Composing

Hi, good question. Here, the influences of Gershwin and Rachmaninoff are still coursing through my muscle memory. It has been a long time temporary phase, in the pursuit of gaining my own land and grounding some new ideas.

Hi. Interesting question. Personally, I like a mix: of course the classics, Beethoven, Wagner, Paganini, Bach, Mahler, etc. I also like metal, bands like Arch Enemy, Drone, Eisbrecher, Children of Bodom. I'm interesting in knowing more about jazz and electronic music. I like Django Reinhardt and Miles, of course, but I still need some more research :-). And regarding electronic music, I'm learning right now how to use a synthesizer and I've found a new whole dimension of sound. I've found Massive Attack and the Cure but I'm far of seing the whole picture, which I'm looking forward to do.

I am now 57 years old, and what influences swayed me were from made in my 20's and 30's. Now, I spend nearly 100% of my time composing, having only one or two personal favorites that I listen to for pleasure and escape. Without being too arrogant about it, The only way to really create a sound of my own is to stay this course, write write write, everyday, go through phases, phases which last several months, but that I can hear slowly changing into newer forms of chord structures for development. Which means I try not to listen to any other music. (I too easily can emulate just about anybody musically, and have a tendency to do that, which is not good, but it is there) So for now, and probably the next few years, I keep my listening to other composers to a minimum. It is not that I am that good at composing, as much as I really want to be that good at composing. That is just my personal 'business' decision. So, the only other time I really listen to music is that of the people I have met on several DAW oriented and VIRTUAL ORCHESTRA oriented group pages. And then, because they request a critique, which I lend my ear to to help them become better composers and recording engineers, and in this process also learn new things I can do with my recording studio in the engineering aspect. All the best to you, Wesley Lawrence Curry II

Interesting mix of influences, Meraxes!

Welsey, it's interesting that you feel that way. I completely see what you mean about not wanting to copy other people, but I've come to the opposite conclusion. By listening to the great composers I can learn from their approaches to harmony, melody, orchestration etc. Because I'm listening to so many of the greats, there's no risk of becoming enslaved to the style of one composer and copying them. Over the last few months I've been reading Alex Ross' fantastic book The Rest Is Noise. I had a passing knowledge of most of the works in the book, but not an in depth one. So, to change that, over the last month I've been carving out chunks of time just to listen (though not right before composing) and the effect that that has had upon the development of my harmonic language and orchestration in particular has been pretty spectacular. It's interesting that everyone finds their own way to develop their styles!

Thank you Joanna! I think I know what you guys mean. By isolating yourself you look for your truly original sound more carefully without interferences. On the other hand, influences are the base of what we do and that's why I think it's a complex balance to keep: you have to be original but if you go too deep, you end up writing something like the Helicopter String Quartet. I try to approach influences as a game: imagine a helicopter (from that string quartet) making the percussion for a Megadeth-like solo played on a Stradivarius with Wagner putting his brass to it. I just find thoughts like that amusing (and sometimes, you can make up a good idea from them). :-D
Regards!

My DAW of choice is Reaper, which allows you to export the score and video as one file. Problem is it only offers limited export formats which means the files come out huge (one recent example is a 30 second cue being 2.8 GB big), so I usually use Shotcut (www.shotcut.org) to convert the files. Occasionally I splice audio and video together in Shotcut too. It's a bit intimidating to begin with but it works pretty well once you get the hang of it. Hope that helps!

When I am working on a Score.....My DAW is Logic Pro X. The Director sends film edits to me in DropBox, which I download to my computer. I place the Film Clips into Final Cut Pro X. And also into Logic Pro X. In LPX I work over the score, from improvisational concepts to choosing instruments for the arrangement and articulations for the instruments. To Volume Automation. Panning, Microphone and Reverb Choices, and (the secret recipe) plug - ins for mixing....all the way to final Mastering of the track.....with a perfect view of the scene on a separate Screen but in the same file....until I have the music perfectly timed to the rhythm of the scene. When I am perfectly satisfied by the film and music, (and believe you me, i watch over these hundreds of times) Then.....I get rid of "that" movie file in LPX and import ONLY the soundtrack into Final Cut Pro X. I use that file to send to the Director for his approval. Once approved I send only the .FLAC . or .WAV Mastered Soundtrack to the Sound Engineering Department. From there, the Director has his Score, and can edit it into his AVID or VEGAS editing software as he sees fit. I am only approaching this question as a composer. Once my score is done, it is sent to the Director to do with as he chooses. My job is to Get a perfectly timed, balanced, and mastered orchestration to him that he can use with the highest fidelity. Were I actually making the film and the score, I might try different process.

I use Sibelius 7 (under Win 7/64). It allows me to use the same score to produce the WAV file for the film, charts if performed live and scores that I can have reviewed/feedback (since most of the people I collaborate / work with don't understand how to read piano roll or the rudimentary music sheets put out by DAWs). For samples, my primary sampler is Kontakt and so I work with any sets compatible with full Kontakt.

For mockups - you can pretty much use anything that allows you to mix a single video stream with a single audio stream (which will have one or more wav files depending on whether your cues are in a single file or multiple files). As I am also wedding videographer, I use my wedding tools for mockups. Now for me final cut, premiere, avid, vegas, etc. were overkill for my business. They certainly can do something simple like combine one video and audio stream. For a mockup I use Serif Movieplus. This product was 'orphaned' some years ago (discontinued) - though it still works fine. I also have Corel VideoStudio which I plan to use at some point.

As far as video quality. I have chosen to work with a single physical display versus multiple displays (my studio currently is in one room). I ask my filmmakers to send me the film in a resolution of 320x240. This may sound to you as extremely too low but I don't need to have a film watching experience. I just need a film that I can use to figure out what to score and how to synchronize. The audio of the stream in that film is still high quality. By keeping the film quality small, the file size is almost always below 100 Mbytes (thats Mega Bytes and not Giga Bytes). And that also means the mockups are also quite small. File size may not seem like a big deal, but I often work with filmmakers that collaborate with me on Dropbox and don't have a lot of free space. Also, I may have 150 Mbps + file download and 30 Mbps + upload but many of my filmmakers have only a fraction of that and even a full resolution short can take over an hour to upload to me.

Here Is a picture of my piano. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had gotten Bagpipes instead.

This is a very interesting Topic, and one that deserves much attention. In the last film I created the score for, the music was mixed into the film Twice. The first time, by me and another sound engineer in Burbank CA. That one, meticulous, great attention to volumes and Audio / Soundtrack Mix Levels. Then.....it was Re mixed, by the Director, on his own, in his home, while drinking his ass off and smoking pot, in a tyrade of "He is right and nobody is going to tell him what to do" . He freaked, and forgot that His Talent in directing did not extend to the talents we in the sound department have been polishing for decades. So.....his film really lost out because of it. The sound levels of the music were so low it might as well have not even been in the picture.....apparently he sat there with two volume knobs, one for audio and one for soundtrack....got plastered...and turned them up and down. virtually making the music score I created for him unrecognizable. This is an Indie Film, and that means often a cardboard budget. So threatened by him was I, that I would not turn over the Master Tapes to the music without getting my second %50 paycheck. And its a good thing too. Had I released the Masters to him without getting paid first, he would have never paid me, or, at least made me go to court to get the money. And out of his frustration at the finances for the film, he started hacking away at my score. So.....there....the ugly truth of what goes on behind the scenes in an indie movie when the Director and Producers start feeling the money crutch crunch. I write this as a fair warning to any and all composers out there.....be simple....be on time...be smart....and get paid before you release your masters. If there is no money problem, there should not be any argument about this what so ever. If there are money problems...you will be glad you did. All the best, Wesley Lawrence Curry II . BMI

I looked at it when it first came out and they created a licensing structure that requires a separate license for each machine. Almost every piece of software I have allows me to install the software on two machines as long as they both are not in use at the same time - in my case a laptop and desktop. I only use the laptop as my studio machine when I am on the road. For me, that alone became a non-starter since I have spent the last 14 years on Sibelius and I am happy enough to resist changing with that licensing environment.

Has anything changed since it came out? I have honestly not looked again.

They have an electronic dongle / USB for the program. Able to license on one, then move it to laptop, etc. Better to check site and their FB Group.

Went to a meeting in Nashville and guy (David) / Belmont U. Music tech-composition/ said they wrote software for many devices with a certain font also.

Worth a look into.
Have a great week.

Kerry Kennard

yup. that's a problem. what if I go on the road and forget it. Had the problem years ago with Gigastudio 4.0 when it went to a dongle. I won't look at the product until it has a two license offering at a reasonable price.

(similar issue if I have to give back the license and reissue to the laptop - what if I forget before I leave.)

Brandi, I would love to share something , with hopeful inspirtion in it! There are many who may see this as eccentric, but how many people truly think for themselves, and create their OWN opportunities? Or do they simply follow the herd? Ask yourself the question, truly "what is a composer?" what defines a composer? and think of all the opinions, and answers you will get from others. read up on the biographies of the great composers, get into their personalitioes, their life stories, what drove them, etc? I am not a conventional composer. I own no virtual instruments, but the healing music in my soul, that just effortlessly pours forth. I have an improvisational piece in one independent film, "Torn Soul", and after that decide to start PRODUCING movies MYSELF, on my own terms,so I can compose my own scores, and hire those musicians I desire(after all I am a composer, not a guitarist. My guitar is my tool, and there will be vast instrumentation, not just guitar. I actually compose on my guitar and hear all these other instruments while playing!) So, on that note, I am now in the process of getting investors(not crowd funding ,the cookie cutter way! there people who seriously will invest in big budget films! It just takes a lot of desire, courage, and shunning the criticism of the world to do what you are intuitively led to! Think big, and fearless, and create one's own opportunities! I will have name talent in these films! I will have serious composers working with me, and making much wealth, and since gaining wisdom from my personal childhood and adolescent experiences, the value of love, and what it means to help this world be a better, more compassionate place, I will give back and set up institutions somehow to help people find themselves, and to do something great for those who had lived lives of fear! So, the moral of story here? LOL! Be yourself, eat the grass and spit out the thorns, connect with positive people, and do what YOU want, not what others say you have to!

You will know in your heart if you are ready to be a fear conquering entrepreneur, Brandi! :)

Hey Brandi, I just came across this thread today - Monday, September 11th, 2017. Three years later, I"m curious - how are you doing?

Hey Andrew, I'm doing well, thanks! I moved to LA a little over a year ago and finished an internship with Remote Control Productions this past May. It's been a wild year getting acclimated to the city and everything, but I'm doing really well. Thanks for checking in! :)

Brandi - I would think the internship prepared you well for the business and collaboration end. Tell us, if you choose, has the internship provided you with any real world artistic growth in the actual writing, arranging, scoring, or conducting of your own works. Having watched "Home Again" with my wife this weekend - I was reminded about how 'business oriented' it is in the LA Market and perhaps how difficult it is to get the decision makers to recognize artistic talent or perhaps a breakthrough or new 'sound'. In my opinion, we are still in the music business - as much as we say we are service providers and there to support the action of the film. We still need to compete with each other for business and recognized based on our accomplishments and our 'product'. Just as in the Pop, Rock, Country, Jazz segments - there are those of us who choose to 'follow' (e.g., 'sound like' Zimmer, Williams, Silvestri, etc.) and those of us who choose to move in a different direction. I was reminded today by prof in our first class, that I still sound too much like the 'old school' film composers (e.g., Elmer Bernstein, Goldsmith, Alfred Newman, Bernard Herman, etc.) - it was intended as a critique and not a compliment.

I am not an admin but I did notice this post stuck around for a bit last week and then disappeared. I was assuming it was moved since it was predominantly considered 'self promotion'. So here is an idea.... why don't you talk about what exactly constitutes a style or even your style and how your music defines that. Do you rely on certain genres? Do you work with one particular/set of synthesized sounds or instruments? Do you like to stay diatonic, do lean towards chromaticism, do you modulate, do prefer certain tempos or time signatures? And those are just some example of things that make your music standout and be recognized. How do you feel about creating a hook in your sound and what form does it take?

What I think people want to know about in this forum is more about what goes on behind the scenes - how exactly do you go through the process of composing and/or arranging or perhaps something about what processes you go through to market your music. I assume that anyone that wants to hear my music can always go to my profile here to follow my various posts announcing and promoting my music. The only time I mention my music at all in this forum is in support of some point or idea I am trying to convey. In that context my music is not the topic of the posts, in my opinion it is only incidental to the topic.

Funny, I thought the whole point of this site was self promotion through networking and advertising projects! But hey if you think it's in the wrong forum then who am I to argue.

not my call. im not the admin. just trying to come up with some ideas to minimize having the post/discussion moved based on what I have seen here over the last few years. Sharing the 'how' and the 'behind the scenes' is greatly valued here.

I was saying that I usually use the Tin Whistle in Eduardo Tarilonte's ERA II with my WX-5 wind controller. You should check out that library for its bagpipes as well. It's a good overall collection. https://www.bestservice.de/en/era_ii_medieval_legends.html

Something to consider for a future project - thanks. I have some number of instruments in that set from previous purchases (such as Renaissance Flutes, etc.). I normally prefer a single sampler (Kontakt) but don't mind using more than one if necessary. Got my Bagpipes as part of the purchase of Big Fish Celtic Instruments
http://www.bigfishaudio.com/Celtic-Instruments

Looks like Big Fish sells your referenced set as well.

As mentioned here back in April/May, I ended up with

https://impactsoundworks.com/product/ventus-ethnic-winds-tin-whistle/

Thanks for another option.

One from the heart was a great score.. Tom Waits. I sing Take me home all the time when I perform.. broken bicycles too.

Thomas Newman, John Williams yes.. always see him at tanglewood.. For years.. amazing.

Hans zimmer and Junkie XL

Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg.

Whoever committed Oompa.

Let me expand the offer - Harvey or Irma