School
The Victorian SongMakers program has been made possible with the support of the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Community Support Fund.
The New South Wales SongMakers Program is presented by APRA AMCOS with generous support from Sound NSW.
What
we do
Over 2 consecutive days, prominent Australian songwriters and music producers work with young creatives to write and record new songs.
The program uses the mentored creation of new songs to take young people behind the scenes in the music industry while also modelling transferrable skills like working in teams, pushing through comfort zones, working to deadlines, and being enterprising.
Our flagship 2-day in-school workshop is under subsidy from APRA AMCOS. The fee balance for schools is $550 incl GST.
A sample program run time is available below.
The Victorian program also incorporates a third, flexible session specifically tailored to delve into the art of production.
DAY 1
9:00 - 10:30
Introductions: Mentors outline the aims and processes of the program, give career summaries, talk about why creating original work is important for today’s career musician and different ways of doing it. Students introduce themselves including their musical influences and any song writing experience.
Getting creative: Mentors offer strategies for getting started with a song when collaborating. Outline benefits of having to work to a deadline. Tips for overcoming barriers. Mentors facilitate a creative exercise to get the young people started.
Collaborative groups: Writing groups established. Students go off to rooms in small groups (4 groups of 4), as mentors roam to coach each session.
10:30 - 12:30
Each small group works towards bringing a finished song back to showcase to the big group, with mentors roaming to help set directions and troubleshoot.
12:30 - 1:00 LUNCH
1:00 - 2:00
Small group work continues, with mentor support. (Producer/s may even start recording if any of the songs are on a fast-track to ready).
2:00 - 3:00
Big group reconvenes to perform songs acoustically, troubleshoot any issues, reflect on their experiences and discuss the plan for day 2. Mentors outline pre-production planning, tips about arranging and recording, and make decisions about song groups that will demo first on day 2. Mentors take phone recordings of each of the songs to prepare session templates overnight for students’ tracking the following day. Recording gear set up for Day 2.
DAY 2
9:00 - 9:30
Quick regroup to direct students into allocated recording rooms. Producer-mentors get set up.
9:30 - 11:30
Producer-mentors start recording demos with groups 1 and 2. Producer-mentors do basic multi-tracking for each song, with students playing in, or singing, their parts. Please note we don’t record live drums. Groups 3 and 4 continue to work with Facilitator-mentor to get their songs ready to demo. This is also an opportunity for Facilitator-mentor to have industry discussions including information about APRA AMCOS and song ownership.
11:30 - 12:30
Groups 3 & 4 begin recording with Producer-mentors. Facilitator-mentor to work with groups 1 & 2 to have industry discussions including information about APRA AMCOS and song ownership.
12:30 - 1:00 LUNCH
1:00 - 2:00
Groups 3 & 4 continue recording. Students whose songs have already been recorded can work deeper on lyrics, go online to view view APRA AMCOS’/SongMakers website; storyboard a video; start a new song, etc.
2:00 - 3:00
Listen back to all songs in large classroom. Reflection on learning: recap, tips, encouragement, students share their feedback, final Q&A. Mentors distribute song files.
Latest
workshops
Check out our latest school workshops below.
If you have questions about our School Workshops program, get in touch!
Interested in hosting a SongMakers workshop at your school? Complete our EOI form and we will be in touch.
Hear
the songs
Get
songmaking
Engaging, challenging and rewarding, SongMakers fast tracks young people’s understanding of opportunities in today’s music world.
If you would like to register your interest in a SongMakers workshop, complete our EOI form and we will be in touch.
Related
programs
For Students
SongMakers Program
Holiday Workshops
Mirroring the core SongMakers School Workshop program, the holiday program is delivered over 2 days during school holiday periods in regional Victoria and New South Wales.