I have resolved that this year I will be musical.

Which raises the question, how does a tired old dog like me learn new tricks? I have discovered the answer - it's You Tube

If you have enthusiasm, a reasonable ear but limited theoretical knowledge of music, You Tube provides zillions of inspirational, bite-sized tutorials - some good, some not so good, just take your pick

As a budding pianist, my own fave is Shawn Cheek's Easy Piano Lessons - he has his own You Tube channel

I love that Sean he has invented his own musical notation system and often during his lessons you can hear kids crying in the background - just like on webcameron!

Now I must admit that I also have a human, fantastically talented piano teacher but the pattern is this - think of song I want to play - find You Tube Tutorial - watch - play - watch - play - watch - play - have lesson to get feedback - repeat until I become a pop-star

This experience made me think of one of the best speakers I have seen in recent years - Professor Stephen Hepple

He is concerned with the future of education and IT and unusually for an academic, has put his theories in to practice, apparently with great success in the Not School Project. I seem to remember he started his presentation by holding up the Encyclopaedia Britannica on CD Rom, saying "£2.99 in the bargain bin at WH Smith's - why would you pay that, information is free!" He went on to predict that without a radical shift in the way education is delivered, school attendance will contine to decline as young people find their own, far more engaging, ways to learn.

For me, the online video lesson, followed by one-to-one feedback is certainly the way that I will choose to learn from now on, whenever possible.