Secondary school pupils in Nottingham to be offered DJ and music tech workshops

Secondary school pupils in Nottingham are set to be offered DJ and music tech workshops under a new initiative funded by Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Council.

The workshops, hosted by Fast Forward Music, range from six weeks to a year, and will be offered to young people aged between 11 to 16 who have "faced exclusion or challenges in traditional mainstream education."

Organisers detail that the workshops have been created with the aim to foster creativity, and imbue participants with the confidence to explore their musical interests. Fast Forward Music will be hosting inductions throughout January 2024.

According to Nottingham Insights, “Nottingham ranks 20th out of the 326 districts in England (1 is most deprived) and 22,000 (34.6%) city children live in poverty (locally defined as those who live in households dependent on out-of-work benefits).”

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Steve Lee, Managing Director at Synthetic Pro Audio, the Nottingham-based audio retailer helping to bring about the workshops, spoke on the "potential" the course has to "significantly impact the youth of our city."

"Fast Forward Music is paving the way for a new generation of music enthusiasts, to fast forward their dreams and aspirations," he told Mixmag.

In an article discussing electronic music provisions in secondary schools for Mixmag last year, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association Micheal Kill spoke on the importance of "embracing technology and contemporary musical trends" to "bridge generational gaps, and ensure music remains an accessible and relevant subject in schools."

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Several similar initiatives have cropped up around the country for secondary school aged children. Last year, Essex County Council announced free weekly music production classes will be offered to children funded by Essex Year of Numbers as part of a campaign to improve numeracy.

In Nottingham, the workshops hosted by Fast Forward Music will take place at Synthetic Pro Audio Studios in Nottingham’s city centre and will take "a blended theoretical and practical approach, covering audio production, recording techniques, and digital composition."

For more information on Fast Forward Music, click here.

Belle Richardson is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter