the notes and where to make it loud and quiet. It's about interpreting it - using music to tell a story or paint a picture in your audiences' minds - to really try and bring it alive. Try inventing a story to go with your music - it could be based on the title of your piece or about the feeling that it gives you when you play it. Make each line or phrase of music a different part of the story. Tell your story out loud as you play and see how that changes the way you play. Or paint or colour a picture of your music. What images does it conjure in your mind? Then describe your picture while you play - perhaps "this loud bit is where the dragons live" or maybe "this fast bit is two kites flying in the sky". 

* Rehearse in front of a safe, supportive and willing audience - perhaps the neighbours (let's be honest, they'll have heard it as often as you have!), grandparents, siblings, mum or dad. And mum or dad again. Perhaps you're part of a club or go to church and they will let you play for your friends or the congregation. Failing all else, how about an audience of Sylvanians? The more you play in front of people, the less scary it becomes.

* Ask your friendly practice audience for positive and productive feedback. Which bit did they like best? Did they understand the story or the picture? What did the music make them feel like? Is there anything they would like to hear again? 

* Don't just rehearse the piece. Practise the whole thing from coming into the room. Stand in position, introduce your piece in a loud, clear voice. "My name is Jenny and I'm going to play Three Blind Mice". Then play your piece and at the end, bow and leave the room. Every little detail counts!

* If you're playing with someone on the piano for you, practice with the accompanist if you can - or even along with a CD or backing track. It's really worth getting to know what the whole piece sounds like together - the pianist will want to help you make the piece sound as good as possible. Share your story or picture with them too.

* Treat your big day like a Big Day. Get a good night's sleep the night before. Eat well. Drink plenty of water. You'll play best when you are at your best. And plan everything you need the day before: What are you going to wear? Where is your music? Have you packed your instrument with spare strings or reeds. Get everything ready so you're not rushing around on the day.

Then the Big Day arrives. Are you feeling ready now? Or are you still a bit nervous? Actually finding the courage the stand on stage and play your first, second or even hundredth piece can be a challenge.

I used to be an opera singer. As a performer, I have stood in the wings waiting nervously for my moment on stage. Now, as a director, I am responsible for helping other singers and actors create their performances. They also get nervous before the start of the show. So do I!

No matter how much we practice. No matter how beautiful or startling our stories. No matter how detailed our preparation, there's no escaping the fact that stepping out on stage is nerve-jangling!

So to create a brilliant performance, we also need to keep the butterflies in check. 

* Remember the audience is on your side. They really want you to do well. They want to applaud and cheer. Enjoy that.

* Nerves are normal, but try thinking about them as excitement, not fear. 

* Channel your inner Gareth Southgate or Owen Farrell and give yourself a pep talk before you go on stage. You Have Got This! 

* Being nervous can make you hands sweaty and send your heart beat racing. So when you practice at home, recreate these symptoms. Run around the garden until you're breathless then come straight in to play your piece. If you can do it under pressure you can do it any time!

* If you make a mistake - Don't Worry! Just keep playing. The audience probably won't even notice, so don't draw attention to it, just move on and keep yourself focused on the next bit. 

And when it's all done - celebrate. You Did It. You got on stage and played your piece. Well done you.

Practice Makes Perfect by Agnes Hamilton

What's the hardest things about learning an instrument? Practice. So for our first Blog post, I'll jump right in and give some guidance on how to best support your child.

As music teachers we throw the term "practice" around a lot, as if everyone knows what we mean but actually the word practice means tonnes of different things in different contexts. In very basic terms it equates to "homework"  when learning an instrument and it really is the only way a student can  improve. To put it into context, at school, children might learn a new math’s skill on Monday, then they have a lesson every day for the rest of that week, where they revise and hone that new skill until its embedded.

When learning an instrument, students see their teacher once a week so pupils need to embed that knowledge on their own, for the rest of the week. Without that vital practice, it's almost impossible to see progress week to week.

Don't worry! It's not impossible and we're here to help!  Here are my top five suggestions for achieving successful practice.

1. Set A Routine

We know how busy family life can be and sometimes finding a space to practice can seem impossible. As a child I learnt 4 instruments, did 3 forms of dance class and had a full academic calendar, but I always knew when my practice time was. Setting a specific time during the day is the best way for a child to build music practice into their weekly routine. Try to keep "work time" and "rest time" sacred and separate, then your child won't resent practice for encroaching on their down time.

2. A Little Goes A Long Way

Regularity is more precious than duration. We see more improvement in a child doing 15 minutes every day than a child doing 45 minutes 3 times a week. My loose guide would be:

Beginner to grade 1 = 10 minutes a day

Grade 1 to 3 = 20 minutes a day

Grade 4 - 6 = 40 minutes a day

Grade 6 + = 45 to an hour a day.

However this doesn't work if it's not regular! You should aim to be doing this a minimum of 5 times a week.

3. Set Time Limits

Divide your practice time into chunks. Your teacher will probably have given you more than one task to complete and,let's be honest, scales and studies always end up at the bottom of the list. If you set time limits for each task it means you'll always tick each thing off and everything gets attention. For example, at preparing for an exam you might spend 5 minutes on each piece, 5 minutes on scales and 2 minutes on sight-reading. So literally set a timer and move on once that alarm goes! It will make practice feel so much more manageable and the time will go a lot faster! 

4. Set Manageable Goals and Rewards

Don't run before you can walk. If you have struggled to get into a routine with practice so far, start small and set out the goals clearly so they are easily achievable . Even starting with 10 minute a day, will be a huge improvement and your child will see the benefits almost immediately. Discuss a small reward for achieving this and stick to it. Never underestimate the power of stickers!

5. Give Us Feedback

Tell your teacher what your practice goals and routines are so that they can celebrate and encourage improvement.  Jot a note in their red practice book telling the teacher what your child has done well and what they've struggled with. This will really help your teacher direct their attention in the best way. Equally if you have a week where the routine has gone awry let them know! Then your teacher can be understanding and help your child not worry  that their practice hasn't been as good that week. If your teacher doesn't know then they can't give  the best support even though they want to!

My sister making practice look stylish since 1995

I'll leave you with a personal story: 

As a child, the only thing I said I wanted to be was a violinist, I would fantasise about the beautiful dresses women wore to perform, and was sure I was going to marry Maxim Vengorov  (Google him). I loved performing and my identity  was "Agnes is good at music". However, I would  do everything in my power to avoid practice...My sister and I would work together being look outs to see whether our parents were coming to listen, and we regularly  beefed up the amount we had done. BUT, the routine and normality of practice was so ingrained, that even so we managed to succeed and thrive. My point is, it's completely normal for your child to find excuses not to practice and not to take themselves off under their own steam. 

Our teachers are some of the most highly trained musicians out there, studying at the most prestigious institutions, playing on the most celebrated stages and all of them will have stories about how they didn't want to practice.

Before you question your child's interest in their instrument  because they never want to practice, take a step back and think about this. The biggest motivator for a child is feeling like they are good at something, and the praise and feedback they get through that.

The tool and key to achieve this is practice. Good luck! And keep us updated with your wins by tagging us @pelicanmusic and using the #practicewins