Nine-year-old Callum Sayer, of Hout Bay, is dreaming of changing the world with his ukulele and a song he wrote with his dad.
The Llandudno Primary School third grader says Change the World is a reminder to everyone to be kind to each other, themselves and the planet.
His father, Gareth, helped him write the song.
“We were playing cricket one day when I had an idea for the song so I asked my dad to help me write it. I sang the melody for him and came up with the words and he played the ukulele for me,” says Callum, who plays the ukulele but says the drums are his favourite instrument.
“I started writing songs when I was 7 years old. Everyone in my family loves music, and a lot of my family are musicians so I have grown up surrounded by great music. My favourite band is the Beatles.”
Callum says he and his dad recorded the song on a cellphone and then sent it to his mom, Kelly, who was travelling for work, and to his ukulele group.
“Everyone really liked it, and then my music teacher, Abraham van den Berg, asked if I wanted to record it in a studio. My ukulele group also learnt it and played it for the school.“
Callum’s father, Gareth, says: “The day Callum asked if we could write a song was such a wonderful experience for me. I was so proud of him on how his natural ability – to structure the melody, lyrics and chorus – was such a natural process. I felt it was necessary to ensure his creative process was fun and enjoyable as writing music can sometimes become very difficult and frustrating.”
Besides writing music, Callum also enjoys riding his bike and playing video games with his friends.
“I loved recording it in the studio and would like to record more of the songs I’ve written. Some of my goals are to be the greatest musician of all time. I also would love to meet Paul McCartney.”
Callum recorded the song with Mr Van den Berg in March.
“Callum is part of one of Llandudno’s legendary ukulele groups together with his friends. They have been learning ukulele with me since Grade 1. We sometimes make up songs in class in a free form, but how surprised was I one morning when I got a message on the parent WhatsApp group with a cellphone recording of the original take that he made with his dad on backing vocals and ukulele.”
Mr Van den Berg says he was moved when he listened to the song and knew they had to polish the recording inside a studio.
“As I listened to words, I got swept away by emotion as his message of hope in times of difficulty moved me profoundly. I immediately knew that we had to share this song with the world, and we recorded it for him at another student’s home studio in Harfield Village, with sound engineer Keke Mokorosi.”
He says he has since taught the song to his other ukulele students, and it has been performed at concerts given by his students as well as at Callum’s school.
Callum is preparing to officially release the song online in the near future.
“He’s working on his second song at the moment, and we can’t wait to hear the finished second single,” says his father.
Llandudno Primary School principal Alex Molteno says he is very proud of Callum’s song and called it “stunning”.
