A local music teacher who is arranging community music programmes around the island believes it is never too early to get a musical child into the recording studio.

Abimbola (Bim) Bademosi, a Victor Scott Primary teacher, recently opened a second music studio in the St. George's Community Centre after starting a successful programme for kids in Somerset, a few years ago. The programme is sponsored by the Department of Community Affairs & Sport.

"One thing I noticed when I came back from school is that we have a lot of talent all over the place," said Mr. Bademosi when the Royal Gazette visited the new St. George's music centre. "The one thing we don't have is proper exposure for our talent to showcase what they have. They can sing in school, but how can you capture that performance?"

At the moment Mr. Bademosi's St. George's music programme is still in its infancy. It consists of two small rooms with some recording studio equipment, a mixing counsel, a microphone and a few other bits and pieces. He is hoping to eventually expand, and through kind donations, add to the programme's collection of musical instruments.

"We have been here for about two months now," he said. "We are going to try to expand it. We are going to hopefully have keyboards set up to have more keyboard lessons.

"In Somerset we started off like this and then we expanded. At the moment, we have a lot more in Somerset than we have here, but you have to crawl before you can walk. We will start with the recording studio scenario."

Since the St. George's programme has only been running for two months, the number of children attending is still low. However, in Somerset, numbers have grown.

Every day has a different theme. Tuesday is for piano and Monday is for band, for example. In the summertime, the Somerset programme also offers a camp. Mr. Bademosi is hoping the St. George's programme will take off in the same way.

The programme takes kids of all ages, starting at seven years old, but there are a few adults and older kids involved who are interested in learning how a recording studio works. There is no audition to get into the programme.

The only requirement is a good attitude and willingness to work. The cost of attending is extremely low. In Somerset, it is $30 per month, and the St. George's one is similarly priced.

Mr. Bademosi hopes that the St. George's programme will be the second of three. He wants to eventually see a third programme set up in Hamilton, or somewhere more central.

When the Royal Gazette visited Mr. Bademosi he had two young students with him, Tristin Tucker, 14, and Keisha Harvey, 13.

"I like to write songs and I thought it would be a good idea to come here," said Tristin, who attends Clearwater Middle School.

Keisha also attends Clearwater. "I have been coming since it started in St. George's," she said. "My interest is to learn new things. I prefer to play music."

"The whole idea behind this facility is to expose Bermuda's talented youth to a recording studio environment," he said. "We have maybe five professional studios on the island, and not many of them will allow a student of Keisha's age to come in and sit and observe," said Mr. Bademosi.

"This place is here to give that kind of exposure. I think 13 or 14 years old is a better age to start learning these things. By the time they are 18 being in a recording studio should be second nature."

He said very often when someone walked into a studio at age 21, they were shocked to hear the sound of their recorded voice for the first time.

"A recording artist must be able to understand how their voice sounds," he said.

"Once you get comfortable with the way your voice sounds you will be able to manipulate it. If you come to the studio for the first time it is going to take six months to a year to get used to how your voice sounds."

Mr. Bademosi has a degree in audio engineering, a bachelor of arts degree in music business and production and a post graduate diploma in music education. He decided to set up the community music programmes when he returned from university in 2002.

"I saw there was a need for community based music lessons here," he said. "I had created something like this when I was in England. I showed kids there how to rap, sing and develop their talent. When I came back from school I found there was still no exposure for kids here. I thought 'this is not right, we have so much talent'. These kids are basically sitting there doing nothing with their talent."

Mr. Bademosi said one of the things he pushes through the community music programme is the piano.

"It is important to do piano if you are becoming a vocalist," he said. "It helps you with pitching and ear training."

Students also learn how to use the mixing counsel, which is a daunting looking piece of equipment with rows of levers and buttons.

"It is basically a computer," Mr. Bademosi explained. "This is how music is made in the 21st century. That little box is basically a lesson in itself. Once they have a good understanding of melody, chords and harmony we will start doing composition."

Mr. Bademosi said there is so much for a young musician to learn including music, theory, history, and different genres.

"That is what gives you your knowledge base," he said. "There are so many different things to learn. Even if a child does not take this on as a career at least they have that. It makes them a more rounded child."

He said it also showed them the things they needed to learn to study songwriting, if that was where their interest lays.

"Song writers are the backbone of the music industry," he said. "Without development, how are you going to have local musicians performing in the hotels, for example? We are going to constantly have to bring in entertainers. If we can continuously develop we will have a good stock of entertainers. With the technology the way it is they can integrate technology with their skill and come up with an interesting product."

In the 1990s, before returning to Bermuda, Mr. Bademosi was studio manager for Dug-Out Studios in London, England. This is a studio owned by Maxi Priest. As chief audio engineer, song writer and producer he secured song writing credits on two of Elisha La'verne's albums 'Her Name Is'— and 'Elisha La'Verne' which were both distributed globally.

"I had to leave the island to pursue my music potential," he said. "We are one of the wealthiest nations in the world, it shouldn't have to be that way.

"I have been fortunate to do things in England pertaining to music. If I could do this and I started late, kids who start early will be able to achieve a lot more."