Welcome to Learn to Play '25!
Thank you for registering for Learn to Play ’25, it’s fantastic to have you on board!
Whether you’re getting involved for the first or tenth time, this exclusive web page for participating providers is your information hub to easily access the latest resources and updates required for you to run your Learn to Play event successfully and safely!
If you have any questions, want to seek further guidance, or have any suggestions about additional resources you would like to see here, please email: ltpproviders@musicforall.org.uk.
Promoting your event
Once you have all your event details confirmed, it’s important to consider how and where you are going to promote your event to ensure a successful experience. From the feedback in previous years, we have found that the providers who are proactive in marketing their events locally in the lead up to the LTP weekend have the busiest turnout!
🌟 In the below tabs you can access the digital marketing resources plus information on what to expect in your physical promo pack.
🌟 Click on the ‘PR’ tab for information about this year’s PR plan and how you could benefit from additional PR opportunities.
For all participating providers, we recommend advertising your event through:
- Your social media channels (if applicable)
- Local groups and centres, e.g. schools, libraries, cafés
- Local newspapers/online newsletters
- General word of mouth – tell people about your amazing event!
By signing up to be a provider during Learn to Play ‘25, you will not only be joining the largest national music making initiative in the UK, but you will also receive a number of benefits by taking part including regional press and broadcast coverage to promote your event!
Click on the below link to read about this year’s PR offer, how it works and how you could get involved in extra PR opportunities:
The Learn to Play ’25 logo is available in a square and banner format to accommodate different uses.
We currently have the following options:
- Full weekend 9 – 12 October
- Saturday/Sunday 11 – 12 October
- Individual dates – 9, 10, 11, 12 October
If you require any other date combinations, please email: ltpproviders@musicforall.org.uk
Click on the below link to view and download the logos you require:
You will receive a promotional pack with a range of LTP ’25 branded materials you can use to promote your event locally and decorate your venue on the weekend.
This pack will include:
10 A4 & 5 A3 Posters
30 Postcards
30 ‘I’ve Learnt to Play!’ Stickers
- 10 Balloons
Packs will be delivered in early September. If you would like to order additional quantities of any of the materials listed above please let us know as soon as possible by emailing: ltpproviders@musicforall.org.uk
🌟 You can also print off the posters at home and/or make your own customised versions. Simply click on the next tab!
Click below to download the posters:
You can also download editable versions of the posters to add your own details in and print. Simply download the poster size of your choice and edit the date field under the logo to show which day/s you are taking part. Then add in any other relevant details into the ‘insert your text here’ box. Or if you are familiar using Canva, you could upload it and make your changes on there.
Using social media
Planning some social media posts to advertise your Learn to Play event can be a fast and effective tool to let your online audience know what you have to offer. Even if you’re not really familiar with social media yet, promoting Learn to Play can be a good excuse to give it a go for the first time!
🌟 Top tip! Successful communication is often about repetition so don’t just post one message, several over the weeks leading up to the event will reach more people and each time you will be able to tell participants more about your event.
Music for All SM platforms:
Facebook: Music for All
Instagram: @musicforallcharity
Threads: @musicforallcharity
Bluesky: @mfacharity.bsky.social
Linkedin: Music for All
Don’t forget to tag us in your social media postings and we will be happy to like and re-share your content to help you reach a wider audience!
Here is some core text you could use, simply tweak the details relevant to your event:
Visit us for a FREE music lesson!
We’re taking part in Learn to Play ‘25 which means you can visit us to enjoy a free taster
music lesson on X October! Whether you are a budding or lapsed musician, we
welcome everybody to come and make some music. Playing an instrument is fun,
challenging and fantastic for our mental health and wellbeing. Come and discover the joy of
music making by booking/drop-in details now!
These are the popular hashtag’s to include:
#LearnToPlay
#LearnToPlay25
#MusicforAll
#MakingMusicChangesLives
Things you could add:
- A suitable contact email address or phone number if people have questions
- Which instruments you will have available
- Any other activities you are planning across the Learn to Play weekend
- Freebies/discounts you plan to offer
- It’s always impactful to accompany your text with an image. Perhaps a photo of your
venue, selection of instruments or a useable photo you have of a previous instrument
lesson
What to keep in mind when creating a post?
Overall, any content created should provide value to the viewer. What the focus of the content could be depends on the platform. However, overall, these are the main types of content you should aim for:
- Educational content – the user will learn/discover something they have not know before
- Entertaining content – the user is enjoying themselves while watching the content
- Sharable content – the user will want to share the post with their peers/friends because it was e.g. funny, thought provoking, simply aesthetically pleasing, revealed something they didn’t know before…
- Saveable content – the user might not be actioning on the content immediately but feels inspired by it and wants to come back to it at a later point
These are the different types of content you can create on Facebook:
- In-feed posts
- Single post or carousel (up to 10 pictures as album)
- Can be in 1×1 (1080x1080px) or 4×5 (1080x1350px)
- Reels
- Although you can upload videos in different sizes, 9×16 (1080x1920px) is the recommended format
- Reels can be up to 3 minutes long
- Make sure the video quality is not over 1040px (minimum 720px) and at 60 frames per second, so that it can be loaded by everyone no matter how strong or weak their internet connection.
❗️No 4k videos! - Make the first 3 seconds count – ensure that there is a hook that keeps people watching
- Stories
- Moving or static
- 9×16 format
- You can use this to:
- Share impressions of the day
- Create polls for your followers
- Tag people (@…)
- Re-share your own or the content of others
General things to keep in mind when creating content for Facebook:
- Make sure that any pictures have good quality and any text readable. Facebook is a platform that is used on mobile as well as on desktop devices, so everything needs to be large enough to be read on a small phone display, as well as high quality enough do nothing gets blurry when scaled to a computer screen
- You can share clickable links in all formats
- When choosing Hashtags, please use not more than 8 to ensure optimal targeting of your content by the algorithm
❗Creating an event on Facebook can also be a effective way to promote your event online. Click here for instructions on how to do this.
These are the different types of content you can create on Instagram:
- In-feed posts
- Single post or carousel (up to 10 pictures as album)
- Can be in 4×5 (1080x1350px)
- The preview on the account grid is 4×5, so make sure the main part of the design is in that frame, including adjusting the Reel cover for grid view before posting.
- Reels
- Although you can upload videos in different sizes, 9×16 (1080x1920px) is the recommended format
- Reels can be up to 3 minutes long
- Make sure the video quality is not over 1040px (minimum 720px) and at 60 frames per second, so that it can be loaded by everyone no matter how strong or weak their internet connection. ❗️No 4k videos!
- Make the first 3 seconds count – ensure that there is a hook that keeps people watching
- Stories
- Moving or static
- 9×16 format
- You can use this to:
- share impressions of the day
- create polls for your followers
- tag people (@…)
- Re-share your own or the content of others
General things to keep in mind when creating content for Instagram:
- Make sure that any pictures have good quality and any text is large enough to be read on a small phone display
- The preview on the account grid is 1×1, so make sure the main part of the design is in that frame including adjusting the Reel cover for grid view before posting.
- After posting, consider commenting on the post right away from your personal account to kick-start the algorithm
- You can share clickable links in stories but NOT in in-feed posts & reels. For this, please use something like “Link in bio” and add the link into you account bio.
- When choosing Hashtags, please use not more than 8 to ensure optimal targeting of your content by the algorithm
- Consider adding the location to the post to boost the algorithm
These are the different types of content you can create on Threads:
- Text-only posts (announcements, statements, quick updates…)
- Text & image/video posts
- Landscape (image & video): 16×9 (1600x900px)
- Portrait:
- image: 4×5 (900x675px)
- video: 9×16 (900x1600px)
- Square (image & video): 1×1 (900×900)
General things to keep in mind when creating content for Threads:
- Your text cannot be longer than 500 characters, including spaces
- You can also share posts automatically through Instagram on Threads as long as the caption is shorter than 500 characters. For this, toggle the re-share option for Threads when creating the post in-app
These are the different types of content you can create on Bluesky:
- Text-only posts (announcements, statements, quick updates…)
- Text & image/video posts
- Landscape (image & video): 16×9 (1600x900px)
- Portrait:
- image: 4×5 (900x675px)
- video: 9×16 (900x1600px)
- Square (image & video): 1×1 (900×900)
General things to keep in mind when creating content on Bluesky:
- Your text cannot be longer than 300 characters, including spaces, so keep things brief
- Posting best practice is to share quick announcements, wins, and results in short format
This network focuses on achievements and celebrates accomplishments. Post on here if you:
- Have some news to celebrate
- Want to recap a successful event
- What to share a fundraiser goal
- Want to announce any upcoming fundraiser/rallies you are participating in
- Share your achievements in the last year
- Create a poll for people to vote on a matter of your choosing
- Share events
You can share the following posts types:
- Post single or multi-image: 1×1 (1080x1080px) or 16×9 (1920×1080)
- Carousel post: 1×1 (1080x1080px) or 16×9 (1920×1080)
- Video size: 256x144px to 4096x2304px (maximum), max. 10 minutes long
General things to keep in mind when creating content for LinkedIn:
- This platform is for professionals, so focus more on impact and measurable accomplishments on here
- When writing a caption, find a hook in the first sentence so people click on ‘read more’
These are the different types of content you can create on Twitter/X:
- Text-only posts (announcements, statements, quick updates…)
- Polls – let your followers have a say on a topic of your choosing
- Text & image/video posts
- Landscape (image & video): 16×9 (1600x900px)
- Portrait:
- image: 4×5 (900x675px)
- video: 9×16 (900x1600px)
- Square (image & video): 1×1 (900×900)
General things to keep in mind when creating content for Twitter/X:
- Your tweets cannot be longer than 280 characters, so keep things brief
- Posting best practice is to share quick announcements, wins, and results in short format
As you can see, most of the platforms above allow you to add a picture or video to your posts. When capturing and choosing visuals for your posts please keep in mind that:
- You’ll need to ask all of the people depicted for their approval to use them in your posts for external purposes (social media, newsletters, website…)
- If you can’t get consent from everyone, consider capturing
- The empty venue after setting it up
- The instruments
- People from the back so that no faces are visible
- Hands making music
- Sound of people playing
- Music sheets
- For videos, you can either edit them for Facebook & Instagram on Instagram itself with the native tools, or edit them and upload the finished video
Depending on the content, consider adding a trending sound to it to boost reach. You can have a look here for currently trending sounds that could be used.
❗️If you are a business and want to use the footage for commercial use, please make sure you have the rights to the sound! When in doubt, please choose an audio from the META commercial library to be on the safe side
Risk assessments and health and safety policies
It is essential that all venues consider Safeguarding and Health & Safety procedures, taking appropriate measures to ensure the venue has complied with the basic Health and Safety standards expected for a Learn to Play event.
We also strongly advise all venues to carry out an appropriate risk assessment before your Learn to Play activity.
Health & Safety Executive has some useful guidance and information regarding risk assessments, see here for more information.
The Musicians Union have risk assessment resources available here.
NSPCC also have guidance about writing safeguarding policies and procedures.
Preparing for your event
Here are some tips and considerations to read through as you prepare to deliver your Learn to Play event. Helping you to ensure everyone participating, both staff and music-makers feel welcomed, comfortable and excited to enjoy the day!
Many people of all ages can be intimidated by music environments with worries such as – will I understand, will I be any good, will they be patient with me?
Therefore, it’s really key to be welcoming and friendly to everyone coming through the doors. The knowledge and opportunities that you are offering through Learn to Play will help to bypass the fear of trying a new musical experience and spark a passion for making music!
A way to add to your event and draw in more people is to provide additional offers alongside the taster lessons such as activities, competitions and freebies. These can also provide something for people to do whilst they might be waiting for their lesson.
These could include:
Free prize draws
Competitions
Music related activity sheets
Raffles
Refreshments
- In-store performances
The day provides a fantastic opportunity for you to promote and talk about everything unique to your organisation such as its history and how it came to exist, what else you offer throughout the year, particular age related opportunities, what products or services you offer and how they can sign-up for them.
Whatever is great or unique about your organisation, be sure to talk about it and give people more information, and if possible encourage people to sign-up to your mailing list. Once you get them through the door, encourage them to return!
And remember, many of the people who are just ‘watching’ on the day may actually want to find out more or become musicians themselves so chat to everyone.
If you are selling instruments and/or promoting music lessons on the day, here are some extra considerations:
Have plenty of sign-up forms available and/or people on hand to process the purchases/book future lessons
Offer on the day incentives such as a reduction for immediate sign up/purchase and think about whether you can offer further incentives for bulk bookings.
In store, consider what bundles you can offer on the day for anyone new to learning an instrument and make sure these offers are visible.
We encourage all providers to take photos and/or videos of their Learn to Play event, capturing the essence of the day and the joy of visitors playing an instrument in your venue!
It’s really important to make sure your visitors are aware you will be capturing media and informed as to how it will be used. Please ensure you have photography signage clearly displayed in your venue.
You can download and print the below signage and consent forms which cover use of the media by yourself and Music for All.
Learn to Play ’25 Photography and Filming Signage
As you get closer to the Learn to Play weekend, here is a guide of things for you to ‘tick off’ whilst you get your venue ready to welcome visitors.
Not everything may be applicable to your event, but please do carefully consider how your venue can be health and safety secure.
Download and print your copy below:
The latest email updates!
Dear Providers,
Welcome to your first Learn to Play ’25 update email! You’ll receive these emails roughly once a month in the lead-up to the LTP weekend, letting you know of any project news alongside reminders of resources to support your planning.
In this email, I’m introducing you to the core LTP staff team, plus providing you with the private resources webpage – exclusive to participating LTP ‘25 Providers!
🌟 Learn to Play Provider Resources (bookmark this link!): https://www.musicforall.org.uk/learn-to-play-provider-resources/ Here is the link to all the guidance, advice and templates to help you plan, prepare for and market your events to deliver a successful Learn to Play! We strongly recommend spending a bit of time familiarising yourself with this webpage, especially if this is your first time getting involved.
🌟 The team!
You will receive correspondence from three core members of this year’s Learn to Play team:
Wallis Leahy – Projects Coordinator (me!)
Jeremy Purllant – Learn to Play ‘25 Assistant
Rachael Diamond – Music for All PR Consultant – Please see the attached document which details the PR support you will receive!
Please don’t hesitate to reply to these emails with any queries you may have, we’re more than happy to support your planning in the coming months.
Let’s make Learn to Play ‘25 the best one yet!
Best wishes,
Wallis.
Dear Providers,
Welcome to June’s Learn to Play ’25 update email!
(For anyone who has recently registered – you’ll receive these emails roughly once a month in the lead-up to the LTP weekend, letting you know of any project news alongside reminders of resources to support your planning. You can view all past update emails at the very bottom of the resource page)
Learn to Play Provider Resources
https://www.musicforall.org.
You can now access downloads of the A4 & A3 posters, postcards, plus the editable posters. Scroll to ‘Promoting your event’ and click on the ‘Home Printing’ tab. Your physical Promo Packs will arrive in September.
Following the recent sad news that Play Music Today went into administration, they will no longer be involved as an LTP ’25 Partner and have subsequently been removed from future promotions.
Do let me know if you have any queries or would like additional support with your project planning, we’re here to help!
Best wishes,
Wallis.
Dear Providers,
Welcome to July’s Learn to Play ’25 update email!
(For anyone who has recently registered – you’ll receive these emails roughly once a month in the lead-up to the LTP weekend, letting you know of any project news alongside reminders of resources to support your planning. You can view all past update emails at the very bottom of the resource page)
🔗 Learn to Play Provider Resources https://www.musicforall.org.uk/learn-to-play-provider-resources/
🌟 Promoting Your Event
There is no time like the present to start spreading the word about your planned Learn to Play events! On the link above you will find a whole host of resources and tips to get you started. Including LTP logos, tips on best practice across the main social media platforms and who to contact for PR support within MFA. You can also download print at home posters including editable versions for you to personalise.
🌟 In Other News…. Sign the Music Makers’ Charter!
Over the past decade, investment in music education and community music groups has steadily declined. Music GCSE entries have fallen by 30%, and those with the least access and support are being left behind.
That’s why Music for All has launched the Music Makers’ Charter – a call for urgent action. We’re demanding:
- Increased government investment in music education and community music-making
- Greater support for people facing financial, health, or social barriers to participating in music making
- Stronger recognition of music’s role in improving education, well-being, and social inclusion
- As fellow sector champions, we would love you to add your signature to the campaign! Click here to find out more.
As always, if you have any queries or would like additional support with your project planning, we’re here to help!
Best wishes,
Wallis.
Dear Providers,
Welcome to August’s Learn to Play ’25 update email!
(For anyone who has recently registered – you’ll receive these emails roughly once a month in the lead-up to the LTP weekend, letting you know of any project news alongside reminders of resources to support your planning. You can view all past update emails at the very bottom of the resource page)
🔗 Learn to Play Provider Resources https://www.musicforall.org.uk/learn-to-play-provider-resources/
🌟 The Activity Map is Live!
The activity map is now up on the LTP Participant page on our website. Please let me know if you make any amends to your event in the coming weeks so I can accurately update the website for the public.
🌟 PR Coverage
Our PR consultant Rachel Diamond has been busy pitching to regional press outlets to secure coverage in your local area! View the attached document for a reminder about this year’s PR offer, how it works and how you could get involved in extra PR opportunities.
🌟 Planning Advice
With not long to go until the Learn to Play weekend, it’s time to get ready to focus on the finer details of your events. Alongside promoting your activity, we recommend spending time to look through the following sections on the resource page:
Risk assessments and health and safety policies: It is essential that all Providers consider Safeguarding and Health & Safety procedures, taking appropriate measures to ensure the venue you will be delivering in will comply with basic Health and Safety standards.
Preparing for your event: Have a look at this section to think about additional ways you can encourage and welcome people to your event and what to consider if you would like to photograph/film your activity. You can download applicable signage/consent forms too.
As always, if you have any queries or would like additional support with your project planning, we’re here to help!
Best wishes,
Wallis.
Dear Providers,
By signing up to be a provider during Learn to Play ‘25, you have not only joined the largest national music making initiative in the UK, but you would have received a number of benefits by taking part including potential regional press and broadcast coverage to promote your event!
When you signed up as a Learn to Play provider, a bespoke regional press release was created which includes your business name, venue and dates that you will be hosting a Learn to Play ‘25 event. The press release was then sent to local press in your area, including regional newspapers in print and online.
🗞️We are excited to share that we have achieved press coverage for a number of providers so far this year. Please find a list below of the regions that currently have press coverage featured in local newspapers:
Bedfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Birmingham
Derbyshire
Devon
High Wycombe
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Liverpool
London
Manchester
Milton Keynes
Northern Ireland
Nottingham
Norfolk
Northampton
Northumberland
Reading
Scotland
Somerset
Surrey
Sheffield
Warwickshire
Yorkshire
If you would like to be sent coverage from your region, please do get in touch and I can send you specific articles mentioning your event. We usually have access to online media articles only, please do check your local print newspapers in case your event has been featured!
If your region hasn’t been mentioned in the list above, please be assured that we are making every effort to achieve a broad selection of media coverage across the UK for all Learn to Play ’25 events.
We will be reaching out to local radio stations across all regions in the coming week. If you would like to take part in radio interviews at your local station please email me and I can arrange this directly with the broadcasters. This is a great opportunity to help promote your fantastic event, the Learn to Play initiative and your business.
If you would like a reminder of the Learn to Play ’25 activity, please view the attached document to see how it works and how you could get involved in extra PR opportunities leading up to the start of the events in a few weeks. Once Learn to Play ’25 has finished, we will send round another update with further regions and coverage achieved this year.
I hope you are all excited for your Learn to Play events and please get in touch if you have any questions in relation to PR activity!
Best Wishes,
Rachel
Dear Providers,
Not long to go – Learn to Play ‘25 is this weekend!
From all of us at Music for All, we want to thank you for joining us to help more people to experience the joys of music making. We wish you all the luck for a fantastic weekend and most of all, enjoy yourselves! 🎶
Feedback
After your event, we would be incredibly grateful if you could complete a feedback form about your experience:
🔗 Click here to access the provider feedback form
We are also keen to hear from the participants you engage with so would be thankful if you could share the following link in your correspondence:
🔗 Click here to access the participant feedback form
Feedback is an essential tool for us to be able to continue to apply for key funding to support this project. Your participation and any comments play a valuable part in helping to widen access to music making across the UK.
Learn to Play Award for Participants
By attending a Learn to Play lesson, your participants can apply for a financial grant of up to £800 to continue their learning. This information is on the postcards you received, so please have these in sight during your LTP activities. The round opens on 10 October, visit our website for more information.
We can’t wait to see how your events go, good luck and have fun!
Best wishes,
Wallis.