Pem was introduced to formal classical piano studies about the age of 12. For some three years he endured the stupefying unrelieved tedium of this instruction and then rebelled, and financed with his own pocket money, sought out a teacher of modern piano playing.
This was an excellent move. From here on and by working in school holidays, mostly in the surrounding brick kilns of Adelaide, he saved enough money to purchase an alto sax and later a clarinet. Individual instruction in both these instruments followed on for some years.
This instruction and practice allowed Pem in his late teens to form his first dance band The Blue Aces. Read more about The Blue Aces in the section Quartets and Quintets.