The Western 'classical' tradition has given us some breathtaking gems (personal favourites include Monteverdi's Opera 'L'Orfeo',  Verdi's Requiem and just about anything written by that clever Meredith Monk), but it's left most of us ordinary folk with a very disjointed relationship with music. Most people only download stuff they like, buy CDs and go to concerts and gigs. For those who delve into music making, they're normally met with a bunch of frustrating scales, arpeggios and roman numerals fairly early on and either become practice-obsessed recluses or are dissuaded for life.

Where has our musicianship gone? Humans are naturally musical beings, far more gifted and expressive than the European system often allows for. I say it’s time to get back to basics. I’m not knocking scales, arpeggios or anything else - in fact they’re vital, but they’re only one side of the story. In my lessons, I try to explore the whole story so that we can see the traditional skills for what they really are: tools that help us get our heads around something that we’re born with - music.