Ever wondered who’s behind Bluey’s catchy tunes? Meet Joff Bush, who writes the songs for the show. Watch the video below to hear from Joff himself.

Here’s a summary of the video interview.

How did you meet Bluey? 

Joff was already working on another show with Ludo when he was offered the opportunity to work on Bluey. From the very first animatic that he saw, he was blown away with the show, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

How did you find inspiration for each song? 

For Joff, the inspiration for each episode comes from what the episode and the story is about. So for an episode like Bike, for example, which is about kids learning to do things by themselves, he took inspiration from his experience as a piano teacher when he would teach Ode to Joy. The whole score of the episode is the sound of someone learning to play Ode to Joy, and when the characters are achieving what they’re trying to do, the music follows suit and becomes full orchestral. 

How do you put together a song? 

Sometimes Joff  will work with other composers who have different strengths to him to produce material together. Due to Covid, this worked a little differently, and often music was recorded in people’s home studios. These recordings were then sent back and compiled together to produce the final song. 

What is the question you get asked the most about the Bluey music? 

The questions Joff gets asked the most are probably about the time signature of the Bluey theme song and what the breaks are. For those out there with an interest in music, the first break is 7,8, the second is 5,4, the last one is 4,4 and then the rest of the song is all 4,4. 

How did you come up with the Bluey theme song? 

Joff originally wrote eight different versions of the theme tune before committing to the version used now. In fact, the final version consists of only the first section of one of the melodies he wrote, repeated four times. Who knew that small section alone could work so well and become so popular!

Do you have a favourite song on the album? 

(Joff:) Aaah I don’t know! 

What’s your favourite instrument to play? 

Joff’s first instrument, and the one he’s most comfortable playing, is piano. But he also says that he plays a bunch of other instruments to varying levels of ability. He has just started learning cello, and although he’s not ready to record it yet, it’s his favourite right now because it’s new and he’s learning it. He will always come back to piano as his favourite, though. 

Which instrument do you wish you could play? 

There is a lot of guitar used in Bluey, so Joff would love to be able to play it better since he doesn’t feel confident playing it at the moment. Although it may sound like he can play guitar in the show, he utilises recording tricks to make the most of his abilities, sometimes even recording guitar tracks note by note.