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Children Music Participation Statistics: Instruments, Lessons and Access

A source-based look at children’s music participation in Germany and England, covering instruments, lessons, groups, performance, costs and survey limits.

November 12, 2026 8 min read kohlerdigitalpianos.com Editorial Team

Contents

Children music participation statistics: overall participation and population estimates

In Germany, an estimated 3.8 million children and young people ages 6–15 made music in their free time, according to a survey conducted in 2024 and published in April 2025. The same report found that 50% of this age group made music regularly or at least occasionally. The estimate describes the number of children, while the percentage describes the share of the surveyed population; the report presents them as separate measures of free-time music-making. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, p. 8 and Fig. 4

The figures are specific to Germany and the ages 6–15. “Making music in free time” is the report’s broad participation measure. Other figures below use narrower populations, including children already identified as amateur musicians, pupils in particular English school stages, or respondents to a Music Hubs survey. Those measures should be read within their stated scope rather than treated as a single international participation rate.

Children music participation statistics: instruments and singing

Among German amateur musicians ages 6–15, 88% played a musical instrument in 2024, and 37% sang in a choir, choral society, or at private or social events. These percentages use children and young people who made music as their base; they do not describe all children ages 6–15. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, Fig. 9

Instrument choices included piano, recorder, guitar and electronic piano or keyboard. In 2024, 24% of the child and youth amateur musicians played piano, 19% played recorder, 18% played guitar, and 9% played electronic piano or keyboard. The source reports these as instrument-specific measures within the amateur-musician group. They should not be added to estimate a total: the supplied results do not establish that each child played only one instrument. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, p. 17, narrative accompanying Fig. 10

Activity among German amateur musicians ages 6–152024
Played a musical instrument88%
Sang in a choir, choral society, or at private or social events37%
Played piano24%
Played recorder19%
Played guitar18%
Played electronic piano or keyboard9%

Source for all rows: Amateur music-making in Germany, Fig. 9 and p. 17

The same report gives singing figures by gender among German children ages 6–15 who made music: 40% of girls and 33% of boys sang in a choir, choral society, or at private or social events. This is a comparison within young amateur musicians, not a comparison of all girls and boys. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, p. 17, narrative accompanying Fig. 9

Children music participation statistics: music lessons and school learning

The German survey asked about music education in the preceding 12 months among child and youth amateur musicians ages 6–15. It reported that 76% had regular music education in school. A figure footnote limits this measure to children who played an instrument or sang, including in a choir, music school or club, or who made digital music. The 76% therefore does not represent the share of all German children receiving school music education. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, Fig. 18 and footnote 4

For lessons outside regular school music education during the same 12-month period, 72% had voice or instrument lessons. The report separately lists 66% for instrumental lessons and 13% for voice lessons. Multiple answers were possible, so these categories are not mutually exclusive and do not need to sum to the overall 72% measure. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, Fig. 18

Music learning measurePopulation and periodResult
Regular music education in schoolGerman amateur musicians ages 6–15; preceding 12 months76%
Voice or instrument lessons outside regular school music educationGerman amateur musicians ages 6–15; preceding 12 months72%
Instrument lessons outside regular school music educationGerman amateur musicians ages 6–15; preceding 12 months66%
Voice lessons outside regular school music educationGerman amateur musicians ages 6–15; preceding 12 months13%

Source for all rows: Amateur music-making in Germany, Fig. 18

An English Music Hubs pupil survey in Autumn 2024 asked respondents where they were learning music at the time. In that survey, 47% said they were learning music in school lessons, 23% mentioned private music teachers outside school, and 21% said a tutor came to their school for lessons. These are reported learning settings among Stage 1b pupil respondents connected with schools engaged with Music Hubs, not estimates for all pupils in England. Source: Music Hubs evaluation: interim report, p. 44, section 3.6.1

Children music participation statistics: age, gender, and social-class differences

The 2024 German survey found that 60% of girls ages 6–15 made music in their free time, compared with 40% of boys in the same age range. These are overall free-time participation figures for the two age-and-gender groups, rather than the singing rates among young amateur musicians described above. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, p. 10, section 3.1

The report also presents free-time music-making by social class for German children and young people ages 6–15: 61% in the upper social class, 41% in the middle social class and 43% in the lower social classes. The reported order is not a steadily declining sequence across all three groups: the lower-class figure is 2 percentage points above the middle-class figure. The figures describe the report’s social-class categories and should not be used to infer why participation differs. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, p. 10, section 3.1

In an English survey of pupils at state-funded secondary schools, regular participation in any musical activity at school during the preceding 12 months varied by key stage. The fieldwork ran from 27 November 2017 to 31 January 2018. The report recorded 82% for KS3, 38% for KS4 and 24% for KS5. The table bases were 1,371 KS3 pupils, 765 KS4 pupils and 443 KS5 pupils. The percentages refer to regular activity at school, not music participation in any setting. Source: Omnibus survey of pupils and their parents or carers: wave 4, p. 34, Table 8

The same English survey reported that 39% of KS3 pupils took part in some form of musical activity outside school in the previous 12 months, compared with 28% of KS4 pupils and 32% of KS5 pupils. These are outside-school measures for the same stages; they are distinct from the regular in-school activity percentages in Table 8. Source: Omnibus survey of pupils and their parents or carers: wave 4, p. 34, text following Table 8

Children music participation statistics: home practice, groups, and performance

Among German amateur musicians ages 6–15, 86% made music at least once a week in 2024. This is a frequency measure among young people who already make music, not a weekly participation rate for all children. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, p. 6

The survey also asked about places and group settings for music-making. Among German amateur musicians ages 6–15, 50% made music at home or at private or social events with family and friends; 34% did so at school, for example in a music club; and 40% made music in a music school. For group participation, 25% sang in a choir and 20% played in an orchestra, ensemble or musical group. These are separate reported settings and activities; the same child may be represented in more than one. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, Fig. 14

The report states that children and young people ages 6–15 who made music performed an average of 2 to 3 times in the preceding 12 months. This is an average performance frequency for that population and period, not a count of performances for every child. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, p. 7

In the Music Hubs Stage 1b survey in Autumn 2024, 48% of pupil respondents said they belonged to an orchestra, ensemble, band or choir. This group-membership result applies to those survey respondents and complements, but is not directly comparable with, the German survey’s separate choir and ensemble measures. Source: Music Hubs evaluation: interim report, p. 44, section 3.6.1

Children music participation statistics: access, costs, and barriers

Parents of German amateur musicians ages 6–15 reported an average annual spend of 536 euros on the child’s musical hobby in the 2024 survey. The amount is an average for parents of children who made music; it is not a cost estimate for every family or for all children. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, p. 28 and Fig. 21

When parents were asked about the greatest problem or challenge in their child’s music-making, 18% cited high costs of lessons, instruments or equipment, and 15% cited getting to rehearsals and performances. Multiple answers were possible. These responses document challenges reported by parents of child and youth amateur musicians; they do not show how many children stopped participating or why. Source: Amateur music-making in Germany, Fig. 20

The Music Hubs survey gives more detail on lesson format among English Stage 1b pupil respondents who had music lessons in Autumn 2024: 70% said lessons were one-to-one, 23% attended lessons in small groups and 19% attended in pairs. The categories as reported need not total 100%; the source does not specify them as mutually exclusive. Together with the reported learning settings, these results describe how participating pupils accessed lessons, while the German cost and travel responses identify challenges parents reported. Source: Music Hubs evaluation: interim report, p. 44, section 3.6.1

Sources

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