Water Music

Water Music in Steyning is run by a friendly local resident who will chat, advise and even give you tea as you try out her guitars. When I went in, there were two regulars sitting and having a natter, and from the conversation, they’d been in every day that week to try out the same guitar before buying it. This sociable atmosphere feels immensely inclusive and local, and I felt immediately drawn to browse.
It’s mostly student instruments in stock, as the shop caters to a lively market of schoolchildren and sixth-​formers exuding cool. However, there are some instruments aimed more at the community of local folkies, with bodhrans and a few rather interesting looking violins in amongst the Stentors. The shop runs a hire service as well, which must be a fiscal relief for the parents of the ambitious kids. It’s also a fun few months for the musical adult to try their hand at something new.
There are racks of sheet music as well, and various musical novelties, but the joy of this shop is really in the welcoming atmosphere — without that it would be an average music shop, but as it is it feels as though you could go in and start up a jam with the bearded regulars without drawing a second glance. It’s well worth a visit for the folk addict, as you never know what new joys will suddenly appear.