Jersey musicians at Abbey Road learn from Introducing

Ryan Morrison Presenter, BBC Introducing in Jersey

Hundreds of musicians spent the day at Abbey Road

I have been a Beatles fan for as long as I can remember. For all I know I was in the womb, headphones on listening to Abbey Road on tape.

Throughout my life I have gone through various musical phases. I would start liking then end up hating before liking again (but in an ironic way) a band or style of music.

But the only artist that has stayed with me, or more accurately, that I have stayed with is the Beatles.

From the simple rock and roll - those early skiffle deviations of love me do and to the brilliant concepts, mixes and experimentation's of the genius rubber soul - it is a flawless catalogue.

But the brilliance behind it all, beyond the 'fab four', beyond Brian Epstein and beyond the song writing brilliance of Lennon and McCartney - is Abbey Road.

The Beatles recorded 90% of their music at the famous London studios.

And for just one day a couple of hundred young musicians at the start of their careers would get a taste of the genius that radiates and lines the walls of the Georgian building.

The BBC Introducing musicians' masterclass was a one day event bringing together musicians from across the country - including Jersey for a day of lessons, discussions, sessions and networking.

Each local BBC Introducing presenter was asked to nominate musicians from their area to attend.

This was NOT an easy task - harder still because it was individual musicians and not band - it took me a few days to pick the six names.

In the end three people represented Jersey at the event - that not only used Abbey Road but also Maida Vale.

The three that went under the Jersey banner were James Minihane from the Foogie Brothers, Max Cleworth from Pirate Video Company and Nick Baxter from Quick and the Dead.

Standing in Abbey Road studio one, straight after a discussion between Zane Lowe and Marc Ronson on songwriting, Nick said it was an amazing opportunity.

He said: "When I first walked in here I didn't soak it all up but throughout the day it is beginning to hit me that it is Abbey Road, it is a mental opportunity to be here."

BBC Introducing gives new British talent a leg up to have their music heard, which is increasingly important in an era where the relevance of he label is being watered down thanks to the ease of do it yourself tools.

But even the best DIY enthusiasts could benefit from a little guidance, a sort of Haines manual for making music.

That is what this event was all about from practical sessions on instruments, vocals and song writing to discussions and debates in the future of the industry.

James Minihane from Foogie Brothers hopes to apply some of what he has heard to his band.

But, other than "you can't make any real money from recorded music anymore", one of the strongest messages I picked out was "get big locally" and "grow your scene".

The idea behind this is that by gigging in your local area, by working with other acts in your area and by building a strong fan base in your home town you will prepare yourself and perfect your sound before the really hard work starts.

You can watch the videos from the masterclass on the BBC Introducing website

This is something Jersey is very good at although as with all things there is room for improvement.

Jersey has a great support network with Arts Trust grants, La Motte Street and an increasing number of venues opening their doors to original music.

It has two good sized music festivals giving a stage to local talent and a mixed media festival giving that same talent exposure to something completely different.

So where can the island improve? Suggestions I have heard from fans and bands as part of my job presenting BBC Introducing in Jersey on BBC Radio Jersey have ranged from creating a music panel to help promoting and advising Jersey bands.

Other suggestions have included a way to facilitate contacts, gigs and publicity here as well as act as an export officer promoting music around Europe and in the UK.

Another suggestion was much simpler and draws from the core roots of live music - buy a van.

The idea here would be to buy a van, leave it in the UK and make it available for Jersey music acts to use to reduce the costs if touring.

And a practical sounding suggestion would be to utilise a small part of Jersey Tourisms PR spend to promote local bands.

After all, successful Jersey people talking about the island that gave them that success does more to create 'buzz' about a place than even the biggest marketing spend.

A recent example of this is outside music but the principle stands - Jersey born actor Henry Cavill being named Superman.

The BBC introducing masterclass gave three Jersey musicians advice and networking that will hopefully lead them in the right direction to take things a step forward.

And BBC Introducing locally, nationally and online continues to reflect the incredible talent and provide tools and resources to help those acts move forward.

But could Jersey do that little bit more to guide its brilliant, talented musicians or is that a luxury for the good times?