RETAIL MERLIN MUSIC The magic
Academy of Traditional Music. Adam Savage got his head down to find out what this could mean for the local community…
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Due to Government cuts, music education is going to suffer.
Bridget Gray I
f you were able to step back in time a few decades and observe the role of your average local music shop and
compare it to the majority of today’s small town stores, it would make for an interesting experiment. The local MI dealership was once a
major feature in the local community, but in today’s convenience-centred retail environment, examples where this is still the case are sadly few and far between. MI Pro hears all too often of indies based out ‘in the sticks’, where musicians in the vicinity are tempted to shop online or drive to the nearest city to take advantage of a larger selection. However, Merlin Music, based in the Scottish border town of Melrose, has found a way to reconnect with the local community. A fairly new store, it wasted no time in analysing the local market to identify the need of Melrose’s inhabitants and now, less than four years after its inception, it’s ready to move forward with the next stage of its plan. After doing a bit of research and discovering a remarkably high level of demand for traditional music tuition in the region, Merlin is now set to unveil an academy in the town, which will teach all things folk related, across a range of instruments, including accordion, fiddle and guitar, at beginner, intermediate and advanced level.
60 July 2011 “We came up with the idea
about one and a half years ago after seeing so many people come into the shop with an interest in learning how to play traditional instruments,” says Merlin’s Bridget Gray. “This kind of music is very popular in the Scottish Borders and we also noticed we were selling a lot of folk CDs in the store. We’ve also put on several concerts before and they’re a sell out every time.” To support the programme,
Merlin has brought in a team of expert educators. Ian Lowthian, a graduate from the Royal Academy of Music in London will teach accordion, the fiddle will be taught by Iain Fraser, a former teacher at Glasgow’s Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Donald Knox will use his 35 years of experience to teach guitar. The team behind the Merlin Music Academy of Traditional Music is formidable, but we haven’t even mentioned the Grays’ secret weapons yet. Not only have the owners managed to set up an impressive teaching force, they’ve also secured patronage from Scottish music legends Dr Phil Cunningham MBE and Dr Aly Bain, who were both keen to get involved in order to get more children playing music. Not only are they both acclaimed musicans, but their
Merlin Music stocks a range of traditional instruments, including fiddles and accordions
relationships with media, including the BBC, offer a lot of promise when it comes to spreading the word and convincing young people to put down the Xbox controllers. “Due to the Government cuts, music education is going to suffer. We’re doing something which will be a social event and it will give them an opportunity to learn in a fun environment, as opposed to having a teacher come round to the child’s house, which is a less enjoyable way to learn,” adds Gray. The academy will be situated at Melrose Primary School and the 45 minute lessons will take place on
mi-pro.co.uk
Merlin Music in Melrose is set to branch out further into the world of instrumental tuition with its
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