As part of the APRA AMCOS SongMakers program, the school was selected to host Kav Temperley, of Eskimo Joe fame, and Anna Laverty, the producer behind some of the decade’s catchiest tunes, as they conducted an intensive two-day songwriting and production workshop.
Music teacher Luke Devenish said the pair had no problems relating and connecting to the students.
Mr Devenish said their ability to enthral the students was impressive, considering some of the students were not completely familiar with who was teaching them the tricks of the trade.
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READ NOWPrior to the workshop, the music teacher encouraged his students to research the musician and producer.
Mr Devenish said as part of the intensive program students learnt the process of song creation, from songwriting on day one, to recording on day two and more importantly, teaching them about ownership of their music.
The emphasis placed on real world music issues grounded the students, Mr Devenish said, with the reality of song recording being quick and costly and to what extent does one own a share of their music being topics explored by the mentors.
With an array of music tastes in the group – one student was raised on Motown tunes – Mr Devenish said he never expected the songs the students created in the workshop to sound similar.
They delivered, creating four vastly different tunes in their groups.
“All had different characters; jazz themed, a story built out of two chords that the lyrics brought you into, one a summer beach surf vibe,” Mr Devenish said.
Students and teachers are discussing a collaborative project where students would create artwork for the demos from the program, with Mr Devenish hoping it will encourage further education on the song-making project.
If the opportunity to host the program was to become available again, Mr Devenish said he would have it “in a heartbeat”.