Being stuck inside all day might be wearing you and your kids down, but there’s never been a better time to encourage them to pick up their musical instrument and get stuck into writing songs. Mike Chunn from Play It Strange explains how. Mums and dads and households with teenage children. New Zealand is full … Read more
Play It Strange CEO Mike Chunn met a young autistic drummer and quickly realised how hard things were for those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, especially the young. When Play It Strange and Rotary Newmarket supported the recording of 16-year-old Kane Chong’s song ‘We Are One’ – a track dedicated to his severely autistic best friend, Connor – … Read more
Play It Strange CEO Mike Chunn reflects on the first year of songwriting as an NCEA subject and shares two of his favourite songs to come out of the initiative with stories by their writers. Last year, at last, songwriting became a Level 3 NCEA subject. And here at Play It Strange, our secondary school … Read more
Sacred Heart College opened its music-focused School of Imagination last week. Play It Strange CEO Mike Chunn says it a guiding light for how schools can nurture and embrace creativity. The opening of the School of Imagination at Sacred Heart College last week is the great leap forward for the creative pursuits of the young … Read more
New Zealand needs to celebrate its songwriting to ensure great songs get written here, says Play It Strange CEO Mike Chunn. Songwriting has stormed through the school gates and is now drawing in many year 13 students who want to fire up their imaginations and write songs. They may have done this before and are … Read more
Songwriting has been accepted as a Level 3 NCEA subject from 2017. Play It Strange CEO Mike Chunn got the scoop and asked some of New Zealand’s best songwriters what they thought about it. This is a watershed moment. Songwriting is now an NCEA subject. Specifically – Level 3 with the Achievement Standard number of … Read more