At Sidcot, we are incredibly fortunate to have such a talented and experienced team of music teachers. Together, they bring a remarkable range of professional performing, teaching, and musical experience to the School, covering a wide variety of instruments, styles, and traditions.
In our Meet the Music Teacher series, we take the opportunity to introduce some of the musicians who inspire and support our students every week. This week, we meet Ross Cordrey, one of our guitar teachers, and discover how a first rock concert at age 14 led to a lifelong passion for performing, songwriting, and teaching:
"It’s 1976, I’m 14, and my older brother (and guitarist) is taking me to see my first rock concert: Jethro Tull at the Liverpool Empire. It was amazing, and I was hooked. So, the next day, I went into school and formed a band. Of course, none of us owned or could play an instrument, but we each picked one, and I chose guitar. I found my Nana’s 100-year-old mandolin in a cupboard, so I started working out tunes on that. Before long, I borrowed a guitar and started learning how to play it.
My brother had left home, but I found his book of Beatles songs, which had chord boxes above the lyrics. I chose one with three chords and played it on repeat until I could change between them at the right speed. I then started to learn my favourite songs. This meant putting on a record and trying to figure out what was going on by ear. It was time-consuming and difficult, but it was the only option, and I desperately wanted to learn. It’s easier now, thanks to tablature and the internet, but it was certainly good ear training.
We all managed to get instruments and learn how to play them, and after a few months we played a couple of songs at a school assembly. We were off! By the time we were 16, we were playing regularly on the rock circuit in the Liverpool area. We wrote our own songs and played some covers. This began a life in music and bands. I played in various bands with friends and local musicians, playing both electric and acoustic music, and I kept writing songs. I played gigs and festivals around the North West and even had some interest from the record industry.
I moved to Bristol in 1990 and started playing in bands and meeting other musicians. I also began teaching guitar privately. I joined a blues band, and for the next ten years we played more than 100 gigs a year across the South West and beyond. We played blues festivals around the country, including the Aberdeen, Glasgow and Shetland Blues Festivals, and did several small tours of Scotland. We also played at the Poole Music Festival, along with Bob Dylan (two days after us!!) Then it was back to writing original material in a funky blues-rock band.
My touring days are now over, but I still play occasionally in a rock cover band with some friends of a similar vintage! The guitar is a fantastic instrument. It is incredibly versatile, and you can play almost any type of music on it. For me, I really connect with the feel and sound of the guitar, and it has always given me a way to express myself when I didn't know how otherwise.
I've always been most interested in playing music with other people, and the guitar has allowed me to do that. No matter how long you play the guitar, there is always more to learn, and after playing for 50 years, I am still learning. I have been teaching at Sidcot for 20 years and have run several different student bands during that time. I currently help tutor Sidcot band, Akustix. I really want to pass on the knowledge I have accumulated over the years, and there is nothing better than seeing students enjoy music, make progress and, sometimes form a band, play in a school assembly, and so it continues."
If you would like your child to take Guitar lessons, please contact Paul Woolley: paul.woolley@sidoct.org.uk