Warwick university is completely failing our student musicians

If you know me, you probably know that I’m a pianist.  I’m also a student at Warwick, and the two identities do not come together well. With no music degree and limited facilities for practice and rehearsal, Warwick offers little for its student musicians. But far and away the greatest — and most irritating — problem we face is the lack of practice rooms in the Arts Centre.

More than a forum for art and inspiration, the building now resembles a large waiting room – we musicians sit for hours (and I mean hours – my record wait is three hours twenty minutes) on end, unable to access any room. Most give up out of exasperation — once someone is in there, there’s no time limit. And, if you’re lucky enough to ever make it into a room, you normally get a good five minutes before you’re kicked out by a teacher or music society who has it booked from the exact moment someone else left.

It’s hard to see how Warwick can realistically claim to support its student musicians

There are two music centres on campus and they are both almost invariably full up, with no chance of ever getting into a room. The one in the Arts Centre boasts eight rooms (although one is essentially out of action at the moment as one of the pianos is missing keys) and, on a normal day, half of them are booked up by teachers and societies. If you were desperate, you could venture further to the music centre in Westwood. But you’re facing the same situation over there – eight rooms, always full, and the only difference is that the pianos are essentially all out-of-tune. If you’ve any lectures on main campus, the Westwood centre is really a no-go anyway, with students facing a half an hour return journey.

This all adds up to about 16 music rooms, and you only ever really have a limited shot at getting into ten of them. For a campus of 26,000 people, it’s hard to see how Warwick can realistically claim to support its student musicians. If you’re not a member of a music society or willing to fork out an awful lot of money for tuition, you’re automatically at the back of a very long queue. I’m fortunate in that I live nearby and have a piano at home, but for people on campus who don’t, instruments can be nigh-on inaccessible.

Societies are an answer, but only a partial one. They normally only practice at certain times when you may not necessarily be free, and your playing is dictated by others. I tried to join a few in beginner sessions, but it seems that even the beginners are already incredibly advanced. I don’t want to sound upset at other people’s talent (on the contrary, I’ve seen these guys perform and they’re amazing), but you shouldn’t have to pay for privilege of accessing what is meant to be a free service at Warwick or be rendered a second-class citizen otherwise.

There are so many musicians on campus, and Warwick does such a poor job in catering for them

There are a few little changes that I think would improve the situation (aside from the obvious one of creating more space, although at the rate the university is putting up buildings, why not?). There could be timetables on the door so people know when rooms are booked to avoid people wasting time waiting when there’s no chance a room will be free. People should be encouraged to keep an eye on the time and not hog rooms for hours on end (you just know they’d be getting incredibly annoyed if they had to wait, too). Or we could maybe trial a booking system on one or two of the rooms just to ensure everyone gets a fair shot at playing?

There are so many musicians on campus, and Warwick does such a poor job in catering for them. Unless you’ve the money or the skills already, you may as well not bother with music at Warwick —and that’s certainly not how it should be.