Last month’s SongMakers program had music industry professionals zooming in from the mainland and Los Angeles to collaborate with Tasmania’s secondary school students.
They wrote and recorded new songs, and shared insights about managing a creative career.
“SongMakers is about helping young people express themselves through song writing,” explained program organiser Tina Broad.
The program was delivered remotely due to COVID-19. There were weekly webinars, online mentoring workshops, music classes.
Schools involved were the ones listed below. You can hear samples of their work by clicking on the links:
Launceston College, Prospect High, Deloraine High, Riverside High
Launceston College, Deloraine High, Riverside High
Coronavirus was no barrier to delivering the SongMakers mentoring program.
Reflections from last year’s Tasmanian students
- “Having a set deadline was super motivational for me personally and I felt confident and comfortable with the people in my band and with sharing my ideas.” – Veve
- “I will never forget this!!! I am walking away with knowledge, inspiration and excitement for what is ahead.” – Charlotte
- “Such an amazing opportunity to work with people you don’t know. I feel so inspired to write more songs and it’s something I would love to do again.” – Cadi
- “Being able to work with other schools was an awesome idea.” – Nikki
- “This has been a real confidence booster for me.” – Miah
- “It was incredible to have professionals in the music industry giving input and direction. I hope this program can be experienced by all young musicians!” – Zali
- “I have loved creating music with such talented people. The whole experience has been so positive and uplifting.” – Maddy
- “To start from nothing but a blank piece of paper to a fully produced song was a real eye-opening experience.” – Bowen
- “Playing guitar in a genre I wasn’t used to was an awesome challenge and so much fun. I feel more confident for my music career and it has made me feel excited.” – Zoe
- “It helped with the struggles of writing and sparked inspiration tremendously.” – Chelsea
- “The last few days have been amazing. Was great information about the music industry and I can’t wait to be a part of it.” – Zavier
- “I really enjoyed the whole process, from coming up with our first idea to finishing the recording. It was great seeing how it works in the real world, writing against time and using things like Logic to edit it all.” – Matthew
- “I was so nervous to have to write a song with strangers but it was so much better than I thought. I learnt so much about the music industry and it has really inspired me to keep writing!” – Eliza
- “It’s really satisfying starting and finishing a new piece and seeing its journey.” – Jasper
- “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and it was so worth it.” – Maggie
Musicians who were involved in this year’s program
- Tushar Apte, songwriter/producer;
- Georgi Kay, Grammy-nominated artist/writer;
- KLP, artist/producer/broadcaster and in-demand cowriter;
- Ilan Kidron, award-winning songwriter and Potbelleez frontman;
- Anna Laverty songwriter/producer;
- Taka Perry, songwriter/producer/artist; and
- Alice Ivy, multi-instrumentalist, artist/songwriter, and producer.
