An online campaign has been launched today to highlight the value to Scottish education of musical instrument teaching amid concerns it could become “extinct” in some parts of the country.

The week-long social media campaign, started by teaching union the EIS, will use the hashtag #ChangetheTune to call for the protection of, and increased investment in, musical instrument teaching in schools.

The union is concerned that musical instrument teaching continues to be threatened in schools across Scotland, where it has been subjected to increasingly severe cutbacks in recent years. It recently launched an updated “charter for instrumental music” to highlight its importance.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “Although instrumental music teachers play a hugely important role in our schools, their work is often under appreciated and undervalued. At this time of year, when schools across the country have recently been putting on festive shows and end-of-year concerts, it is an opportune time to highlight the value of instrumental music in our schools and the essential role that instrumental music teachers perform in the education of young musicians across Scotland.

“Creativity and independent expression are central elements of Curriculum for Excellence, and these are also key aspects of learning to play a musical instrument.”

Mr Flanagan said that the benefits of learning a musical instrument included “increased self-confidence and the ability to perform as an individual as well as within a group”.

He added: “The broader cultural and social benefits of supporting and nurturing the next generation of musicians are impossible to overstate, so it is vital that local authorities should continue to support instrumental music tuition for young people in all parts of Scotland.”

Earlier this month, Scotland’s education secretary, John Swinney, suggested that some local authorities did not “recognise the value” of teaching children to play musical instruments.

Mr Swinney told the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee that new and higher charges set by some local authorities risked creating barriers for children wanting to play an instrument.

However, he also told the committee that he was not considering direct funding grants from central government for music tuition to allow councils to stop charging families.