Learning to play an instrument is a part of life for many children and young people. The nationwide network of music schools has a wide range. However, many wishes cannot be fulfilled for the time being.
Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - If you want to learn an instrument, you have to expect long waiting times at the music schools in Saxony-Anhalt. "It's currently up to four years for piano lessons," said Christian Reineke, Managing Director of the Saxony-Anhalt State Association of Music Schools. According to Reineke, the main reason for this is the lack of junior teachers.
While six to seven years ago around 20,000 students were still learning an instrument at the state-recognized music schools in Saxony-Anhalt, the number is currently only around 17,500 the waiting lists. The piano is still particularly popular, says Reineke. This is followed by the guitar, violin and recorder on the popularity scale.
500,000 euros are to be made available to the music schools for the creation of new positions in order to counteract the shortage of teachers. The state parliament decided on this in its budget in May. "Especially in rural areas, young teachers can only be found and retained through permanent positions," emphasized Reineke. The funding is therefore a strong signal to music schools and musical education as an important part of the development of children and young people.
In order to promote digitization in music lessons, the 20 state-recognized music schools of the state association had already received 200,000 euros from the Ministry of Economic Affairs last year. With the money, all permanent teachers were equipped with a tablet for online lessons. According to the managing director, digital teaching can supplement face-to-face teaching in the future, but not completely replace it.
