More and more adult students
The numbers speak for themselves: the number of adults enrolled in music schools continues to rise. Today, they account for eight percent of students, whereas five years ago they made up only five percent. This trend is prompting many music schools to adapt their offerings. They are providing modern solutions—flexible subscriptions, group lessons, and ensembles—to attract adults.
«He really demands a lot from us,» says a highly motivated hammered dulcimer player with a laugh. The person she’s referring to is Nayan Stalder, a teacher at various music schools, who is leading the «Urchrut» adult folk music ensemble from the Zollikofen-Bremgarten Music School this Tuesday morning. «My goal is for the participants to always be able to play together spontaneously, as is customary in folk music,» he explains. The members of the small adult group—with their hammered dulcimers, cello, clarinet, or microphone—are getting ready for the morning, going over the sheet music, and clearly enjoying each other’s company. «I always look forward to coming,» says one participant, «it’s a great opportunity to make music as a group. Even if I sometimes get frustrated when things don’t go the way I’d like. But that’s perfectly normal here.» – «I’m so happy to be able to play with others,» confirms another musician. «I’m much more motivated than when I was a child, and I practice every day.»
«Adult education is a very important program,» emphasizes Eva Wartenweiler, the school’s director. «There’s no age limit for making music or learning an instrument.» She notes that the fact that these classes—unlike those for children and teenagers—are not subsidized poses a challenge for the music school. This means they have to get creative. That’s why Bremgarten offers, in addition to the usual individual lessons, numerous group music classes and subscription packages, as well as concerts organized specifically for adult students. The national trend is evident here as well: already about one-eighth of the students are adults, and the numbers have clearly increased in recent years. «As a music school, we want to bring people together—that’s part of our mission statement,» continues Eva Wartenweile. «Music has an incredible power to bring people together—it would be a real shame if we were to say that this no longer applies after twenty years.» The music school’s teachers also enjoy teaching adults and regularly contribute new ideas.
The Schaffhausen Canton Music School offers adults the opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary continuing education program through the «Musik Theater Box» course. Every two weeks, participants meet for an 80-minute group class that combines music, speech, and movement. Kristina Ericson, a trained piano and theater teacher, presented this idea to the school’s administration, where it was well received. She teaches both piano and «Musik Theater Box» to many adults and has noticed distinct differences compared to teaching children: «Certain processes happen much faster with adults—anything intellectual. On the other hand, physically, they need more time for certain processes.» In general, adult students are highly motivated, she observes; they want to make progress and often come to class with specific questions and topics. «Adults come straight from their daily activities,» she adds. “Just like with children, you have to be tactful and know how to improvise. Sometimes, a person will need something different from what we’ve prepared, because they’ve just been through a lot of stress. Sometimes, someone just needs to unwind a little.”
The Musik Theater Box program is primarily attended by adults aged 35 to 60. Some already have experience, while others say that simply being up there and performing makes them feel good; they want to challenge themselves and push their limits, notes Kristina Ericson. Almost always, the goal is a group performance showcasing what has been learned. This allows everyone to see the progress made by the participants over the past semester.
«It’s never too late to learn an instrument,» says Robert Zimmermann, a music teacher at the Allgemeine Musikschule Oberwallis, with conviction. He has been teaching a wind instrument class for adults in Visperterminen for several years. The class started with twelve participants and now has eighteen. The idea is simple: participants don’t need any prior knowledge. They choose a wind instrument they like, gather in the wind ensemble class, play their first note together, and then learn to play their instrument better and better—both within their own range and as part of the full ensemble. Rehearsals take place once a week. Those who wish to join a wind ensemble later on take private lessons at the same time, but that isn’t necessarily the goal, notes Robert Zimmermann: «It’s first and foremost about making music together and performing one or two concerts a year.» He points out that music is very beneficial for adults. «And there are many reasons for this: it’s good for the brain, for fine motor skills, and for mental well-being. It’s important to learn new things, even as an adult. It’s one of the best activities you can engage in.»
