Music For Kids: Your Guide To The Best Local Instrument Stores

In a recent blog I discussed the virtues of teaching a musical instrument to a child, and the gift it offers of being able to play an instrument in later life. I've always appreciated my parents for paying for my guitar lessons when I was a youngster and the happiness I have now as an adult when I put together a pleasing chord change or cool melody.

But, it can be a daunting task for any parent to go into a music shop for the first time, especially if they're not musicians themselves. A wall of guitars, or saxophones, stands of clarinets or a room full of drums; what's the best, or right instrument for a young student to choose?

A good music shop should not only stock the correct instruments, but also employ the correct staff to help and offer essential advice to help with the purchase. A good music retailer also knows that engaging with any potential student in these formative years should create good repeat business as the student progresses with sheet music, accessories and also the instrument itself.

Thankfully, the Herts/Essex area is abundant with excellent musical instrument retailers that offer quality instruments and teaching on site, too.

For rock and pop students, Gig Gear in Harlow offers a superb selection of guitars, drums, bass guitars and amps, for beginners to intermediate and beyond. The staff are also excellent, friendly and on hand to offer superb advice. With five purpose built teaching rooms, Gig Gear caters for all ages and abilities and is currently offering a free 20 minute lesson of your choice. Plus, good car parking and the shop is always kept in A1 condition.


For students looking to take up the piano, Montague Pianos in Northchurch offers a fantastic range, from respected manufacturers such as Bechstein, Bentley, Steinway and Steinmayer through to bespoke manufacturers such as Sauter Pianos. They also recommend private tuition in the area and are part of the excellent 'Take It Away' scheme, providing interest free finance of up to £5,000. On top of all this, they also have a 20% discount on selected pianos until the end of September, with a welcoming showroom open from Tuesday - Saturday 10am-5pm for you to try the range.

The Guitar Studio in Hertford opened its doors in 2012 and has already built a formidable reputation for its service and range of instruments, stocking the beautiful Larrivee acoustics, plus a great selection of ukeleles and mandolins. They also offer teaching on-site of all string instruments (and singing!) and luthier courses for the more adventurous.

Hertford College Of Music, based in Ware, is a unique mix of coffee shop, instrument retailer and teaching facility, offering a relaxed environment for young musicians to purchase and learn an instrument, creating its own musical community within the premises for the more experienced player.

Running since 2004, HCM has clearly established itself as one of the leading teaching establishments in the area, taking children as young as five for a variety of instrument lessons (with the emphasis on fun!). They also teach ABRSM and Trinity for piano, along with Rockschool exams for guitar/drums/bass/vocals. And - if you've ever fancied learning harmonica, they offer this, too.

So, what are you waiting for? Why not take your child for music lessons and support them with a decision to learn an instrument. Who knows, maybe one day they'll repay you with tickets to a concert of their own... 

Running: Keeping Fit For Free

As a parent in my early 40s, I've gradually become more and more obsessed with keeping trim, healthy and trying to keep the advancing years at bay.

A proper diet, not too much booze (my biggest vice!) and exercise all helps with the effort, but over the last two years I've been bitten by the running bug and now, every other day (ideally) if I can't get out to run a few miles I get what's known as 'Runners Envy' (watching other runners from my car/house window, wondering what time/ distance they've been pacing at).

This new passion is all the more surprising considering that before two years ago, if you had ever seen me out running it generally meant that something truly awful was about to happen behind me; at no point would I have ever decided to put myself through such a gruelling test of endurance for fun. Actually, 'fun' is a strong word, I still dislike the physical side to running in every sense - if I'm out for a 30 minute jog I spend the majority of the time thinking about stopping/the pointlessness of it all/having a nice drink of water at the end of the run.

But, in its own weird way I relish the sense of achievement when you finish a run. And, that's the catch, because as a fitness regime it's very low maintenance (shorts, t-shirt and running shoes) and off you go. It's something that I enjoy doing on my own - no membership fee, no parking at the gym, no having to talk to other people (my working life is spent talking to people, so the solus nature of the sport is a real godsend). Just me and my own thoughts, working with nature.

And as a sport and fitness regime, running is one of the easiest and most practical ways to get fit; I lost nearly two stone in six months through running alone. It has to be said that I wasn't a big guy to start with, but a regular diet of lager had taken its toll and I had decided I needed to lose the beer belly.

Now, two years in, I'm looking at beating times and trying new routes, courtesy of fantastic free apps such as Strava and Map My Run, which give each runner stats such as distance/time/personal bests via the GPS functionality on your mobile phone. Basically, it times you against other runners out on the same routes without actually haven't to race or meet with them, which is very cool app indeed.

And, being a Ware resident, there are no shortage of places to run routes (or segments, as they're known on Strava). Favourites being anywhere along the river, in the direction of Hertford or Stanstead Abbots, around Tumbling Bay and through town and around The Priory. If you're more daring, there's always the odd local 5 or 10K race to put your name down to, or if you're more sociable than me, join the local running club (such as www.ware-joggers.co.uk and www.hertsandsole.co.uk)

And what do you need? A pair of decent running shoes (Asics are more than adequate if you're running outside and not indoors, from £50 a pair) shorts and a T-shirt (I've gone mad and bought Nike Dryfit shorts and top, bit more expensive, but they do keep you sweat-free and comfortable on longer runs/ summer evenings and mornings). Good local shops to try would be Scotts in Hertford, Go Outdoors in Harlow and The Nike Shop in The Galleria in Hatfield.

So, what are you waiting for! Pull on your shoes, don your sweatband and pound the miles around beautiful Hertfordshire. Trust me, you will feel much better for it. 

Teaching Kids To Play Music

‘’Where words fail, music speaks.”― Hans Christian Andersen.

Teaching a child a musical instrument can be one of life’s greatest gifts, not only a useful skill in later life should they wish to enter into teaching (or God forbid, playing in heavy metal bands – see earlier blog). But, as recent surveys show, children who learn a musical instrument tend to have a better attention span and are also better disciplined than children who aren’t quite as fortunate to learn an instrument at an early age.

But what instrument(s) should be considered? Gone are the days when the school musical instrument department consisted of one battered French horn, one just as battered violin and a dozen recorders.

In recent years, developments in Chinese manufacturing have seen an influx of musical instruments that deliver on both price and playability. Plus, a new national campaign scheduled for Autumn of this year by Fresh One (the production company behind Jamie’s School Dinners) will see internationally renowned pianist James Rhodes trying to persuade government officials to increase budgets when it comes to musical education, as well as encouraging members of the public to donate unwanted instruments to schools around the country - ensuring future musical talent from these fair isles.

There is also such a selection of good instruments on offer these days for all ages, you can be sure of finding something of interest. 15 years ago school assembly would have played out to the sound of the recorder; while still popular this has given way to the impressive rise of teaching the ukulele to early classes in recent years.

While clarinet and flute still figure highly on the older children’s musical instrument classes, so too has there been a steady rise of other instruments such as guitar, bass and piano. Again, helped by recent developments in technology, most instruments can now be studied in silence helped by headphone sockets (there are even electric drums for the more adventurous parents).

Most local music shops can offer advice on beginner instruments and also teachers in the area. Gig Gear in Harlow is a firm favourite and offers a fantastic selection of instruments, with knowledgeable staff on hand to help with any questions. PlanetSound in Ware (formerly Playsomething) offers lessons onsite, also with a good selection of instruments to choose from. The Guitar Studio in Hertford has been running now for two years and also offers a good range of stringed instruments and lessons from beginner intermediate and advanced level onsite.

Talking of drums... while most parents would run a mile at the thought of his/her child learning such a monstrously loud instrument, drums are actually one of the most instant of all instruments to learn to play and also one of the most enjoyable – instilling a sense of rhythm that can be developed further with other instruments. Just avoid the neighbours…

Lisa