Guitar Group Classes for Women

Highlights from Typical Girls Punk Program April – June 2024. Typical Girls logo by Rose Turtle Ertler, Video by Kirsty Letts

Typical Girls Punk Program encourages women & gender diverse people over 40 to form punk bands, write songs, rehearse & put on a live show, no previous experience required!

Punk is about expressing yourself with minimal technical skills, a DIY ethic & back to basics songwriting, so ANYONE can take part!

In a culture that prizes technical excellence, this is a radical act….

There are many reasons why women and gender diverse people over 40 don’t form bands, and this super supportive program offers resources and opportunities to overcome them all.

Typical Girls Punk Program is for women and gender diverse people who:

have always wanted to play in a band but haven’t had the confidence, time, music lessons…
have never played an instrument but love music and are keen to learn
have some instrument skills and want to learn to play with others
played music in the past and want to get back into it
play one instrument pretty well and are keen to learn a new one

The program was developed by a team with years of experience as musicians, teachers & community music leaders, including Rachel Wilson from Typical Girls Guitar Group, Kirsty Letts from Amplified Victoria, Connie Ogan from Crumbe , Rose Turtle Ertler, & Fionn Elwood.

Over 7-8 weeks, there are songwriting, instrument and performance workshops, and weekly band rehearsals with the support of a mentor, culminating in a live performance!

“Honestly, the whole experience end-to-end blew my mind. Having the opportunity to try something new, set a crazy goal (learn a new instrument, form a band, write 3 brand new songs, rehearse in a real-life music studio and perform a real gig to a packed out, super excited crowd) in the space of 7 weeks is something I never thought possible. The piece that struck me the most was the community it created & the incredible end result. It was a once in a lifetime experience, a joy and a privilege to be part of and one of the most challenging and fun things I’ve ever done… It was AMAZING. THANK YOU!” Inaugural participant

The program is not currently running, but if you’re keen, get in touch to let us know.

Supported by:

Typical Girls Inaugural Punk Program ran from April to June 2024, with an awesome live gig at the Post Office Hotel on June 1 – see highlights video at the top of this page. Supported by a Flourish Arts Grant from Arts Merri-bek, as well as Feminista Vinyl, and Wick Studios, with fabulous band photography below from @mungster_photography

Typical Girls Punk Program Round Two ran from Jan to March 2025, culminating in a show at the Coburg RSL on March 9 as part of the Brunswick Music Festival! See our socials (curated by Shannon Sexton) for photos and videos of Round Two in action.

Again supported by Arts Merri-bek and Feminista Vinyl, with rehearsal studio space from Soundworks, and photography by Sascha Surgey and Algarhythm Photography

Typical Girls Punk Program Inaugural Bands 2024 – @Mungster_photography

Likability Bias:

Sal Beattie, Karen Lokerse, Anna Henry, Desi Achilleos, Rose Story