More and more adult music students
The numbers clearly show that the number of adult music students is steadily increasing. While they accounted for just five percent five years ago, that figure has now risen to eight percent—not including college students. Consequently, many music schools are adapting their programs. With flexible subscriptions, group lessons, and ensembles, they’re reaching out to adults in a way that suits today’s needs.
«He really challenges us,» says an ambitious dulcimer player with a laugh. She’s referring to Nayan Stalder, a music educator at various music schools, who is leading the «Urchrut» folk music ensemble for adults at the Zollikofen-Bremgarten Music School today, on a Tuesday morning. «My goal is for the participants to be able to play together more and more spontaneously, just as is customary in folk music,» he explains. The small group of adults playing the dulcimer, cello, clarinet, and singing into the microphone is getting into the spirit of the morning, going over the sheet music, and clearly having fun together. «I always enjoy coming here,» says one participant. «It’s a great opportunity to make music with a group. Even if I sometimes get frustrated when things don’t go the way I’d like. But there’s room for that here.» – «I’m so happy that I can play together with others,“ confirms another. «I’m much more motivated than I was as a child, and I practice every day.»
«Classes for adults are a very important offering,» says school principal Eva Wartenweiler. «You can make music or learn an instrument at any age.» One challenge for music schools is that, unlike lessons for children and teenagers, these classes are not subsidized. This means they have to get creative. In addition to regular one-on-one lessons once a week, Bremgarten offers many group classes and subscription packages—as well as concerts specifically for adult students. The national trend is evident here as well—adults already make up about one-eighth of the students, and the numbers have risen significantly in recent years. «As a music school, we want to bring people together; that’s part of our mission statement,“ says Eva Wartenweiler. «Music has an incredible power to connect people—it would be a real shame if we were to say that this no longer applies once you turn twenty.» The music educators at the school also enjoy teaching adults and are constantly bringing new ideas to the table.
At the Schaffhausen Canton Music School, adults can participate in interdisciplinary continuing education through the «Musik TheaterBox» program. Every two weeks, they meet in the evening for an 80-minute ensemble class that combines music, speech, and movement. Kristina Ericson, a trained piano and theater educator, pitched the idea to the school administration and found a receptive audience. She teaches many adults both in piano and in the «Musik TheaterBox» program and has noticed clear differences compared to teaching children: «Certain processes happen much faster with adults—everything related to the intellectual realm. On the physical level, however, they need more time for certain processes.” In general, she says, adult students are highly motivated, eager to make progress, and often come to class with specific topics and questions. “Adults come straight from their everyday lives", ,« she adds. "Just like with children, you have to be sensitive and able to improvise. Sometimes someone needs something different from what you've prepared because they're under a lot of stress right now. And sometimes someone just needs to let off a little steam."."
The Musik Theater Box program is attended primarily by adults between the ages of 35 and 60. Some already have experience, while others say it does them good to stand on stage and perform; they want to push themselves and take on new challenges. The goal is almost always a joint performance of what they’ve worked on. This showcases the great progress the participants have made over the past semester.
«It’s never too late to learn an instrument,» Robert Zimmermann, a music educator at the Upper Valais General Music School, emphasizes strongly. For several years now, he has been teaching a wind instrument class for adults in Visperterminen, which started out with twelve participants—and now has eighteen. The concept is simple: Participants don’t need any prior knowledge. They choose a wind instrument they like, gather together in the wind ensemble class, play their first note together, and then learn to play the instrument better and better—both in their section and as part of the entire ensemble. Rehearsals are held once a week. Those who later wish to join a wind ensemble take private lessons in parallel, but that isn’t necessarily the goal, says Robert Zimmermann: «It’s about making music together and playing one or two concerts a year.» Music is very good for adults. «There are so many reasons for this: It’s good for the brain, for fine motor skills, and for mental well-being. It’s important to keep learning new things even as an adult. It’s one of the best things you can do.»
