Learn to Play 2025 - how it went

On Saturday 11th October, we welcomed over 100 children and young people to Red Tape Central for our FREE music taster day, Learn to Play 2025, which we ran in collaboration with national charity Music for All.

Throughout the day, Red Tape was buzzing with activity—instrument lessons, taster sessions, and plenty of excitement at the stalls. We had children getting stuck in and having a go at brass, woodwind, strings, guitar, and percussion. Thanks to everyone who attended, we hope your child/young person left feeling inspired and ready to get involved in music!

A huge thank you to our amazing older students who volunteered their time to help new players discover the joy of music. You were brilliant!

Why did we have our students volunteering for Learn to Play 2025?

Over the last year, we held two Voice for Youth events. Voice for Youth is a youth-led programme organised by Sheffield Music Hub. It gives young people a platform to share their views and tell us what they want from music education in Sheffield. The aim is to create a space where young voices are not just heard, but help shape real decisions. 

During these sessions, young people asked for more active roles and organisational or hands-on roles in running our events. Sheffield Music Hub has been working to embed youth voice into every aspect of its work. The Learn to Play event was a clear example of this in action, with older students stepping up to guide, inspire, and welcome the next generation of musicians.

This commitment continues into our upcoming Spring Gala Concert, where young people will take on key roles behind the scenes as Stage Management Assistants, Audio Visual Assistants, and Social Media/Comms Assistants—another outcome shaped by the ideas shared at Voice for Youth. Stay tuned for more details...