Trentside Music Academy’s first ever group shopping trip to Gear4Music was a huge success. An idea that had been under consideration for several months has now been realised, with a small cohort of students and parents meeting at the store to shop for new equipment and socialise, while also receiving guidance in choosing gear suited to their individual needs.
Having tailored support from their instructor allowed our students to decide on the best equipment for their next steps in music. For developing players, small details like scale length, body size and weight can have a big impact, and having someone experienced there to guide those choices helped them make more confident and informed decisions.
Alongside the practical element, it also gave students and parents a chance to socialise and connect outside of the lesson environment, which is something we are looking to expand upon as our community grows.
Founder Adam said:
“Of the many questions I get asked when students sign up, the most important one is perhaps ‘what guitar should I get?’, as the wrong guitar can significantly hinder progress. Choosing the right guitar is essential, but the range of guitars on the market can be overwhelming. It’s always better to try guitars before you purchase, but going to a music store and playing in public can also be daunting. This trip aimed to help our students in not only picking the right instruments for them, but also to boost their confidence in playing around others.
What started as a personal shopping enquiry, quickly evolved into the basis for our first ‘Trentside Social’ with interest in the trip being high from the get-go. Several of our students were keen to meet and with calendars converging, the trip was arranged and I’m pleased to say it was an overwhelming success! It was amazing to see our students mingle, jam together, and walk out with the perfect instrument for their needs.”
The trip marks the beginning of a wider push to build more real world experiences into our offering, alongside our structured tuition provision and work within schools. We look forward to our next Trentside Social at Christmas.
