I felt like I was right back in a composition lesson with Dr. Brian Campbell, my former CSB/SJU music professor, when I interviewed him for this episode of Composer Quest. As always, he imparted plenty of wisdom, this time about writing music from a single "seed" and developing that idea. We also talk about form, writing melodies, "robot composers," and using the Japanese aesthetic of "ma" - silence.
Paul Spring was destined to be a poet, being raised in a family of English professor parents, and now having six brothers and sisters who are also English teachers. In this episode of Composer Quest, we get to hear live renditions of four new story songs Paul has been working on, from the hilarious "Type II Diabetes" and "St. Cloud Traffic" to an edgy but thoughtful song trying to make sense of the tragic Newtown, Connecticut school shooting. We also talk about Paul's self-titled album and the very personal stories behind it. I think it's the most moving talk we've had on the show, so a special thanks to Paul for sharing his music and stories.
In this episode, I talk with my girlfriend, Maia Hamann, about how she teaches her young students to compose music. She explains her strategy of breaking music down into individual elements, something all composers could benefit from. Maia also shares tips on composing for bassoon. And we get to hear about her unique experience studying Somali music.
Have you ever wanted to learn the basics of music composition? Audio production?
In an effort to get the Composer Quest podcast heard, I'm offering a free music composition or production lesson to one random Facebook fan and one random Twitter follower.
2013 Children's Album Grammy-winner Joe and his fellow Okee Dokee Brother Justin Lansing took a trip down the Mississippi river to write some beautiful bluegrass songs for their album Can You Canoe?
In this episode of Composer Quest, I chat with video game musician and coder, Whitaker Trebella. He shares his words of wisdom on writing for games, producing chiptune music, and getting composing gigs through Twitter. He also composes an on-the-spot "quickprov" using Logic Pro. Finally, we ponder what would happen if Beethoven was given a laptop. Would he be making dubstep tracks?
Matt Schubbe, the graphic designer behind our 8-bit Composer Quest art, is also a songwriter himself! In this episode, we talk about how he writes songs for (and with) his wife, Donna. Matt tends to choose strange lyrical topics, like a kid getting his head stuck in the banister, or the 1739 invention of a pooping duck automaton.
Luke Friedrich was too young to carry a musket when he joined his Civil War reenacting unit, so he picked up the fife and drum instead. Now, he plays in more bands than would seem possible, including Crimes, Strange, Rupert Angeleyes, Flowerstalks, Secrets, ThoughtTalk, and his primary songwriting endeavor, Squares. We talk about performing, the music business, and his fascination with horrific lyrical topics.
When does sound become music? That's a line blurred by Kevin Springer's sound art. He designs sound and music for plays, including Tenesse Williams' Summer and Smoke. He has also found a niche for his experimental electronic music online. We talk about how he works in this strange musical language.
I talked with my cousin, Nathan Graves, who fronts the band With a Gun for a Face and writes solo music under the name Kurtz. Nate's music is usually pretty dark and dissonant, but strangely catchy. The more I listen, the more I like it.