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Starting a Composer/Producer Career with Tom Snively

Fellow composition podcaster Tom Snively has been producing new tracks weekly and picking them apart on his show Making My Own Music. However, his inner composer was dormant for many years as he worked as a computer programmer, then as a financial planner. In this episode of Composer Quest, I talk with Tom about his new venture to make a career out of composing and producing. He's been experimenting with writing video game scores, jazz saxophone tunes, new age music, and a spoken word track based on Philly cheesesteaks.

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Composer Infotainment with Mr. Wilson

If you heard the Questmas episode, you'll remember Josh Wilson's thrilling adventure to find a fortune cookie in Taiwan. I've gotten a kick out of his quirky YouTube series Mr. Wilson Presents, which is a great example of how classical composing can be fun and approachable. Of course, this "infotainment" is not without Josh's flair for music theory terminology. In this Composer Quest episode, Josh teaches me a thing or two about how to structure a symphony like Haydn, how to write upside-down "table music" like Mozart, and how to make decent-sounding choral MIDI files.

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Quest 7: Compose Music for Your Valentine

The 7th Composer Quest Quest is here! As Valentine's Day quickly approaches, I challenge you to write a piece of music for your valentine. The twist is, it must be for your valentine to perform, not you. So if that special someone plays an instrument or sings, this is the perfect opportunity to give him or her a unique gift. Don't feel limited to writing for a romantic valentine, either; you could also choose a friend or family member.

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Composer Career Counseling with ACF’s Craig Carnahan

Craig Carnahan has been a part of the American Composers Forum since it was small enough to fit in a living room. In this episode of Composer Quest, he shares advice on writing grants, getting performances of your music, and arranging copyrighted material. Craig explains how ACF's Innova recording label works, and why it's such a great opportunity for composers. We also get to hear a few of Craig's original pieces.

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Freelance Video Game Composing with Chris Kukla

In this episode of Composer Quest, Chris Kukla shares some practical advice about making a business out of video game composing. He talks about where to find gigs, how to get paid, and how to work well with your clients. We also talk about his "ugly guitar chord" game and his tribute to Hitchcock's film composer Bernard Herrman.

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“Finish Line” – A Duet for Bassoon and Trombone

This weekend marked the end of the Fortune Cookie Songwriting Quest. Our compilation album is going to be a pretty interesting mix of vocal and instrumental tracks from all over the world. I'll tell you more about them in an upcoming post. In the meantime, I thought I'd share my fortune cookie-inspired bassoon and trombone duet, plus some composing tips for these bass clef instruments.

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Songwriting Tricks with Dylan McFarling

Guitarist Dylan McFarling is obsessed with studying the work of other songwriters and composers, all the way back to Bach and his ingenious Musical Offering. In this episode of Composer Quest, Dylan shares his songwriting tips and explains how string quartets have inspired the way he orchestrates guitar and voice in his songs. Also in this episode, you'll hear some beautiful, previously unrecorded songs that Dylan performed live in the Composer Quest studio.

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Philosophies of Music Composition with Richard Russell

Composer Richard Russell is a philosopher at heart. In his mission to become a better composer, he went back to school to study the big questions surrounding aesthetics, music, and beauty. He has dug into both existential and practical composing topics in his podcast Creativity and Composition (one of my favorites). I'm pleased to bring you this Composer Quest podcast interview with Richard, in which we discuss everything from feminist musicology to Plato to getting performance royalties from ASCAP.

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Video Game Composition with Michael Chadwick

After nerding out about video game soundtracks for 20+ years, Michael Chadwick (aka Nebyoolae) finally started composing his own, a few of which are for games that don't actually exist. In this episode of Composer Quest, we chat about Michael's score for his made-up RPG Ebben Flow, his chiptune album Average Town, and his soundtracks he composes for his everyday activities (eating a muffin, doing the dishes, etc.).

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