Ħamrun school launches pilot project: DJ lessons during breaktime

A former Ħamrun secondary school student is returning to his old school to teach students about electronic music production and DJing.

Music producer and educator Aidan Somers spent four years at San Ġorġ Preca College Ħamrun Secondary School, and from next year will return to run a break club teaching students about electronic music production and performance.

“For me, it’s really big that I went full circle and I’m back now at my old school, giving back to the youths who are like my younger self in a way,” said Somers.

“I got into producing and DJing when I was 16 years old, and it’s something I always wished had been more available, because I knew nothing about it before then,” he said.

“If I was exposed to it when I was younger, maybe I would have developed a passion for it earlier.”

The school recently ran two pilot sessions before the club starts meeting weekly next year and the classes certainly seem to have made an impression. Speaking to Times of Malta at her club session, one student said she “really loved it”.

“I’ve always loved music ever since I was a kid, so coming here is like my heaven for music,” she said.

During the weekly classes, students will learn about composition techniques, synthesisers, music production tools and DJing from Somers and tutors from his music education company AISO Academy.

Students will be taught a range of electronic music and DJing skills. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

Fellow tutor and company director Clayton Gauci explained that the pilot sessions had started with introductions to equipment and techniques, before allowing students to explore and compose music on their own.

“First, we show the kids the different equipment we have here, and then it’s like ‘play time’ for them – we’re letting them be as free as possible while also being here for guidance and helping them express themselves with the tools at hand,” said Gauci.

Somers said next year’s course would begin with an overview of the musical techniques and equipment on offer, before “going into more detail with the group over time”.

One student described the class as a “new experience... it’s interesting to me”, with another noting that while the style of music was different to that traditionally taught in schools, “it’s still a type of music and one a lot of people don’t know the importance of”.

The music break club has proved a hit with students and staff. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

“When you go to a party, that’s what you mostly find – so, to have this unique experience at school is something very nice,” she said.

The pilot project was mostly attended by girls, with school headmaster George Galea noting that while staff had expected more disruptive students to be more interested in the course, those “quite good in academics were really interested – and it seems that they are benefiting a lot”.

“We make sure they [students] do not miss any academic subjects or anything else in their timetable, but schools are there to teach holistically, so a course like this will give them skills which no other lesson can give them,” said Galea.

“We’re seeing them enjoying it, exploring new ventures – this should be done in every school,” he said.

Reflecting on the pilot sessions, Somers said it had been a successful launch and said he was “excited to see it develop further and really try to influence the next generation with music education”.

Last year, the value of the global electronic music industry grew by six per cent to reach an estimated 12.9 billion US dollars, according to industry platform International Music Summit.