Young musos mix it with the best

Australian songwriters and producers give Tassie students access all areas with the SongMakers program, writes Tina Broad

FROM their home studios in lockdown, some of Australia’s best songwriters and music producers are zooming in to Tassie secondary schools to write and record with students.

National music mentoring organisation SongMakers has joined forces with Tasmania’s Department of Education to broaden students’ horizons and at the same time spotlight songwriting as the cultural fuel that could turbocharge Australia’s music exports.

Mentors are pivotal in introducing young musos to careers in songwriting and producing and in connecting them to the world. Sweden, the world’s top exporter of charting pop music, is a salutary example. One reason for its decades-long success is its system of team writing and mentorship pioneered by the father of pop music, Denniz PoP, who mentored Max Martin. Martin is behind some of the biggest names in pop music – think Katy Perry, Backstreet Boys, Taylor Swift – and has a hit-making record surpassed only by Lennon and McCartney. He, in turn, has mentored fellow Swede Shellback, who has produced 10 Billboard number ones – and counting.

The Australian music industry has its own songwriting hitmakers for next-gen musos to emulate and they are zooming in to mentor Tassie school students over coming weeks. They include: LA-based writer/ producer Tushar Apte whose credits include K-Pop sensations, BTS; Grammynominated artist/writer Georgi Kay whose song, In My Mind, has been streamed more than one billion times; #1 Billboard songsmith and Potbelleez frontman Ilan Kidron, who has written for Jessica Mauboy and Ricky Martin among others and for movie soundtracks including The Sapphires; Melbourne multi-instrumentalist, producer and triple j favourite, Alice Ivy; writer/producer featured in ABC TV’s The Recording Studio, Anna Laverty, whose collaborators include Nick Cave, Meg Mac and Courtney Barnett; SongMakers alum, writer/ producer and artist, Taka Perry, whose credits include Ruel’s double platinum Younger; artist/writer/ producer, KLP, whose song ‘Energy’ has just topped the UK dance charts; longtime music manager Cath Haridy (Eskimo Joe, Frente, Bob Evans), and many more.

These inspiring industry pros will give students and teachers an access-all-areas tour of the industry via “meet the makers” sessions in Hobart this Thursday, in-school songwriting and recording workshops, teacher master classes and a music industry Q&A and song showcase.

Apart from industry mentors and role models, a country’s music export success has also been linked to its system of music education. Again take Sweden, with its longtime state funded inschool and after-school music education where popular music practices like songwriting and beat-making are to the fore. Unlike Sweden and many of its other Nordic neighbours, Australia doesn’t have a strong tradition of songwriting and music technology training in schools.

Cue applause for

Tasmania’s efforts in changing that. Its Department of Education has embedded songwriting as part of its years 9-12 Arts curriculum and there’s a songwriting pathways program with UTAS, which starts next year. Through SongMakers, we provide links to industry by connecting teachers and students to some of Australia’s most in-demand writers and producers so current, real-world experience informs what happens in school music classes. At the same time, students gain an understanding of the oftenoverlooked benefits of making songwriting and producing part of their creative lives.

When APRA AMCOS chair Jenny Morris spoke at the National Press Club this month she urged governments at all levels to work together to transform Australia into a net exporter of music, like Sweden. Australia punches above its weight, but we’re not

there yet. She said a greater emphasis on songwriting in Australia’s schools is one of the best ways to make it happen. There’s a global pipeline for songs open to our young creators and it makes sense to help more of them into the flow. But in these unsettled times, it’s also worth remembering there is a much more compelling reason to embed songwriting in our school curriculum for all students, regardless of whether they’ll go on to make a career in music.

Songwriting is a balm for the soul. It can be a site of resilience in schools and help students navigate the social and psychological issues that arise in adolescence. When we write songs we speak to who we are, what we want to be, how we want to get there. When we write with others we make ourselves vulnerable, flex our empathy muscles, build our communication skills and make something new – together.