Have you ever wondered how the Bluey theme song was made?
Behind the two-time Logie-winning television show is a tight-knit production family, including a talented lead composer.
It was an opportunity composer and musical genius Joff Bush almost declined.
But now his expertise, including the creation of the iconic 24-second Bluey theme song, is well-known internationally among the youngest and oldest of fans.
"The thing that really unlocked it was talking to [show creator] Joe Brumm and he said they were going to make the title sequence a game of musical statues and that introduces the characters," the Wagga Wagga-born composer said.
Mr Bush, who studied piano and composition at university, and Mr Brumm workshopped the theme song together, choosing a version featuring a melodica because of its fun and unique sound.
How the magic happens
Mr Bush and Mr Brumm work closely on the show to craft the melody accompanying Bluey on her adventures.
"I'm on the piano trying things out. We try to come up with different concepts for each episode."
Bush said, in many instances of television production, the director could talk down to the composer who took instructions.
But for Bluey, it was collaborative because the whole team wanted to find the best idea to benefit the episode.
They discuss mythology, story structure, developing story arcs, and even whose perspective the episode is viewed from.
"For example, in Hotel, how would Bluey, a six-year-old, imagine a fancy hotel to sound like?" Mr Bush said.
"Maybe we over-complicate it, but I'm so drawn by doing something unique for each episode.
"I think it's important for the music to show the joy and the wonder of the world through a kid's eyes."
Repurposed classical music
While each episode of Bluey has its own unique soundtrack, many incorporate the works of classical composers.
Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers is used in a scene where Bluey and Bingo are spinning around in circles trying to lick an ice cream.
In Sleepytime, Jupiter from Gustav Holst's The Planets is used to explore growing up.
It is seeded throughout to show that a parent's love is there to reassure.
In the new episode Stories, which features Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda as a guest voice, Old McDonald is performed in a style that harks back to the days of silent films.
"There's something really fun about taking these well-known classical tunes, which are often put up on a pedestal as something that could only happen at a concert hall, and then putting them into a domestic environment and having fun and messing with them a bit," Mr Bush said.
The most important thing for Mr Bush is to make sure Bluey doesn't become a "cookie cutter" show.
"As soon as it becomes something where we're doing episode one million and sixty and it's the same formula, I think that's when we'll pull the plug on it," he said.
