Edinburgh libraries lend free instruments as music service reaches every secondary school

What is the background?

Learning an instrument usually depends on a family being able to buy or rent one. Free music instrument lending Edinburgh schemes remove that barrier by letting anyone with a library card borrow a donated instrument at no charge.

What happened?

Edinburgh Libraries run an instrument lending service in partnership with We Make Music Scotland and Tinderbox Collective. Most instruments available for loan have been donated by members of the public, and there is no charge to borrow one — only an Edinburgh Libraries membership card is required.

Separately, the city’s Instrumental Music Service marked a milestone this school session: for the first time, all of Edinburgh’s secondary schools were represented in the service’s citywide ensembles, including its annual Usher Hall concert series.

How did it happen?

The Instrumental Music Service has invested in additional instrument resources in recent years, with an explicit focus on equity — removing barriers to learning and participation rather than assuming families can supply their own instruments. Between 28 February and 31 March 2026 alone, pupils performed as part of citywide ensembles and events, including a second annual piano festival that involved 60 young pianists.

The library lending scheme runs alongside this school-based investment, giving people outside the school system — including adults and families — a route to try an instrument without buying one first.

Why does it matter?

Two different barriers stand between a young person and learning an instrument: not having one at school, and not having one at home. Edinburgh is addressing both at once — investing directly in school instrument stock while also running a public lending library that anyone in the city can use regardless of school enrolment.

Reaching all of Edinburgh’s secondary schools for the citywide concert series for the first time shows the investment has moved from patchy coverage to a genuinely citywide programme, rather than concentrating resources in a handful of schools.

What were the key results?

• Edinburgh Libraries lend donated instruments free with just a library card
• Partnership runs through We Make Music Scotland and Tinderbox Collective
• All of Edinburgh’s secondary schools represented in citywide ensembles for the first time this session
• 60 young pianists took part in the second annual piano festival (28 Feb–31 Mar 2026)
• Instrumental Music Service has prioritised equity-focused investment in instrument stock
• Citywide events include the Usher Hall concert series
• Programme spans both school-based instruction and public library lending

What happens next?

Edinburgh Libraries said it will continue accepting donated instruments to keep the lending collection stocked.

The Instrumental Music Service plans further citywide ensemble events building on this session’s full secondary-school participation.

We Make Music Scotland and Tinderbox Collective are expected to expand the partnership to reach more library branches across the city.

The council said it will track whether full secondary-school participation is sustained in future school sessions.