The New England Conservatorium of Music (NECOM) partnered with the Mad Proppa Deadly production group to uncover Indigenous artists, beginning in Armidale.

Executive officer of Mad Proppa Deadly, Alex Gardner-Marlin, said in the past it has been challenging for NECOM to engage the Indigenous community.

READ MORE:

"That's why they did a partnership with us to do a program down West-side, where there's kids that probably traditionally don't have the opportunity to access music education," Ms Gardner-Marlin told the Leader.

One reason for this is the scarcity of Indigenous people visible in the industry.

That's why Ms Gardner-Marlin said the project has been important for boosting participation.

"I mean it's open for everybody, but being an Aboriginal-led project it creates that accessibility for Aboriginal young people," she said.

Now they've got their start, Ms Gardner-Marlin said they have to push ahead to make the project bigger.

So they're chasing a $50,000 grant to have the program run all year.

"The aim is that we'll be running courses down West-side, or out in the community throughout the year," she said.

Mad Proppa Deadly managing director, Nate Weatherall, said they want to give kids a launchpad for a career in music.

"You know career-management and setting-up socials ... also learning how to DJ," he said.

According to Mr Weatherall music plays an incredibly important role in their community, and he wants to see it supported.

"Everything us Blackfellas do, any artform is cultural practice. That's what a lot of people need to understand," he said.

"It mightn't be traditional language and it mightn't be traditional song, but we're creating music ... and that's a cultural practice."

But of course with the array of technology that is used in production, getting involved can seem overwhelming.

Mr Weatherall said their project helps meet a need for technical understanding.

This means that kids can create a polished digital product using the screens, software, and recording equipment available in the mobile studio.

Students can virtually walk straight in and go where their creative impulses take them.

"It's a beginners and learners course for a digital audio workstation, along with songwriting," he said.

"It's showing young people in the community how to set up and record themselves.

"And if they ever want to set up their own home recording studio, it'll show them the requirements, what they need."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: