Free Workshops
Sound Sorcery provides groundbreaking training opportunities in our daytime workshops designed by women and gender diverse musicians and industry professionals to support skills development, break through barriers, and foster talent in a radically supportive setting. In 2025-Supported by Creative Australia, City of Sydney, Heaps Normal and The Bearded Tit — Sound Sorcery hosted five free workshops. In 2026, we were awarded a Cultural Connections Grant to deliver three inter-cultural music workshops for Inner West Council.
Finding your Inner Mysterious Lady with Parvyn
In 2025 and 2026 Parvyn showed us how to look within the crystal ball to find the Mysterious Lady within, helping us release anxiety, build confidence and freely express ourselves and be comfortable on stage. Parvyn has channeled her performance persona ‘The Mysterious Lady’ with her internationally renowned band The Bombay Royale, performing at festivals like Glastonbury, Womadelaide, Woodford Folk Festival, Falls Festival, Splendour in the Grass and many more. She showed us how an avatar can help you discover your own source of power for performance and touring.
“Just thank you so much for offering these to the community. At both workshops I attended I felt a community connection, a safe and supportive space to explore and incredible high level knowledge of the presenters!”
Body Percussion Call & Response with Malaika Mfalme
Rooted in East African ancestral traditions, Malaika’s practice centres call and response, embodied rhythm, collective voice, and music as a communal resource rather than a performance commodity. This 4-hour deep-dive workshop invited participants into collective rhythm-making rooted in East African ancestral knowledge, where music is not something you perform for others, but something you create with each other.
“Malaika is an amazing teacher, the people I was learning were all lovely and super interesting. 10 out 10 experience!!!”
DESIRE: An Experimental Interdisciplinary Improv Lab with Andrea Lim
Andrea’s lab* was an invitation - To experiment, to think, to test ideas and to tune into oneself; to engage with desire and personal agency both individually and collectively. An experimental violinist, sound maker and performance artist, Andrea guided us through interdisciplinary improvisation and creative play led by the concept of desire. We will listen and create with images, text, sound and movement.
“Thanks as always for facilitating access to such awesome workshops and opportunities! Andrea was great.”
Introduction to Sound with Sally Hackett
Dive into the fundamentals of Live Sound Engineering in a welcoming, hands-on environment. This workshop covers essential skills like : - The Purpose of sound reinforcement - Setting up a stage - Communication with performers on stage - Live Mixing a performance Sally Hackett, Sound Sorcery's iconic official Soundie, will show you the ropes of live mixing. Sally has first-hand experience breaking down the barriers that have historically limited access for women and gender diverse folks to audio engineering.
“Both the atmosphere and workshop were brilliant, I learnt more in four hours than I did my whole sound module at uni!”
Improvisation for Beginners with Sandy Evans
This workshop is an introduction to improvisation for musicians who are proficient on their instruments and would like to incorporate improvisation into their musical practice. The workshop will introduce concepts and techniques to build confidence, knowledge and skill in rhythmic, melodic, harmonic and textural improvisation to help you in: - Unlocking your creative potential - Developing your musical voice - Experiencing the joy and spontaneity possible in improvisation
“Everything about the workshop was absolutely wonderful and it was really great to connect with new people and try something new!! Sandy was so, so lovely and supportive and really made everyone feel comfortable to make mistakes and just enjoy learning.”
The Sorcery of Stagecraft with Danica Lani
Known for her work with Kings of Joy and her commitment to seeing LGBTQIA+ people thrive and feel 100% at home in their skin, Danica helps participants tap into their power onstage, no matter their background or experience.This workshop invites instrumentalists and singers alike into a safe and supportive space where creativity and confidence can flourish. This workshop provides an empowering environment for all identities and levels of experience to connect with their stage presence and artistic expression as they are guided through practical techniques that will: Discover and embody a stage persona that is powerful, authentic, and uniquely yours; transform anxiety into self-assuredness; and build a deeper connection with your audience and your fellow performers.
Music Business Skills 101 with Niriko (Online)
This workshop empowers women and gender-diverse musicians to take control of their finances, schedules, promo strategies using what they already have to build a sustainable and authentic business model that suits their needs. Industry veteran Niriko delivers this online workshop for those who are just getting started to those who need to reorganise themselves as a working musician/performer. There are tips here on everything from budgeting, correspondence with venues, using promotional tools that best suit your goals to safety and where to find legal advice. This toolkit helps women and gender diverse musicians navigate professional music with confidence and savvy.
