A BRASS band for young people in Glasgow will help show the UK how to keep generations of young musicians playing their instruments.

Gorbals Youth Brass Band will run one of ten pilot projects funded by Elevate - a pioneering programme jointly launched by the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music exam board and its four Royal Schools of Music partners after a UK-wide report revealed that large numbers of young musicians were abandoning their instruments.

ABRSM chief executive Michael Elliott said: “We know that cost and lack of opportunity stop too many children from continuing with their music – especially between primary and secondary schools - and we want to know how we can tackle this.

“The Gorbals Youth Brass Band will work with its own members and other organisations in the area to help us all really understand how to keep young musicians engaged and progressing in their playing.”

The Gorbals project will also provide teaching training for students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

It will host a unique conference bringing together brass instrument teachers from across Scotland to share expertise on supporting musicians.

Helen Douthwaite, of Gorbals Youth Brass Band, said: “We know from our own experience that children often lose interest in music and abandon their instruments in the big transition between primary and secondary school for various reasons.

“A large part of our project is about talking to young people and trying out creative solutions to keep them interested so they can progress in their music making.”

The Glasgow project is one of ten projects sharing £100,000 funding from the Elevate programme.

The other nine projects will take place in Belfast, Cornwall, North Wales, London, Ayrshire, Lancashire, Manchester, Wolverhampton and Bradford.