About


Hack Sounds was founded by 107 Projects in 2015 with support from Accessible Arts to develop an inclusive community music program. It has been co-developed by Ability Links NSW to be the best possible way to gain an introduction to the murky world of electronic music production.

What is Hack Sounds?

An entry point into the world of electronic music production-learn how to make music using accessible and fun-to-use tools, develop collaboration and performance skills, get music business tips and tricks, and find career development pathways.
  • Hack Sounds is built on an inclusive model, in terms of being designed to be welcoming and useful for people with or without a disability, with or without previous experience, male or female, Australian born and raised, or from a non-English speaking background. Basically, if you are interested, it's for you. All we would ask is that you drop us a line on the hacksounds@107.org.au email, and let us know that you are intending to come, and if you have any access needs beyond physical accessibility.
It is currently comprised of irregular open community sessions, and a "core program" which is a limited numbers series of workshops over several weeks, focusing on collaboration, core skills and performance. We are exploring new opportunities as far as what we can offer within our program, and also additional locations.

Within the program will be opportunities for live performance at 107 Projects, both in the form of smaller informal performances, and a larger showcase performance, which will be promoted widely.

Does it cost?

At this stage all aspects of the program are free.



What makes Hack Sounds different?

We aim to explore new ways for people to interact with music, including trying out different approaches to music creation. This might include iPad and computer apps, physical controllers, and more creative forms of music tools. For more information on the music gear we will be exploring, please refer to our "Tools" post.

How will Hack Sounds benefit participants?

As well as learning about music and music creation, we aim to use the inherent opportunities in the program to build social skills and networks. Part of each session will be aimed at exploring collaboration, both in a group setting, and in smaller groups of two or three. Ideally, natural friendships and mentoring relationships will develop, as well as the general group social dynamics.

How many sessions will we run?

Currently we are aiming to run several open community sessions throughout 2017, as well as two terms of our core program-spaces are limited for this program, so inquire at hacksounds@107.org.au if you are interested in becoming part of this group. Stay tuned on our meetup page for all community events.



Do we provide food, or transport?

We are unable to provide food, or transport, although we are exploring potential partnerships which may be able to reduce the costs of transport to and from Hack Sounds sessions.

How do we accommodate for different kinds of people?

On a needs basis, where if you let us know any accessibility or language needs, we will work to address them. We do not currently have a budget for interpreters, but if you let us know what interpreting could be required, and your wish to participate, we will try to find ways to make this happen.

How are we going to meet individual and group needs in the core program?

We aim to cater for all people within our group, in a flexible way. If you can indicate what might be the best approach for your learning, we will try to support you accordingly. Obviously this is very much limited by our facilitation budget, and the need to work within a workshop type of framework. However, with some our members having strong pre-existing skills, so we will look for ways, such as break-out opportunities to work with a smaller group, within the 1.5 hour sessions. Some one-to-one mentoring may be possible in the future, but at it's core, Hack Sounds is a group workshop program.

A key limitation of our program at this point is that we are primarily a beginners program, so it will be of limited benefit to those with existing skills and knowledge in the area, other than simply being a great opportunity to meet people and share those skills as a mentor within the group. We also offer more of a broad spectrum program, rather than covering any particular software or hardware in great depth. We aim to offer an intermediate/advanced program at some point, as well as a Ableton Fundamentals program, but there are other education programs that do a great job of addressing these needs for now. Just drop us a line, let us know your specific areas of interest and budget, and we can try to help you find them.

How are we going to work with family and service providers?

At this point we will not be working directly with families or service providers, although we will look to explore this as the program develops. Families are welcome to attend the sessions as supportive observers only, so that the optimum creative juices can flow freely...!