Trinity Kaumoana grew up around music and comes from a whānau of amazing singers.

Thinking she was one of them, she would sing along with her aunties who would tell her to pipe down because she was too loud.

Undeterred, Trinity got her first guitar at 12 and began writing her own songs, something she’s been doing ever since.

“Music has always been a big part of my life,” she says.

Trinity (Waikato Tainui/Ngāpuhi) now teaches Music Performance and Songwriting Level 4 at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa’s Māngere campus.

This new 36-week programme is for aspiring songwriters and musicians.

Trinity says the programme, which is open to all New Zealanders, is about empowering people to learn musical instruments and to use their creative spark to write their own songs.

As a tauira (student) on the programme you’ll also learn chords for the instruments you’re learning, how to read and understand music notation and music theory.

Trinity who’s performed on stage with Fat Freddy’s Drop, has a degree in music from Otago University and taught music at MAINZ, says a great song can start in humble places.

A good song nearly always has a catchy tune or beat but songs that could be great are let down by their content, she says.

“I think it’s time for a change in songwriting and I’m hoping I can be a part of that change.”

As the programme name suggests, you’ll eventually perform the songs you’ve written and begin to produce enough content for an EP.

“Our tauira will definitely be writing their own songs, something with an awesome message,” says Trinity.

“They will also do some performances of the songs they learn and they will write their own original songs.

We’ll learn together by learning how to read chords and simple notations and how to find a melody and how to jot that down.”

For more information please contact Te Wānanga o Aotearoa at 0800 355 553 or go to www.twoa.ac.nz.