Pupils visit Rockfield Studios made famous by Queen, Oasis and more

The Year 4 boys and girls from Monmouth Prep School were given an insight into the history and workings of the iconic Rockfield Studios which is near the town. And used the visit to find out more about science and music.

Queen, Oasis, Kasabian, Black Sabbath, The Charlatans, The Stone Roses and the Manic Street Preachers are just some of the bands which have recorded at the world famous studios.

Eight-year-old Elsie Allan, from Ross-on-Wye, points to the Wonderwall at Rockfield that helped inspire one of Oasis’ best-known hits

Ross-on-Wye’s Elsie Allan, whose mum collected Oasis’ autographs when they recorded at Rockfield in the 1990s, enjoyed seeing the Wonderwall which helped inspire one of the band’s best-known hits.

Sammy Gossage and Audrey Ingledew, who lives near Abergavenny, enjoyed hearing about the mixing desk at Rockfield Studios which has been in place for decades.

And it was a special day for nine-year-old Arthur Arnold, a grade three pianist, who sat at the piano made famous by Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury, in the smash-hit Bohemian Rhapsody.

Nine-year-old Arthur Arnold at the piano made famous by Queen’s Freddie Mercury, in the smash-hit, Bohemian Rhapsody

Professional sound engineer Joe Jones; Dr Sion Wall, who enjoyed spending time with the Ward family, who run the studios; and Joe Walton explained the relationship of science to music in a very hands-on manner.

During a memorable day, the children learned about the science of how sound is manipulated to make music. They also recorded their own song and took part in the mixing process which resulted in a professionally-finished version.

Sammy Gossage and Abergavenny’s Audrey Ingledew at one of Rockfield’s iconic mixing desks

The girls and boys were able to see how surfaces affect sound, visualise sound recordings as a wave and look inside different types of keyboard to see the different technologies which allow them to produce sound.